Databases as an instrument to investigate human-plant interactions in central Italy: a close look at the plant assemblage of Medieval pits from Viterbo

According to the BRAIN (Botanical Record of Archaeobotany Italian Network) database (1), only 12 medieval sites from Latium have so far been analyzed in terms of plant macro-remains. The present study aims to contribute to state of the art by providing unpublished data concerning archaeobotanical and palynological analyses from two Medieval pits (13th-14th century AD) found in via Zelli Pazzaglia in Viterbo (Latium, Italy). The carpological assemblage (Fig. 1) is comprised of 37 taxa, belonging to 18 different families. Remains are mainly preserved by waterlogging and are mostly referable to fruit consumption. The most abundant findings are Ficus carica L. (fig) achenes, followed by Vitis vinifera L. (grape) seeds, and Rubus fruticosus Lour. (blackberry) endocarps. Palynological data performed on the same contexts allowed us to obtain complementary information. For example, the abundance of Brassicaceae pollen suggests the cultivation of plants belonging to the cabbage family nearby the site. Furthermore, the presence of Trichuris (whipworm) eggs, which are passed in the feces of infected animals and humans, suggests not only that the deposit was used as a cesspit, but also testify infections during Medieval times (2). A key step in the interpretation of archaeobotanical assemblages is given by a comparison with literature from nearby sites and from the same period all along the Peninsula. The PNRR PE5 CHANGES Spoke 8 and CN5 NBFC Spoke 3 are currently working to facilitate this task. We hereby present a georeferenced tool designed to compare data on plant macro-remains sourced both from published materials available in BRAIN, standardizing this information and organizing it by chronological periods (Fig. 2).