TY - JOUR
T1 - Pigeon-raising and sustainable agriculture at the fringe of the desert
T2 - a view from the Byzantine village of Sa'adon, Negev, Israel
AU - Tepper, Yotam
AU - Weissbrod, Lior
AU - Fried, Tal
AU - Marom, Nimrod
AU - Ramsay, Jennifer
AU - Weinstein-Evron, Mina
AU - Aharonovich, Sophia
AU - Liphschitz, Nili
AU - Farhi, Yoav
AU - Yan, Xin
AU - Boaretto, Elisabetta
AU - Bar-Oz, Guy
N1 - Copyright the Author(s) 2018. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.
PY - 2018
Y1 - 2018
N2 - Deposits rich in bioarchaeological materials were unearthed in two dovecotes found near Sa‘adon, a Byzantine-period village (5th–6th century CE) in the semi-arid part of the Negev. One structure contained a layer of pigeon manure and articulated pigeon skeletons, preserved occupation levels and evidence of sudden destruction (mid-6th century CE), whereas the other lacked distinct occupation debris indicting more orderly human abandonment. Our findings demonstrate the importance of raising pigeons for their high-quality manure in connection with agricultural development around the Negev Byzantine settlements. This product was essential for fertilizing vineyards and orchards; our findings provide direct evidence for the intensive nature of desert agriculture and a new approach to addressing questions of past human sustainability in an environmentally marginal area.
AB - Deposits rich in bioarchaeological materials were unearthed in two dovecotes found near Sa‘adon, a Byzantine-period village (5th–6th century CE) in the semi-arid part of the Negev. One structure contained a layer of pigeon manure and articulated pigeon skeletons, preserved occupation levels and evidence of sudden destruction (mid-6th century CE), whereas the other lacked distinct occupation debris indicting more orderly human abandonment. Our findings demonstrate the importance of raising pigeons for their high-quality manure in connection with agricultural development around the Negev Byzantine settlements. This product was essential for fertilizing vineyards and orchards; our findings provide direct evidence for the intensive nature of desert agriculture and a new approach to addressing questions of past human sustainability in an environmentally marginal area.
KW - sustainable agriculture
KW - Byzantine archaeology
KW - marginal areas
KW - dovecotes
KW - pigeon manure
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85057298411&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/00758914.2018.1528532
DO - 10.1080/00758914.2018.1528532
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85057298411
SN - 0075-8914
VL - 50
SP - 91
EP - 113
JO - Levant
JF - Levant
IS - 1
ER -