The role of animals in the Arab aGricultural Revolution in Al-Siqilliyya. The introduction of new sheep husbandry practices and breeds, and the spread of Arab culture into medieval Sicily.

Project Information

AGRAS

Grant agreement ID: 101149034

DOI

10.3030/101149034

EC signature date 21 May 2024

Start date 1 September 2025

End date 31 August 2027

Funded under

• Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)

Total cost

No data

EU contribution

€ 181 152,96

Coordinated by

AGENCIA ESTATAL CONSEJO SUPERIOR DE INVESTIGACIONES CIENTIFICAS
Spain

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - AGRAS (The role of animals in the Arab aGricultural Revolution in Al-Siqilliyya. The introduction of new sheep husbandry practices and breeds, and the spread of Arab culture into medieval Sicily.)

Reporting period: 2025-09-01 to 2027-08-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Animal husbandry was central to past economies, yet zooarchaeological evidence remains underexploited — a gap particularly evident in the medieval Mediterranean, where the Arab expansion represents one of the most significant phases in European agricultural history. Faunal remains reveal how animals were managed, thus offering a perspective on long-term agricultural change that written sources alone cannot provide. At the core of this project lies a key finding: sheep increased significantly in body size during the Arab period across Sicily, Spain (al-Andalus), and North Africa, suggesting more efficient farming practices. However, the mechanisms behind this change — improved feeding, increased mobility, or both — had never been investigated. AGRAS addressed these questions through an interdisciplinary approach, combining traditional zooarchaeological analysis (species identification, age-at-death profiles, biometry) with advanced techniques including protein fingerprinting (ZooMS), multi-isotope analysis (oxygen, strontium, carbon, nitrogen), and 3D microscopy of dental wear. Applied to material from eight Sicilian sites spanning the Byzantine, Arab, and Norman/Swabian periods, the project aimed to produce the first comprehensive reconstruction of sheep diet, mobility, and management across this pivotal phase. Scientifically, AGRAS aims to provide the first robust evidence of how the Arab expansion reshaped animal husbandry in Sicily, with relevance across the Mediterranean, and to feed directly into the ERC Synergy project MEEDGREENREV. At the societal level, AGRAS is aligned with two strategic objectives of Horizon Europe: climate resilience and inclusive societies, generating long-term evidence relevant to sustainable farming policy and to a more inclusive understanding of the Arab contribution to European agricultural heritage. The fellowship concluded early, when the fellow was appointed to a tenure-track researcher position at another institution. The analytical groundwork established, particularly in isotope sampling and 3D microwear cast production, will continue to underpin the fellow's independent research programme.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

Most of WP1 (fieldwork, sample collection, taxonomic and biometrical analyses) had already been completed prior to the fellowship; the literature review component was finalised during its early months. Work then focused on isotope sampling and analysis (WP3-WP4): 95 sheep mandibular third molars were selected and processed for oxygen, strontium, carbon, and nitrogen analyses, across three sites — Contrada Castro (Byzantine-Arab, Palermo), La Gancia (Arab, Palermo), and Mazara del Vallo (Byzantine-Arab-Norman/Swabian, Trapani) — following established protocols for preservation and chronological attribution. In parallel, high-resolution silicone casts of the occlusal surface of sheep M3 teeth were produced for subsequent 3D microwear analysis across the same sites. Despite its shortened duration, the fellowship achieved substantial analytical progress; the datasets generated form the empirical core of ongoing publications.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

Prior to AGRAS, no systematic multi-isotope study had been applied to medieval sheep remains from Sicily. The 95 sheep teeth processed across three sites represent the first dataset of its kind for the region. Once analysed, oxygen and strontium data will provide the first direct evidence of sheep mobility in medieval Sicily, while carbon and nitrogen data will offer the first reconstruction of sheep diet across the Byzantine-Arab-Norman/Swabian transition — together helping establish whether the increase in sheep body size during the Arab period was driven by feeding changes, mobility, or both. The 3D microwear casts will similarly enable the first application of high-resolution dental microwear analysis to medieval Sicilian sheep, integrated with the isotopic data for an unprecedented multi-proxy reconstruction of husbandry practices. These datasets are directly relevant to the ERC Synergy project MEEDGREENREV, enabling cross-regional comparisons between Sicily and al-Andalus, and will be deposited in open-access repositories (IsoArcH.eu OpenContext.org DIGITAL.CSIC) ensuring accessibility to the wider research community.
Public engagement included participation in the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, with a presentation and hands-on activities for secondary school students, promoting the visibility of women in research. The project was also promoted through a dedicated entry on the IMBAS research group webpage. At a societal level, these findings contribute to a more inclusive understanding of the Arab contribution to Mediterranean food production, with relevance for heritage communication and social cohesion.