Food and weed plants in sacred and secular contexts: archaeobotany at the Phoenician – Punic site of Motya (Sicily, Italy)

The present study concerns the analysis of the plant remains found in the archaeological site of Motya, a small islet (ca. 40 ha) located in the Stagnone di Marsala, a coastal lagoon of western Sicily. Due to its strategic, harbored position in the middle of the Mediterranean and the presence of fresh-water springs, the site was chosen by Phoenicians as a settlement in the 8th century BCE until the siege of Motya in 397/6 BCE. The study of macro-remains, retrieved using bucket floatation, focused on two closed contexts: the votive favissa found on the side of the Temple of Cappiddazzu and a disposal pit in Area D, both dating back to the 7th-6th centuries BCE. These have yielded a wide set of data which allows to reconstruct different aspects of plant use of Phoenicians at Motya. In the former, where the remains of seven sacrificed bovines were found, carpological remains were preserved mainly through mineralization. Over 50% of these are represented by taxa poisonous to livestock (Anagallis arvensis, some Boraginaceae, Euphorbiaceae and Dittrichia graveolens (1)) accompanied by fodder plants (including Astragalus boeticus and Medicago polymorpha), edible-officinal and ornamental plants (Cupressus sempervirens) and plants probably issuing from fruit and flower offerings (Verbena officinalis, Vitis vinifera). Furthermore, many of the retrieved plants present officinal properties and are used in traditional medicine. Examples include Ajuga iva, a popular medicinal plant in Africa and Asia, used as a cure for a variety of diseases including hyperthension, digestive and gastro-intestinal disorders (2), as well as Borago officinalis and D. graveolens, known as treatments for respiratory conditions (3,4). In contrast, plants collected from the disposal pit in Area D are preserved mostly by charring and may be referred to food consumption (a wide variety of cereals, pulses and fruits, including Olea europaea and Punica granatum), agricultural practices (weeds of cultivated fields, such as Lolium temulentum and Phalaris sp.) and past environment. The analysis of the two contexts allows to get an overview of the plant use of Phoenicians at Motya, both in terms of ritual plant use, diet and agriculture.