Studies on Ancient Plants. Multidisciplinary Approaches and New Perspectives: PREFACE

Abstract

The proceedings of Studies on Ancient Plants. Multidisciplinary Approaches and New Perspectives are part of the ERC project AlchemEast – Alchemy in the Making: From Ancient Babylonia to Greco-Roman Egypt to the Byzantine, Syriac, and Arabic Traditions (1500 BC – 1000 AD), and stem from the international workshop held at the University of Bologna on February 13–14, 2023, organized by Matteo Martelli and Caterina Manco.

The event placed ancient plants at the center of a multidisciplinary conversation, bringing together scholars from various fields to explore issues related to their study. The six contributions collected here address topics such as the movement of plants and its various consequences, the challenges of plant identification, and the uses of ancient plants in contemporary contexts.

While not intended as an exhaustive treatment of the topic, the proceedings aim to open new avenues for research into the cultural, scientific, literary, and historical dimensions of ancient botany.