Wood you believe it! Villas, porticoes and ships in ancient Rome were built using timber from forests 1,000 miles away in modern France, study reveals
- The timber was found during the excavation of Rome’s Metro C line
- Studies of the wood found it likely came from the Jura mountains in France
- Researchers say the timber trade in ancient Rome was ‘complex’
- Planks from across the Empire would have been used in construction tasks
Timber from what became modern France was used to build villas, porticoes and ships in ancient Rome, according to a new study.
Ancient Rome was built using wood cut from trees more than 1,000 miles away in the Jura mountains in eastern France, say researchers.
Experts from the National Research Council in Italy said the planks they have studied show that the timber requirements of ancient Rome were ‘immense and complex’.
They found that the ancient Romans relied on long-distance timber trading to construct their empire and likely transported the timber to Rome via river and sea.
Some of the oak planks in situ in the foundation of the portico. The ancient Romans relied on long-distance timber trading to construct their empire, according to a new study
By sampling 24 oak timber planks excavated during the construction of the Metro in Rome between 2014 and 2016 the team were able to gain a deeper understanding of where the wood originated and how it was prepared.
They found that timber was made using different types of trees from various locations in the Empire for construction, shipbuilding and even firewood.
Until this study the timber trade of ancient Rome was poorly understood, as little wood had been found in a state adequate for analysis.
The timber sampled formed part of a Roman portico in the gardens of Sannio, belonging to what was once a lavishly decorated and wealthy property.
The researchers measured the tree-ring widths for each plank and ran statistical tests to determine average chronology, successfully dating 13 of the planks.
Planks were discovered as part of the excavation of the Roman Metro line. Researchers found that oak used for portico planks in ancient Rome was taken from the Jura mountains in eastern France, more than 1,000 miles away
The excavation of the Metro has uncovered a number of secrets of the Roman past. The planks were probably transported to Rome via river and sea
By comparing their dated planks to Mediterranean and central European oak, the team were able to pinpoint exactly where they came from.
‘This study shows that in Roman times, wood from the near-natural woodlands of north-eastern France was used for construction purposes in the centre of Rome’ said study lead author Dr Mauro Bernabei, of Italy’s National Research Council.
‘Considering the distance, the timber sizes, and the means of transportation with all the possible obstacles along the way, our research emphasises the importance of wood for the Romans and the powerful logistic organisation of the Roman society.’
Many of ancient Rome’s buildings would have been constructed with important Timber although researchers couldn’t say whether that included the Colosseum (pictured)
Based on the sapwood present in eight of the 13 samples, the team was able to narrow the date the oaks were felled to between 40AD and 60AD.
Given the timber’s dimensions and the vast distance it travelled, the researchers suggest that Romans or their traders likely floated the timber down the Saône and Rhône rivers in present-day France.
It would have then been transported over the Mediterranean Sea and up the river Tiber to Rome, although they say that cannot be confirmed.
The 24 oak timber planks analysed for the study were excavated during Metro construction in Rome between 2014 and 2016. The timber trade in ancient Rome is barely understood say researchers from Italy
The team said the planks would have been incredibly difficult to obtain, requiring extensive transportation and processing.
They said that despite the great effort in sourcing them, the planks were not specially brought to Rome for an aesthetic function and were simply used in the foundations of the portico.
This suggests that if they could use timber from 1,000 miles away simply for foundations of a building ‘the logistical organisation of Rome at the time would have been considerable’, said Dr Bernabei.
He said it also suggests that the Empire’s trade network was ‘highly advanced.’
The findings were published in the journal PLOS One.
