Morphometric comparison of current, Roman-era and medieval Vitis seeds from the north-west of Spain

Background and Aims Vitis viniferaseeds from one Medieval and two Roman-era archaeological sites in Galicia (north-western Spain) were morphologically compared to seeds of different cultivated varieties (V. viniferasubsp.sativa) in the same areas and with those of wild grapevines (V. viniferasubsp.sylvestris) from different parts of Spain and the French Basque Country. Methods and Results The length and width at different points of each seed were measured and different relationships determined from these values for later comparison. Morphologically, the seeds from the Roman sites appeared to belong to bothV. viniferasubsp.sylvestrisandV. viniferasubsp.sativa. Those from the Medieval site were similar to present cultivars. Conclusions The close relationships of certain currently cultivated varieties to some of the Roman samples indicate these varieties may be older than the others examined. Indeed, the seeds of the variety Albarino showed similar morphometric characteristics to the seeds found at both the Roman and Medieval sites. Since Albarino is traditionally cultivated in the same area as these sites, this variety may have been grown as long ago as Roman times. Significance of the Study This work throws light on the origin and domestication of cultivated grapevine varieties during Roman and Medieval times.