The last garum of Pompeii: Archaeozoological analyses on fish remains from the “garum shop” and related ecological inferences

Abstract

AbstractThis study represents the first detailed archaeozoological analysis on garum remains from Pompeii. It aims to contribute to our knowledge of activities connected to garum in one of the most celebrated centres of production in the Mediterranean by osteoarchaeological, taphonomical, and ecological analyses. One place for the production and sale of this fish sauce was located in the urban perimeter of the town, the so‐called “garum shop”, buried by the pyroclastic deposits of the Vesuvius eruption in 79 AD. After a short summary about the nature, role and origin of garum, and its production processes, a description of the state of the art about garum production in Pompeii is summarized to assess the issue. The analyses undertaken on the remains found in an amphora from the “garum shop” show that the production of at least one kind of garum in Pompeii was obtained using individuals of picarels (Spicara smaris) as the fundamental ingredient. The state of preservation of the fish remains indicates that the picarels were not subject to any intense process of movement or compression that could have caused breakage at fragile points of the fish skeletons; it is therefore deduced that the product was still in the maceration stage awaiting the final process when the Pompeii destruction happened. The study revealed that the picarels were left to macerate whole; they were neither decapitated nor filleted. The osteoarchaeological and ecological analyses revealed the age of death, the sex, and the season when the fish was caught contributing to define the fishing techniques, the production processes, and the period of the year when the volcanic destruction happened.