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Roman Diet and Trade: Evidence from Organic Residues on Pottery Sherds Recovered at the Roman Town of Calleva Atrebatum (Silchester, Hants.)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 March 2010

L.-J. Marshall ,
S.R. Cook ,
M.J. Almond  and
M.G. Fulford
L.-J. Marshall
Affiliation:
Department of Chemistry, The University of Reading
S.R. Cook
Affiliation:
School of Human and Environmental Science, The University of Reading, m.g.fulford@reading.ac.uk
M.J. Almond
Affiliation:
Department of Chemistry, The University of Reading
M.G. Fulford
Affiliation:
School of Human and Environmental Science, The University of Reading, m.g.fulford@reading.ac.uk
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Abstract

The analysis of organic residues from pottery sherds using Gas-Chromatography with mass-spectroscopy (GC-MS) has revealed information about the variety of foods eaten and domestic routine at Silchester between the second and fourth–sixth centuries A.D. Two results are discussed in detail: those of a second-century Gauloise-type amphora and a fourth-century SE Dorset black-burnished ware (BB1) cooking pot, which reveal the use of pine pitch on the inner surface of the amphora and the use of animal fats (ruminant adipose fats) and leafy vegetables in cooking at the Roman town of Silchester, Hants.

Keywords

ROMAN POTTERYROMAN DIETSILCHESTERROMAN TRADEAMPHORAORGANIC RESIDUESGAS-CHROMATOGRAPHY WITH MASS-SPECTROSCOPY
Type
Notes
Information
Britannia , Volume 39 , November 2008 , pp. 245 - 253
Copyright
Copyright © L.-J. Marshall, S.R. Cook, M.J. Almond and M.G. Fulford 2008. Exclusive Licence to Publish: The Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies

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References

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