Towards a Spatial Analysis of Ancient Viticultural Areas: the case study of Amos (Turkey)

Interpretation of ancient texts, such as the Amos epigraphic farming leases, questions both locations and spatial extents of the viticultural area, as well as soils, landscapes, cultivation techniques and the quality of grapes in the Ancient Greece. These issues may be partially answered undertaking spatial analysis of soils and landscape of the present day through digital morphometric and multispectral satellite data. This paper aims at discussing the possible locations of the ancient deme of Amos and identifying the additional data and methodological developments that will be needed for a further zoning of its componing terroir units. It compares the viticultural and geographical details given in the leases prescriptions with a preliminary spatial analysis of the Amos region (Bozburun peninsula, southwest Turkey) using digital morphometric ASTER GDM data and Landsat satellite data. The viticultural prescriptions in the Amos epigraphic farming leases discriminate between vineyards grown on “plains” and vineyards grown on “rocky terrain”. Considering written and epigraphic sources, distances to coast, distances to the Amos cape, regional morphology, geology, present land use together, we found out that the ancient Amos vineyards were likely to be located along the coastline in the Kumlubuk bay at the foot of the Amos cape.