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Hello, Olive pits were probably used for fuel at Carthage; this reference may be useful, though I have not seen it. It’s not the Levant, but is close!: Fuel for Thought: Archaeobotanical Evidence for the Use of Alternatives to Wood Fuel in Late Antique North Africa. Source: Journal of Mediterranean Archaeology . Dec98, Vol. 11 Issue 2, p191. 17p. Author(s): Smith, Wendy Abstract: Crop processing residues, by-products of food production and animal dung are not waste, but useful sources of fuel. Two samples from Vandal / Late Antique levels at Leptiminus, Tunisia, and nine oven samples from the Late Antique site of Kom el-Nana, Middle Egypt, are used to explore evidence for a variety of fuel resources available to the inhabitants of these sites. Aside from demonstrating archaeobotanical cases for the use of alternative fuels to wood, the samples discussed here provide evidence for a complex management and movement of materials around these ancient sites. > On May 18, 2016, at 6:12 AM, Pelling, Ruth <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > > Worth looking at this paper: > > Braadbaart, Marinova and Sarpaki 2016 Charred olive stones: experimental and archaeological evidence for recognizing olive processing residues used as fuel, Vegetation History and Archaeobotany, DOI: 10.1007/s00334-016-0562-2 - available on line on open access > > http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00334-016-0562-2 > > There is evidence for the specific use of date stones as fuel by metal workings: > Used traditionally by silversmiths in Iraq - Townsend and Guest 1985, Flora of Iraq vol 8, Monocotyledons excluding Gramineae, p 264 > > preferred to charcoal by Babylonian silversmiths - Strabo, Geography 16.1.14 > > I certainly suggested date stones were used as fuel in Fazzan, southern Libyan and I'm sure you'll find lots of examples in site reports. Claire Newton did quite a lot of work on olive stones in relation to Egyptian finds > > Newton, Terral and Ivorra 2006 The Egyptian olive (Olea europea subsp. europea) in the later first millennium BC, Antiquity 80 (308): 405-414 > I can't remember what she wrote now but worth a look. > > Ruth > > _______________________________________ > From: The archaeobotany mailing list [[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Forste, Kathleen [[log in to unmask]] > Sent: 18 May 2016 04:13 > To: [log in to unmask] > Subject: Fruit pits as fuel? > > Dear colleagues, > > > I am looking for some references on the use of fruit pits (specifically ziziphus, date, olive, plum/peach/cherry/etc.) as an alternative fuel source in the Levant. Does anyone know of any archaeological or ethnological sources? I am analyzing an Early Islamic botanical assemblage from a coastal site in Israel and have found a number of samples that are very rich in a variety of these pits, and am exploring the potential for their use as fuel. > > > On a related note, does anyone know of any references discussing the drying of fruits for local consumption or export? > > > Many thanks, > > -Kathleen > > > Kathleen Forste > Ph.D. student and Teaching Fellow > Department of Archaeology > Boston University > Environmental Archaeology Lab<http://sites.bu.edu/ealab/people/kathleen-forste/> > We are the public body that looks after England's historic environment. We champion historic places, helping people to understand, value and care for them, now and for the future. > Sign up to our enewsletter to keep up to date with our latest news, advice and listings. > > HistoricEngland.org.uk Twitter: @HistoricEngland > > This e-mail (and any attachments) is confidential and may contain personal views which are not the views of Historic England unless specifically stated. If you have received it in error, please delete it from your system and notify the sender immediately. Do not use, copy or disclose the information in any way nor act in reliance on it. Any information sent to Historic England may become publicly available. > ------------------------------------------------- Naomi F. Miller, Consulting Scholar University of Pennsylvania Museum Near East Section 3260 South Street Philadelphia, PA 19104 USA tel.: 215.898.4075 fax: 215.898.0657 WWW: http://www.sas.upenn.edu/~nmiller0 & http://upenn.academia.edu/NaomiMiller email: [log in to unmask]