Abstract
The great workshop of Loron (Tar-Vabriga, Croatia) corresponds to an out of standard complex of pottery production, known as the property of senators and emperors, from Domitian to Hadrian. Built on the seashore around 10 AD, on the territory of the colony of Parentium (Poreč), it was mainly dedicated to the large-scale production of Dressel 6B oil amphorae, intended for exportation. From 2012 onwards, an international scientific program focuses on the exploitation of natural resources, especially fuel to supply the high yield kilns. The methodological approach, based on archaeological and bioarcheological datas (anthracology and dendrometry), shows that the amphorae production is based on a rational management of forest, and a sustainable land investment. The recent excavation of one of the kilns, perfectly preserved, with a set of intact carbonized logs of wood discovered in the praefurnium can precise the management of the fuel and the functioning of the kilns in the last phase of activity of the complex. The results will be compared with the datas of other ceramic workshop centers, in Gaul and Baetica, on which similar interdisciplinary studies have been conducted. The case of Loron is one of the few examples of application of bio-archaeological approach on a potters’ workshop during the High Empire. The problematic of deforestation during the Antiquity is renewed thanks to this approach.