Il processo di lavorazione della canapa nel mondo romano: Novità archeologiche e approcci transdisciplinari

The paper illustrates details of a system of vats devoted to the maceration of Cannabis sativa in Roman Aquileia, located along the eastern bank of its fluvial port. The complex represents the first of this kind documented in the Roman world and offers the opportunity to rethink about the extend and impact of cultivation, processing and trade of hemp and its derivates in Roman society. Moving from the findings recently brought into light at Aquileia, the authors believe that research on hemp production chain and exploitation can greatly benefit from a transdisciplinary approach. The latter should balance the limits posed by the scarcity of present archaeological evidence on this subject, with information gathered by a systematic survey of literary and epigraphic sources, archaeobotanical, paleopalynological and ethnographic data. This is the research line pursued by the authors and thereafter briefly illustrated.