Carrot ( Daucus carota L.) in Medieval Kraków (S. Poland): a cultivated form?

Abstract

A large quantity of what appear to be processed fruits of Daucus carota L. were found in Rynek Główny (the main market square) in Kraków in a medieval organic layer dated to the 14th century AD. The fruits possess only slight traces of spiny secondary ridges, a characteristic feature of fruits used for sowing. Comparative measurements of the fruit dimensions also show them to be significantly different to other finds of D. carota in medieval Kraków. This therefore is perhaps the first archaeobotanical evidence indicating the cultivation of carrot in medieval Poland. Unprocessed carrot fruits, wild and cultivated forms being indistinguishable, are found in Europe from the Neolithic period onwards.