Earth and water in the formularies of the Albertini Tablets

Starting mainly from the period of the Principate, Roman Africa was, one of the most economically and culturally prosperous places of the empire. Several historical and literary sources (from Victor Vitensis to Procopius of Caesarea) treat its dramatic fate during the 5th century AD, following its seizure by Gaiseric’s army. Without any doubt, the Albertini Tablets (between 493 and 496 AD) offer a wealth of information which, however, to be interpreted correctly, must always be compared with historical, geographical, archaeological and numismatic data, but also with the ones that are offered by hard sciences such as botany and climatology: only this way the document can really speak to us and reveal some of its secrets.