Identifying wine and oil production: analysis of residues from Roman and Late Antique plastered vats

Abstract

The production of oil and wine was an important aspect of the ancient Mediterranean economy. Among the material remains related to the production of these substances, installations used for their production provide evidence that is still unexploited. Although archaeological studies have been carried out on these installations, problems can arise in the identification of their function, as wine and oil production structures can be similar and the archaeological traces insufficient to establish which substance was produced.Archaeometry, in particular the chemical analysis of the organic residues left by substances, is valuable for identifying the substances that were actually produced and in interpreting the function of these structures. In particular, analyses can be carried out on the plastered coatings of the vats found in these installations. In this paper, we present the results of the analyses of samples of opus signinum (broken ceramics mixed with lime) used to coat vats from installations that were thought to have produced wine or oil. The vats were found in different Roman and Late Roman sites in Italy and in the Balearic Islands and were investigated in order to verify the preservation of the organic residues and their origin. The samples were analysed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry to identify the presence of oil or wine markers.