Palaeoecological investigation of the Recent Bronze Age site of Este (Padua, N Italy): valuable information from NPPs

The study of non-pollen palynomorphs (NPPs), combined with pollen and seed/fruit analyses, is a valuable tool for palaeoecological reconstruction of archaeological sites. These proxies have been applied to the archaeologicalsiteofEste–viaComuna,excavatedin2015. Thesite,locatedinthePoPlaininthesouthwestern part of Euganean Hills (Veneto), is archaeologically dated back to the beginning of the Recent Bronze Age (14th-13th century AD) (Bortolami, 2015-2016). Nine pollen samples were collected from a stratigraphical section of a trench opened within a basin/channel characterised by peat layers and alluvial deposits. Pollen and NPPs were counted in the same samples. NPPs wereidentifiedusingmorphotypesdescriptionsandphotographsfromreferenceliterature(e.gvanGeel2001; Gelorini et al. 2011). In general, the pollen sequence shows quite a good presence of pollen (from 28.000 to 140.000 p/g), and outstanding quantities (from 84.000 to 642.000 npp/g) and variety of NPPs. About 130 morphotypes have been identified; among the not identified types, seven NPPs will be proposed as new types to be included in the NPP list. The integrated study of NPPs, pollen and seeds/fruits highlights the system of sources exploitation attested in the site surroundings, and the presence of a water basin representing a useful source for human settlers. Coprophilous fungi testify the presence of animals (van Geel et al., 2003) probably associated with grazing/breeding activities that increase at the same time as woodlands sharply decrease, and cereals and synanthropicspeciesincrease. Algaereflectparticularconditionsofwaterdepthandtemperature(Rieraetal.,2006; Limaye et al., 2016), and also inform about nutrient supply in the basin (van Geel et al. 1994; Di Rita et al. 2010). Conductor elements of tracheophytes have been found often associated with saprobic fungi living on decayed or decaying wood. Particular attention has to be paid to the complementary information provided by some peculiar plant remains, such as Ceratophyllum leaf spines and astrosclereids of Nymphaeaceae.