Agricultural terraces in the Mediterranean: medieval intensification revealed by OSL profiling and dating

Abstract The history of agricultural terraces remains poorly understood due to problems in dating their construction and use. This has hampered broader research on significance, limiting knowledge past practices the long-term investment choices rural communities. authors apply OSL profiling sediments associated with across Mediterranean region date Results from five widely dispersed case studies reveal that although many were used first millennium AD, most intensive episodes terrace-building occurred during later Middle Ages ( c . AD 1100–1600). innovative approach provides large-scale evidence for both longevity medieval intensification terraces.