Lagoonal contexts and possible saltworks in Pantano Morghella since the Hellenistic period (Sicily, Italy): between palaeoenvironments and ethno-geoarchaeology

Description

In the context of the Archeofish Projet, Portopalo and its surroundings (Sicily, Italy) are studied in considering the existence of a productive landscape dedicated to fish salting activities during the Hellenistic and the Roman periods (1). This paper focuses on the lagoon of Morghella in order to identify palaeoenvironmental evidence suggesting an important salt production used for the fish salting industry of Portopalo during Ancient times.The lagoon of Morghella, locally called Pantano Morghella, have the specificity to have been used for salt production since the Medieval period until the 1980's. The saltworks are now abandoned. This area offers an ideal case (1) to study the sedimentary signatures of the Modern saltworks and their abandonments and (2) to relate stratigraphical data to historical sources and living memories.First, we will describe the current hydrological, geomorphological and sedimentological aspects of the abandoned salt pans of Morghella. Second, an interdisciplinary study of the Medieval and Modern saltworks will be presented in order to clarify the processes leading to the deposits of the salt pans. Finally, based on the more recent data about the saltworks, we will seek evidence suggesting salt production during Hellenistic and Roman periods in the lagoon of Morghella.

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