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Chapter ID: CBB001422310

What Climate Science, Ausonius, Nile Floods, Rye Farming, and Thatched Roofs Tell Us about the Environmental History of the Roman Empire (2013)

McCormick, Michael (Author)

Pages: 61-88
Publication date: 2013
Language: English

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Climate and climatology Floods Grain crops; Cereals; Grasses Environmental history Archaeology Poetry and poetics Ancient Medieval Nile River Rome (Italy)

This chapter explores the issues to identify possible cases of climate change and human response from the combined evidence of the natural scientific, historical, and archaeological records through a few case studies. First it considers the long-standing and intricate debate on the date of a famous Latin poem in the light of new palaeoclimatic data. Next, a summary of the present, preliminary state of knowledge about climate conditions across the Roman Empire will introduce some reflections on pressing areas for further investigation as well as pitfalls to avoid when interpreting the data that is already available. Finally, the chapter explores some potential cases of human response to climate change in the late Roman and early medieval archaeological record. Scientific study of the ancient climate has barely begun; new data arrive every day with the potential to revise and deepen our knowledge on every aspect of the phenomena discussed here.

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Book Harris, William V. (2013) The Ancient Mediterranean Environment between Science and History. unapi

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