Résumé
Findings of charred seeds in archaeological silos are quite common, raising the question of their origin: remnants of burnt-in-place stocks or waste discharged into the structure? The discovery of large silo areas in medieval Mediterranean France delivering archaeological seeds, has revived questions about silage practices, how these structures functioned and their role in past societies. In this sense, the SilArchaeoBio project is carrying out an archaeological and archaeobotanical experimental research, conducted in southern France. It relies on the creation ex nihilo of 2 new functional silos areas, used since 2015. This work aims to address various issues: management and evolution of plant stocks and of the structures through time and taphonomy of the filling. Regarding the archaeobotanical approach, the research consists of documenting several parameters: effect(s) of silo storage on the preservation/degradation of ensiled remains, role of crop processing on the quality of seed conservation, role and advantages of mixed storage, effect of humidity on the stock, chances of stock preservation when the silo is cleaned by fire, etc. The final results of the projects obtained on stored Triticum monococcum, Triticum aestivum and Hordeum vulgare grains are encouraging: they present modes of conversation not described in the ethnographic literature and make it possible to start rethink the way of interpreting the archaeological seeds encountered in archaeological silos.