Anthracological analysis of fuel wood used for firesetting in medieval metallic mines of the Faravel district (southern French Alps)

Vanessa Py (1) , Aline Durand (2) , Bruno Ancel (3)

1 GEODE - Géographie de l'environnement
2 LA3M - Laboratoire d'Archéologie Médiévale et Moderne en Méditerranée
3 Service culturel municipal de L'Argentiere-la Bessee,

This anthracological study of fuel wood used in the Faravel mines is part of a doctorate research pro-gramme conducted on the interrelationship between mines and forests of the Southern Alps during the Middle Ages. The study area is situated in the upper Durance valley, a major mining region from the 11th to the end of the 13th century. Man sought and extracted silver-bearing ore from the valley bottoms to the summit of the mountains. He employed firesetting to attack the hard gneiss bedrock. The study of residual charcoal has been used to measure the impact of the mining economy on the development of mountain forests. The example of the small district of Faravel situated in an upper mountainous region (1900e2150 m altitude), illustrates a supply anchored at subalpine level with a gradual extension of the source area towards the timberline. The anthracological spectra document extinction of Pinus cembra L. at subalpine level and the lowering of the upper limit of the dense forest dominated by Larix decidua Mill. These changes are the result of agropastoral and mining pressure, as testified by both surviving man-uscripts and archaeology.

Mots clés: Mining; firesetting; fuel wood; charcoal analysis; timbershed; Middle Ages; French southern Alps

Domaines: Géographie

Vanessa Py, Aline Durand, Bruno Ancel. Anthracological analysis of fuel wood used for firesetting in medieval metallic mines of the Faravel district (southern French Alps). Journal of Archaeological Science, 2013, 40, pp.3878-3889. ⟨10.1016/j.jas.2013.05.006⟩. ⟨hal-01092842⟩