Stories of daily life from the Middle Bronze Age waterlogged site of Oppeano “4D” (Verona, NE Italy): comparison of anthracological, carpological and palynological data

Archaeological domestic contexts, with their hearths, ovens, pits, and waste heaps inside and outside dwellings represent an important source of information on the use of plants and of space by ancient communities. The potential of this information increases especially in the presence of well-preserved archaeological levels, which have undergone fire events, rapid burial or are located in waterlogged sites. These exceptional conservation conditions were met at the site of Oppeano Via Isolo "4D" (Verona, N-E Italy), an important multi-phase settlement dated to the Middle Bronze Age (1650-1350 BCE; chronology based on Cardarelli 2010). The site, excavated in 2015, preserved traces and wooden structures of eight huts (BM 1), large waste heaps, multi-layered hearths, floors and associated dwelling layers (Gonzato et al., 2021; Nicosia et al. 2022). As part of the ERC-funded GEODAP project, it was possible to study many organic finds sampled inside some huts (occupation layers, hearths, ground-levelling layers, etc.). The analysis of plant macroremains including high amounts of charcoal, seeds and fruits, and of microremains, as pollen, made it possible to outline a first picture of the environment and plant resources in use and the probable function of the domestic areas. The taxonomic analysis of wood shows anthropogenic selection activity in some cases, especially for use as carpentry wood or as fuel. The huts in Oppeano were built using vertical posts and horizontal wooden elements interwaved to form a fence of wattle (s.c. “viminata” technique). The presence in the same contexts of wood with different degrees of carbonization or waterlogging suggests a differential use of the woody resource within the structures and indicates different processes of formation and conservation of the anthracological record.