Palynological analysis of the Roman city of Arucci Turobriga (SW Iberian Peninsula)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17735/cyg.v38i1-2.101883Keywords:
Palinology; palaeoenvironmental reconstruction; thermal baths; Imperial Roman city; SW SpainAbstract
One of the most frequent applications of palynology is the palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of ancient archaeological settlements, often based on comparison with modern analogues. This paper presents an analysis of the pollen and spore records associated with the thermal complex of Arucci Turobriga, a Roman city (1st century BCE-3rd century CE) located in southwestern Spain. The pollen record represents an environment consisting mainly of holm oak and cork oak groves and ash groves as riparian vegetation, accompanied by pine and wild olive trees, as well as thickets of kermes oak, mastic, rockrose and broom. Due to their abundance during the period of the town's development, some species could have been used as forestry, agricultural or ornamental resources, such as Cupressaceae and Pinus species, as well as olive, carob and hazel trees. The group of herbaceous species represents a ruderal flora, probably associated with anthropised enclaves, given the large number of nitrophilous species it includes. The spore record is dominated by parasitic fungi (mainly Ustilago type and Puccinia type) and mycorrhizal fungi (mainly Glomeromycota p.p. and Glomus type). On the other hand, the presence of spores of coprophilous fungi corroborates the identification of a latrine in the northern sector of the city's hot springs.
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