Land Use History and Site Formation Processes at the Punic Site of Pauli Stincus in West Central Sardinia

The site of Pauli Stincus is located near the town of Terralba, on the inland shores of the Gulf of Oristano in west central Sardinia, Italy, and was occupied between the mid-4th and the late 2nd century B.C. The site and its surroundings were the object of a joint archaeopedological and geomorphological study, which complemented the data from archaeological excavations. This study allowed us to evaluate the suitability of the different landscape and soil components for crop production in the Punic period. The discovery of a buried plow soil at the site's edge enabled us to identify a set of agricultural practices carried out by Punic farmers. These included the removal of sandy topsoil to …