The life of a Roman colony in Northern Italy: ethnobotanical information from archaeobotanical analysis

Archaeobotanical analyses (mainly on seeds and fruits e over 1000 l of sieved material with unpublished data) from three urban sites (2nd cent. BC e 2nd cent. AD) provided interesting ethnobotanical information about a Roman colony, Mutina (Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy), founded in 183 BC. In this paper, comparisons are made between productive areas, landfills and one site that shows the evolution of a rich domus. The information obtained concerns the environment in which the town was born and developed, but especially plant-man relationships (food, crafts, green decor etc.) in a thriving Roman colony in Northern Italy. A good example is provided by analyses carried out in a tank, where the recovery of some archaeozoological finds indicates that it was used for fish farming; this hypothesis is supported by some particular vegetal findings.