La desertificazione della penisola del Sinis, indagini paleoambientali a Tharros (OR) e alcune zone circostanti

During the archaeological excavations conducted from 1991 to 2005 in the framework of the Tharros Project implemented by the Italian National Research Council's, before the archaeological sediments were selected a detailed survey was made, using the transect method, of the wild plants present today in the Tharros archaeological area of Cape San Marco, Torre San Giovanni and the Su Pizzinnnu Mortu ponds. The samples of archaeological sediments selected in the Su Murru Mannu area (eastern section, square G17) came from 15 levels (starting from -1.03 m, which corresponds to the sandstone pavement laid in Roman times, and continuing down to a depth of 2 meters). At the -3.00 m level, vestiges of hearths prove the presence of some human activity even at the deepest levels. At the oldest levels, which date from the 9th century B.C. and the period after the 4th century B.C., species included in the bioma of the Mediterranean forest are present; this type of vegetation indicates that the local climate was hot and humid. In the next phase of this study, it was necessary to compare the findings obtained from the archaeological levels with other stratigraphic series from neighboring sites. The purpose of these investigations is to enrich the paleo-environmental documentation in order to better specify the chronology, and above all to enrich our knowledge of the natural landscape around Tharros (hence to provide indications about the salient aspects of the territory's natural landscape, in particular for the areas where documentation of the paleo-vegetation is lacking).