The Role of Fresh Water in Fish Processing in Antiquity

Abstract

Water has been traditionally highlighted (together with fish and salt) as one of the essential elements in fish processing. Indeed, the need for large quantities of fresh water for the production of salted fish and fish sauces in Roman times is commonly asserted. This paper analyses water-related structures within Roman halieutic installations, arguing that their common presence in the best known fish processing installations in the Western Roman world should be taken as evidence of the use of fresh water during the production processes, even if its role in the activities carried out in those installations is not clear. In addition, the text proposes some first estimates on the amount of water that could be needed by those fish processing complexes for their functioning, concluding that water needs to be taken into account when reconstructing fish-salting recipes.