Wood fuel consumption in the city of Barcelona in the medieval and early modern periods. An overview based on archaeological wood charcoal analysis

Abstract Wood fuel was essential for urban development in the Mediterranean area during the Middle Ages. Therefore, wood gathering practices and supply can be investigated through the study of wood-charcoal fragments obtained from urban archaeological contexts. This paper considers anthracological remains from 14 archaeological rescue-interventions in Barcelona (NE Iberia), to reconstruct the city’s wood-fuel usage from the 6th to the 17th century ce . The diachronic anthracological sequence, compared with a previous study of the Roman period, reveals significant changes in the city's energy supply and woodland impact over time. Between the 6th and 13th centuries ce , there was a reduction in Quercus ilex (holm oak) wood exploitation and an increase in the use of shrubby vegetation, due to oak woodland degradation, partly caused by agriculture and grazing expansion. The growing use of vine, olive and other fruit tree prunings during the Middle Ages indicates the spread of arboriculture in the Barcelona plain. Furthermore, despite local oak woodland regression, evergreen and deciduous oak wood usage increased from the 14th century onwards, due to fuel imports to meet the growing urban energy demands. Differences in fuel consumption among the city’s socio-economic sectors are discussed, revealing discrepancy between urban fuel and that used outside the city walls on the shore. Finally the fuel used in some urban productive activities is also examined, highlighting a heterogeneous range of solutions, based on local availability and convenience. Overall, this research provides the first extensive diachronic analysis of fuel consumption in a Mediterranean city, illustrating the importance of archaeobotany for understanding pre-industrial urban resource management.