The Bakery in the Maison à la Citerne at Volubilis

Abstract

During the 2019 field season, a small team working in Volubilis (Morocco) re-exposed a bakery in the Maison à la Citerne, originally excavated in the 1950s, and used archival and documentary evidence to isolate unexcavated floors and other stratigraphy. The goal of the project was to improve our understanding of production in the workshop with an eye toward a process-oriented analysis, using all available evidence, not just the architectural remains. Samples were taken from the undisturbed deposits for archaeobotanical analysis, and the various features of the bakery, such as mixers, shelves, and water features, were given new consideration. Not only do the results of the work allow us to better understand production in the bakery and the house, but we also found evidence to help us link baking—and by extension the baker—to other craft activities in the city.