The gardens of the Roman city of Herculaneum. La Casa dell’Albergo (III, 19, 18; 1-2), a case study

Abstract

Ancient gardens have always captured the imagination of scholars. Classical literary texts and garden paintings have long stimulated the imagination of historians and archaeologists who have tried to reconstruct them, although this has not always been done accurately. Since the 1960s, the study of ancient gardens has also been favoured by a growing interest in archaeobotany. This new discipline blazed a path for classical archaeology by seeking to answer more precisely the questions that plant remains posed to archaeologists. Unfortunately, the discovery of such remains is not always a simple matter as their preservation requires special conditions, such as those created by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. The use of archaeobotany in Campania (Italy) has contributed to our knowledge not only of gardens but also of ancient agriculture. A case study of the Casa dell’Albergo in the Roman city of Herculaneum is presented here. By means of a multidisciplinary analysis based on my doctoral thesis, I will attempt to show how the dialogue between the various disciplines is essential for the reconstruction of the ancient landscape.