@ARTICLE{10.21494/ISTE.OP.2023.1027, 

TITLE={Archaeological wood from Roman Egypt: between local and imported species. Dendrochronological potential for a climatic reading…}, 
  
AUTHOR={François Blondel, }, 
	
JOURNAL={Archaeology, Society and Environment}, 
	
VOLUME={3}, 

NUMBER={Issue 1}, 
	
YEAR={2023}, 

URL={http://openscience.fr/Archaeological-wood-from-Roman-Egypt-between-local-and-imported-species}, 
	
DOI={10.21494/ISTE.OP.2023.1027}, 
	
ISSN={2752-4507}, 
	
ABSTRACT={The archaeological wood from the Roman period discovered in Egypt is mostly in a good state of preservation due to the arid environment. Its analysis, whether xylological or dendrochronological, makes it possible to address several issues: the origin of the species, the cutting methods and uses of the wood, but also the environment. Indeed, trees are natural archives which, through the reading of their growth rings, provide precious data on their environment (type of forest stand, transformation of their environment, climatic trends, etc.). In Egypt, most of the local tree species along the Nile and in the main oases are strongly conditioned by the climate and flooding episodes. These trees are perfect candidates for reconstructing the climatic variations in this part of the Empire, but they have few rings, which are not always readable and are therefore difficult to distinguish. On the other hand, the study of imported woods, particularly numerous in the funerary field, notably certain conifers (cedar, pine, juniper, etc.), offers greater dendrochronological possibilities. The joint analysis of these local and imported woods makes it possible to compare species and growth patterns from several geographical origins with sometimes contrasting climates. This article presents the first results obtained from several wooden collections from Roman Egypt, notably from mummy labels. This ongoing research is part of a multidisciplinary SNSF project, led by Sabine R. Huebner, at the Universities of Basel and Geneva, which deals with the interaction between climatic changes, environmental stress and societal transformations in the Roman Empire during the 3rd century AD.}}