Into Timber: Revealing Xylophagous Insects through an Archaeoentomological Analysis of Waterlogged Timber from the Fluvial Port of Ratiatum (Rezé Saint-Lupien, France)

Abstract

ABSTRACT The integration of entomology into xylological analysis is a new but increasingly common approach taken by heritage conservation scientists. Archaeology, however, has yet to embrace its full potential. Here, for the first time, entomology is integrated into the xylological analysis of waterlogged timber from the harbour site of a Roman port town in Rezé Saint-Lupien, France. Xylophagous insects were characterised based on the traces they had left in the timber, i.e. galleries and larval pellets. Their identification, sometimes to species level, provided clues about the nature and condition of the timber that had been used to build the harbour, and helped determine when the wood had been colonised, i.e. within the living standing tree, during storage as timber, during construction work or when part of the final structure. Combined with archaeological data, the xylological and entomological analyses have enhanced our understanding of the harbour’s construction history and provided valuable insights into the timber choices made by the Roman construction workers.