Project Outputs

Case studies

Case studies from Spain

These case studies on transhumance and pastoralism have been collected and described by project partners from Spain: Universidad Pablo de Olavide and Universidad Católica de Valencia.

Each winter during the last 30 years, a farmer from Linares de Mora (Teruel, Spain) has been moving his flock from his town in the mountains of Teruel to the valleys of the province of Castellón, in search for milder temperatures. The farmer has been interviewed in numerous occasions, both in his summer and winter pastures, and has been accompanied by the researchers during his journeys, both uphill and downhill.

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Each winter during the last 30 years, a farmer from Linares de Mora (Teruel, Spain) has been moving his flock from his town in the mountains of Teruel to the valleys of the province of Castellón, in search for milder temperatures. The farmer has been interviewed in numerous occasions, both in his summer and winter pastures, and has been accompanied by the researchers during his journeys, both uphill and downhill.

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The study focuses mainly on the identification of the Andorran livestock road network and the conservation of the cultural heritage associated with these routes.

The aim is to identify and evaluate the factors that affect the conservation of this cultural heritage, in order to carry out an early diagnosis allowing to develop a proper maintenance plan.

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The Plan for the Recovery and Management of Livestock Roads in Andalusia, approved in 2001, aims to provide livestock roads with a dimension of public utility that goes beyond traditional livestock use, highlighting their environmental functions: protection of landscape, rural development and citizen entertainment.

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The “Green Gates Programme”, drawn up by the Regional Ministry of the Environment and Land Management of the Andalusian Government, is integrated into the Plan for the Management and Recovery of Livestock Routes in Andalusia and consists in the design of a network of green corridors in Andalusian towns with more than 20,000 inhabitants, generating a new countryside-city relationship through quality green infrastructures that contribute to the creation of a true Metropolitan Green Space System.

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Case studies from the UK

These case studies on transhumance and pastoralism have been collected and described by the University of Newcastle.

The ALPES project uses the methods of landscape and environmental archaeology to study human-environment interaction in an upland sector of the Italian Alps. The project, started in 2010, has focused on two upland valleys: Val Molinac and Val Poré. Here the research group has carried out archaeological surveys, to identify archaeological evidence of human presence. More than 100 dry-stone structures have been identified, and divided into 3 categories: rock-shelters, fairly ephemeral and used by shepherds or hunters as temporary refuge; isolated huts, small dwelling structures, primarily associated with hay-making; enclosures, large animal corrals, often associated with a small dwelling structure.

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The EthWAL project aims at understanding how changes in pastoral practices contributed to changing the character of mountain landscapes during the last three centuries. This will enable to understand how modernity and capitalistic economy have radically transformed not only pastoral practices that we still regard as traditional, but also landscapes that we still largely perceive as marginal and pristine.

The project integrates methods of landscape archaeology, spatial analysis, ethnoarchaeology and historical ecology, to produce a comparative narrative and enable generalisations, to be used for the development of policy advice and the promotion of local historic landscapes.

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Case studies from Italy

These case studies on transhumance and pastoralism have been collected and described by U-Space srl.

The Spatial Framework of Apulian Drover Roads is a regional-level instrument that identifies, classifies and defines the boundaries of the regional drover roads network, underpinning the definition of the protection and enhancement actions to be undertaken in order to achieve a sustainable development and a mindful use of the regional territory.

The Framework identifies 3 categories of drover roads: those whose original assets are well preserved or can be restored, to be preserved and enhanced; those suitable to fulfil public needs, to be transferred free of charge to Local Authorities; and those having undergone permanent alterations and thus irreparably compromised, to be alienated to interested private subjects.

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Along the network of sheep tracks and minor paths in the Province of Pescara (Italy) there are important landscape, historical and archaeological assets related to the transhumance culture. In 2011, an agreement was signed by seven towns to favour the cultural and tourist enhancement of the “Tratturo Magno” and the minor sheep tracks. They can be considered as a resource and opportunity for the territorial regeneration of marginal inland territories, through their reconnection with the highly developed coastal regions.

The objective of the project is the definition of shared strategies of sustainable development, to be part of a wider national strategy dedicated to marginal mountainous areas.

The images used in this case study are copyright of Simona Di Crescenzo.

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This degree thesis concerns the L’Aquila-Foggia sheep track (Tratturo Magno) in the Province of Chieti (Italy). After preliminary analyses and field surveys within a wider area, the Municipality of Arielli was identified as a pilot project: the research analysed the current spatial planning conditions and the system of the concessions for the sheep tracks. Finally, a master plan was drafted as a concept for a possible restoration and use of this stretch of the sheep track.

The images used in this case study are copyright of Gioia Vannucci.

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Case studies from Greece

These case studies on transhumance and pastoralism have been collected and described by the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.

This case study includes a multitude of Bronze Age sites on the Southeast slopes of Mt. Dikti, east Crete (Greece).

The archaeological project comprises two major field-works: the excavation of a large Neopalatial building, which functioned as an administrative centre serving the control, storage and distribution of the mountain products to the urban centres of the lowlands; and an extensive survey of the surrounding hinterland, which identified a series of contemporary rural houses in several sites.

Despite the lack of written sources, the archaeological evidence shows interesting changes through time from seasonal to permanent habitation and backwards, as well as shifting patterns of transhumance.

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In 1990, Dr. Harriet Blitzer of the State University of New York published a paper about the pastoral families of Ag. Georgios (Greece), their productive practices in the Limnakaro plateau, and the core structure of these economic strategies, the so-called “mitato”, a complex building of seasonal use including the dwelling area, a corral, and specialized working spaces for milking, shearing, cheese production, etc.

The paper was based on evidence collected on site at the time and was meant to be used as an ethnographic parallel for ancient pastoral activity. The article deals also with the seasonality of activities of the shepherding families, the practice of transhumance, and the end products that the shepherds marketed, such as wool, hides and dairy products.

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Case studies from Iceland

These case studies on transhumance and pastoralism have been collected and described by the University of Iceland.

The valleys of Svarfaðardalur and Hörgárdalur in Eyjafjörður county (Iceland) contain the ruins of a large number of medieval farms, and of a huge earth wall system visible above ground. A study of this medieval agricultural system would mobilize agricultural registration, evidence from environmental history, satellite information on vegetation, map making and written sources, especially the so-called Búalög (Farmer´s Law, medieval regulation of farming), to analyse the system. Mapping of the system on this basis would lead to a hypothesis about the extent and organisation of transhumance in these northern valleys and the role of shielings in the system as a whole.

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Since the beginning of the systematic archaeological surveys in South-Iceland “flatlands” in the 2000s, rich information on shielings has been gathered, demonstrating that there is no shortage of data regarding their layout and location. Overall, 41 shielings have been identified so far in case study area. Still, there is a need to understand the character of the sheilings as well as examine the differences and similarities in structure and location between sheilings in Southern and Northern Iceland.

The study would make use of existing walkover surveys and shieling research in Northern Iceland (see case IS-01) in order to obtain crucial information of dating, as well as geoarchaeological methods. Such a holistic study of the sheilings in Southern Iceland would help build a hypothesis of the role of the transhumance in the southern areas.

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O3. Methodological guidelines for FCM-based transdisciplinary teaching practices (second draft)

The PECUS project is based on the use of Fuzzy Cognitive Mapping (FCM) as a means to convey the complexity and trans-disciplinarity of the issues related to the conservation, management and promotion of tangible and intangible cultural assets – in particular focusing on the cultural heritage deriving from the practices of transhumance of flocks.

This document reports the outcomes of the first activities of analysis and refinement of the method, carried out during the first year of the project.

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