Can't find a pulse? Celtic bean (Vicia faba L.) in British prehistory

Edward R Treasure,Mike J Church

doi:10.1080/14614103.2016.1153769

Abstract

Archaeobotanical research on prehistoric crops in Britain has primarily focussed on cereals and the potential importance of alternative crops, such as pulses, has often been overlooked. This paper reviews evidence for Celtic bean (Vicia faba L.) in British prehistory, using a database of archaeobotanical assemblages from 75 sites. Celtic bean is rare in the Neolithic – Early Bronze Age and it only becomes frequent from the Middle Bronze Age (ca. 1500 cal BC) onwards, particularly in southern England. Though there is a paucity of evidence at many sites, it is suggested that this reflects a preservation bias and in some areas at least, Celtic bean formed an important element of past agricultural systems.

Highlights

Within the last few decades, knowledge of crops in prehistoric Britain has significantly expanded and benefitted from extensive sampling programmes to recover plant remains
In total, 75 records of Celtic bean were identified through the literature review, including six Neolithic – Earlier Bronze Age sites, Later Bronze Age sites and Iron Age sites
Neolithic and Early Bronze Age Evidence for Celtic bean in the Neolithic and Earlier Bronze Age is rare, with only five records dating to this period

Summary

Introduction

Within the last few decades, knowledge of crops in prehistoric Britain has significantly expanded and benefitted from extensive sampling programmes to recover plant remains. Archaeobotanical research on prehistoric crops in Britain has primarily focussed on cereals and the potential role of alternative crops has received comparatively little study. There is considerable evidence to indicate that a wide range of crops were cultivated in prehistoric Britain, including oil crops, such as flax, opium poppy and brassicas, and pulses, such as pea and Celtic bean (Pelling and Campbell 2013, 58). This paper draws upon a large and predominantly untapped archaeobotanical dataset for prehistoric Britain, focussing on evidence for an understudied crop, Celtic bean (Vicia faba L.). Celtic bean seeds are small, suboval and rounded in shape, significant morphological variability exists between seeds and it is possible that sub-varieties were present across prehistoric Europe (Renfrew 1973, 108; Zohary et al 2012, 89–92)

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