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Document Details : Title: Auf dem Holzweg. Bevölkerungsdichte und natürliche Ressourcen Subtitle: Überlegungen zum Holzbedarf im römischen Rheinland Author(s): EHMIG, Ulrike Journal: Ancient Society Volume: 42 Date: 2012 Pages: 159-218 DOI: 10.2143/AS.42.0.2172292 Abstract : The first part of this paper is a critical examination of a study published a few years ago, in which Karl Peter Wendt and Andreas Zimmermann tried to calculate the population in the Roman Rhineland during the second century AD. It was their aim to create a basis for estimating demand and use of natural resources in a landscape. This contribution persues the question as to the extent in which wood was used in antiquity. Examples are collected from archaeological contexts, where wood is well-preserved and allows for calculations on its use as building material, timber and firewood. This analysis is followed by a consideration whether it is currently possible to determine the consumption of wood in the Roman Rhineland convincingly. The article concludes with a critical assessment mainly discussing the long-standing problem of timber shortage in the Roman period. |
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