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Spicing up life in northwestern Europe: exotic food plant imports in the Roman and medieval world

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Abstract

This research investigates the introduction and trade of numerous exotic food plants across northwestern Europe during the Roman and medieval periods. Data were collected from all available archaeobotanical records on taxa that cannot grow in the study area or which require considerable efforts for their cultivation, together with relevant archaeological information (date, site type, context, status) to put the results in context. The results showed that many true imports were completely absent from archaeological contexts. This was due to a variety of reasons, such as poor preservation and limited access according to economic and/or cultural factors. A number of other exotic spices, fruits, vegetables, nuts and cereals, however, were identified in the study area and period. Analysis of their social, spatial and temporal occurrence indicated that different groups of people had access to these exotics and were responsible for their dispersal in different periods, but despite their fluctuating fortunes, their use remained generally exclusive. This study of exotic food plant imports highlights their value in understanding socio-economic impacts and changes in past societies.

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Acknowledgments

This research is based on results from my doctoral research at the University of Leicester, UK, which formed part of M. van der Veen’s project on ‘Long-Distance Trade and Agricultural Development’ funded by the Natural Environment Research Council. Further funding was given by the Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation and the A.G. Leventis Foundation. I am particularly grateful to M. van der Veen for entrusting me with this part of the research and for all her help and support, and to Neil Christie for his assistance throughout my research. Many thanks to Julie-Anne Bouchard-Perron, Alison Cox, Alistair Hill and Jacob Morales for their help in data collection. The following people generously shared their data and knowledge: Natàlia Alonso, Almuth Alsleben, Laurent Bouby, Anne Bouchette, Otto Brinkkemper, Christoph Brombacher, Ramon Buxó, Gill Campbell, Wendy Carruthers, Astrid Caseldine, Mike Charles, Marina Ciaraldi, Brigitte Cooremans, Anne Davis, Frédérique Durand, John Giorgi, James Greig, Allan Hall, Tim Holden, Jacqui Huntley, Stefanie Jacomet, Simon James, Sabine Karg, Thomas Kind, Dimitris Kourkoulis, Margarethe König, Angela Kreuz, Helmut Kroll, Christine Laurent, Philippe Marinval, Veronique Matterne, David Mattingly, Lieselotte Meersschaert, Jennifer Miller, Lisa Moffett, Nevin Moledina, Angela Monckton, Alex Moseley, Peter Murphy, Reinder Neef, Ruth Pelling, Leonor Peña-Chocarro, Bénédicte Pradat, David Earle Robinson, Mark Robinson, Manfred Rösch, Marie-Pierre Ruas, Hans-Peter Stika, Vanessa Straker, Jeremy Taylor, Scott Timpany, Patricia Vandorpe, Julian Wiethold and Lydia Zapata. Finally, many thanks are due to Marijke van der Veen, Richard Thomas, James Greig, and two anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments on an earlier draft of this manuscript.

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    Alexandra Livarda

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Livarda, A. Spicing up life in northwestern Europe: exotic food plant imports in the Roman and medieval world. Veget Hist Archaeobot 20, 143–164 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00334-010-0273-z

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