Foreign tree species as construction timber in nineteenth-century Palestine

Nineteenth-century Palestine lacked forest. Botanical analysis of construction timber in houses built in Palestine during the 19th century found mainly imported wood from the E Mediterranean region up to the late-1870s and - later on - from Europe. The foreign timber might point to changes in the political situation in Palestine, as well as to changes in international commerce. The origin and social economic condition of the builders might also be reflected through the timber they used in the construction of their buildings in Palestine. -Authors.