title: Archaeobotanical reconstructions of vegetation and report of mummified apple seeds found in the cellar of a first-century Roman villa on Elba Island.
abstract: In the late Roman Republic period (2nd-1st century BC), in the area of San Giovanni on Elba Island, previously subject to intense extraction of iron ore, a rustic villa was established by Marco Valerio Messalla, a supreme Roman magistrate. The foundations of the walls were discovered and excavated by an archaeological mission. Palaeobotanical analysis of a set of stratigraphic layers was performed. Palynological slides showed remains of palynomorphic and non-pollen objects, while data combined with anthracological investigations confirmed the hypothesis that in the 1st century AD the villa was destroyed by a fire that created a compact crust under which were discovered four broken Roman amphorae containing about five hundred apple seeds. Comparisons of archaeological and fresh seeds from reference collections showed discontinuous morphology except for one group of archaeological samples. DNA was isolated from seeds that had well-preserved embryos in all groups. DNA extracts from archaeological, wild and modern domestic seeds (controls) were amplified by PCR and tested with SSR molecular markers, followed by genome analysis.
authors.affiliation: University of Siena, Department Life Science, Via P.A. Mattioli 4, 53100 Siena, Italy. Electronic address: claudio.milanesi@unisi.it.
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Milanesi
authors.affiliation: University of Siena, Department Life Science, Via P.A. Mattioli 4, 53100 Siena, Italy.
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Scali
authors.affiliation: University of Siena, Department Life Science, Via P.A. Mattioli 4, 53100 Siena, Italy.
authors.forename: Rita
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Vignani
authors.affiliation: University of Siena, Department History and Cultural Goods, Via Roma 56, 53100 Siena, Italy.
authors.forename: Franco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cambi
authors.affiliation: École normale supérieure de Lyon, Department of Geology, 46, allée d'Italie, 69364 Lyon cedex 07, France.
authors.forename: Lucas
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dugerdil
authors.affiliation: University of Siena, Department Life Science, Via P.A. Mattioli 4, 53100 Siena, Italy.
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Faleri
authors.affiliation: University of Siena, Department Life Science, Via P.A. Mattioli 4, 53100 Siena, Italy.
authors.forename: Mauro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cresti
mesh_terms: D001106:Archaeology; D018744:DNA, Plant / Q000235:genetics; D005819:Genetic Markers / Q000235:genetics; D062312:Islands; D007558:Italy; D027845:Malus / Q000235:genetics*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012639:Seeds / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D018744:DNA, Plant; D005819:Genetic Markers
keywords: Embryon momifié; First century AD; I(er) siècle avant J.-C.; Malus seeds; Marqueur SSR; Mummified embryo; Pépin de pomme; Roman villa; SSR markers; Villa romaine