While we have many isolated references to forest conditions and progress
of forest exploitation among the ancients in the writings of poets and
historians, these are generally too brief to permit us to gain a very
clear picture of the progress of forest history; except in isolated
cases, they furnish only glimpses, allowing us to fill in the rest to
some extent by guess.
That the countries occupied and known to the ancients, even Spain and
Palestine, were originally well-wooded there seems little doubt,
although in the drier regions and on the drier limestone soils, the
forest was perhaps open, as is usual under such conditions, and truly
arid, forestless regions were also found where they exist now. Although
it has been customary to point out some of the Mediterranean and
Eastern countries as having become deserts and depopulated through
deforestation, and although this is undoubtedly true for some parts, as
Mount Lebanon and Syria, generalization in this respect is dangerous.
We know, however, that by the 11th century before Christ, in Palestine,
Asia Minor and Greece, especially in the neighborhood of thriving
cities, the forest cover had vanished to a large extent and building
timber for the temples at Tyre and Sidon had to be brought long
distances from Mount Lebanon, whose wealth of cedar was also freely
drawn upon for ship timber and other structures. Although about 465 B.C.
Artaxerxes I, having recognized the pending exhaustion of this mountain
forest, had attempted to regulate the cutting of timber, the
exploitation had by 333 B.C. progressed to such an extent that
Alexander the Great found at least the south slope exhausted and almost
woodless.
The destruction by axe and fire of the celebrated forests of Sharon,
Carmel and Bashan is the theme of the prophet Isaiah writing about 590
B.C.; and the widespread devastation of large forest areas during the
Jewish wars is depicted by Josephus. In Greece, the Persian wars are on
record as causes of widespread forest destruction. Yet in other parts,
as on the island of Cyprus, which, originally densely wooded, had
rapidly lost its forest wealth during Cleopatra’s time through the
development of mining and metallurgical works, ship building and
clearing for farms, the kings seemed to have been able to protect the
remnants for a long time, so that respectable forest cover exists even
to date.
The Romans seem to have had still a surplus of ship timber at their
command in the third and second centuries before Christ, when they did
not hesitate to burn the warships of the Carthaginians (203 B.C.) and of
the Syrians (189 B.C.), although it may be that other considerations
forced these actions. Denuded hills and scarcity of building timber in
certain parts are mentioned at the end of the third century before
Christ, and that the need for conservative use of timber resources had
arrived also appears from the fact that when (167 B.C.) the Romans had
brought Macedonia under their sway, the cutting of ship timber in the
extensive forests of that country was prohibited. Although at that time
the Roman State forests were still quite extensive, it is evident that
under the system of renting these for the mast and pasture and for the
exploitation of their timber to companies of contractors, their
devastation must have progressed rapidly. Yet, on the whole, with local
exceptions, Italy remained well wooded until the Christian era.
In Spain, according to Diodorus Siculus (about 100 B.C.), the Southern
provinces were densely wooded when about 200 B.C. the Romans first took
possession; but soon after a great forest fire starting from the
Pyrenees ran over the country, exposing deposits of silver ore, which
invited a large influx of miners, the cause of reckless deforestation of
the country. The interior of this peninsula, however, was probably
always forestless or at least scantily wooded.
While through colonization, exploitation, fire and other abuse, the
useful forest area was decimated in many parts, the location of the
Mediterranean peninsular countries was such that wood supplies could be
readily secured by water from distant parts, and the _lignarii_ or wood
merchants of Italy drew their supplies even from India by way of
Alexandria; they went for Ash to Asia Minor; for Cedar to Cilicia;
Paphlagonia, Liguria and Mauritania became the great wood export
countries. It is interesting to note that a regular wood market existed
in Rome, as in Jerusalem, and at the former place firewood was sold by
the pound (75c per 200 lbs., in Cicero’s time). At the same time that
the causes of devastation were at work the forest area also increased in
some parts, recovering ground lost during wars and through the neglect
of farms by natural seeding; much less by active effort, although
planting of trees in parks, vineyards and groves was early practiced to
a limited extent.