Ricerc@Sapienza

The middle reaches of the Nile River play a key role in the current models about the diffusion of modern Humans out of Africa, nevertheless the Early and the Middle Stone Age (Early Palaeolithic and Middle Palaeolithic) in central Sudan are poorly known. On-going investigation at al-Jamrab (White Nile region) highlights the archaeological potential of the central Sudan and illustrates the importance of an integrated approach combining archaeological excavation and palaeoenvironmental reconstruction for understanding cultural site formation and post-depositional dynamics.

Today, coastal cities worldwide are facing major changes resulting from climate change and anthropogenic forcing, which requires adaptation and mitigation strategies to be established. In this context, sedimentological archives in many Mediterranean cities record a multi-millennial history of environmental dynamics and human adaptation, revealing a long-lasting resilience. Founded by the Phoenicians around 3000 years ago, Cádiz (south-western Spain) is a key example of a coastal resilient city.

The present study concerns the analysis of the plant remains found in the archaeological site of Motya, a
small islet (ca. 40 ha) located in the Stagnone di Marsala, a coastal lagoon of western Sicily. Due to its
strategic, harbored position in the middle of the Mediterranean and the presence of fresh-water springs, the
site was chosen by Phoenicians as a settlement in the 8th century BCE until the siege of Motya in 397/6 BCE.
The study of macro-remains, retrieved using bucket floatation, focused on two closed contexts: the votive