Food, farming and trade on the Danube frontier: plant remains from Roman Aelia Mursa (Osijek, Croatia)

Abstract

Archaeobotanical investigations at the Roman town of Aelia Mursa, located near the Danube frontier in modern day Croatia, have revealed an extraordinary assemblage of food remains from a series of pits dated to the early 2nd century ad. The site yielded a wide array of economically important food remains, including staples such as Hordeum (barley), Panicum miliaceum (broomcorn millet), Triticum aestivum (bread wheat), Secale cereale (rye), Lens culinaris (lentil) and Vicia faba (broad bean). We also found a range of fruits, nuts, herbs and vegetables, such as Daucus carota (carrot), Cichorium intybus (chicory), Allium sativum (garlic), Ficus carica (fig), Vitis vinifera (grape) and Olea europaea (olive). Further, we found clearly identifiable remains of eggshell, fish bones and scales, unidentifiable fruit flesh and porridge or bread remains, as well as possible animal dung. The site provides important evidence of exotic foods including Piper nigrum (pepper), Oryza sp. (rice) and Punica granatum (pomegranate). This diverse and unique assemblage provides a tantalising insight into the character of food, farming and trade of the people living on the frontier of the Roman Empire.