Chemical evidence for the persistence of wine production and trade in Early Medieval Islamic Sicily (original) (raw)

Ancient pottery from archaeological sites in Southern Italy: first evidence of red grape products markers

European Journal of Mass Spectrometry, 2015

The chemical analysis of tartaric acid (TA) and syringic acid (SA), as grape product markers in ancient ceramic vessels from the sites of Manduria and Torre di Satriano (southern Italy), was successfully performed. Firstly, the fragmentation behaviour of TA and SA as deprotonated molecules, [M-H]−, obtained by collision-induced dissociation, was investigated. Then, reversed-phase liquid chromatography (RPLC) with electrospray ionization (ESI) in negative ion mode, using a quadrupole linear ion trap in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM), was employed. A binary mobile phase composed of water–acetonitrile with 0.1% (v/v) acetic acid enabled the optimum ESI efficiency of SA, greatly improving its identification when it occurs in trace amounts. Chemical analysis of ancient pottery fragments is a valid method for establishing the existence of preserved organic residues, which is valuable new evidence for the culture and customs of ancient populations, in this case those of southern Italy....

Ancient Pottery from Archaeological Sites in Southern Italy: First Evidence of Red Grape Product Markers

European Journal of Mass Spectrometry, 2015

The chemical analysis of tartaric acid (TA) and syringic acid (SA), as grape product markers in ancient ceramic vessels from the sites of Manduria and Torre di Satriano (southern Italy), was successfully performed. Firstly, the fragmentation behaviour of TA and SA as deprotonated molecules, [M-H]−, obtained by collision-induced dissociation, was investigated. Then, reversed-phase liquid chromatography (RPLC) with electrospray ionization (ESI) in negative ion mode, using a quadrupole linear ion trap in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM), was employed. A binary mobile phase composed of water–acetonitrile with 0.1% (v/v) acetic acid enabled the optimum ESI efficiency of SA, greatly improving its identification when it occurs in trace amounts. Chemical analysis of ancient pottery fragments is a valid method for establishing the existence of preserved organic residues, which is valuable new evidence for the culture and customs of ancient populations, in this case those of southern Italy....

New insights into early medieval Islamic cuisine: Organic residue analysis of pottery from rural and urban Sicily

PLOS ONE, 2021

Sicily, during the 9th-12th century AD, thrived politically, economically, and culturally under Islamic political rule and the capital of Palermo stood as a cultural and political centre in the Mediterranean Islamic world. However, to what extent the lifeways of the people that experienced these regimes were impacted during this time is not well understood, particularly those from lesser studied rural contexts. This paper presents the first organic residue analysis of 134 cooking pots and other domestic containers dating to the 9th -12th century in order to gain new insights into the culinary practices during this significant period. Ceramics from three sites in the urban capital of Palermo and from the rural town of Casale San Pietro were analysed and compared. The multi-faceted organic residue analysis identified a range of commodities including animal products, vegetables, beeswax, pine and fruit products in the ceramics, with a complex mixing of resources observed in many cases,...

Archaeobotanical and chemical investigations on wine amphorae from San Felice Circeo (Italy) shed light on grape beverages at the Roman time

PLOS ONE, 2022

We hereby investigate the pitch used for coating three Roman amphorae from San Felice Circeo (Italy) through a multidisciplinary study. The identification of molecular biomarkers by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry is combined with archaeobotanical evidence of pollen and plant tissues of Vitis flowers. Diterpenic chemical markers together with Pinus pollen and wood revealed Pinaceae tar coating. Aporate 3-zonocolpate pollen, identified as Vitis, together with tartaric, malic and pyruvic acids elucidate the grape-fermented nature of the content. Our conclusions open new consideration on the use of grape derivatives that cannot be supported by traditional analytical methods. Based on the finds of aporate Vitis pollen, found also in local modern and Middle Pleistocene samples, we hypothesize the use of autochthonous vines. The presence of a medicinal wine (historically reported as oenanthium) is also considered. We interrogate Vitis pollen capacity to target grapevine domestication, thereby providing innovative tools to understand such an important process. We anticipate our study to encourage a more systematic multidisciplinary approach regarding the analyses of wine amphorae.

Palaeobotanical, chemical and physical investigation of the content of an ancient wine amphora from the northern Tyrrhenian sea in Italy

Journal of Archaeological Science, 45, pp. 226-233, 2014

Elemental, isotopic and archaeobotanical analysis were performed on the contents of an intact Dressel 1B amphora from a Roman navis oneraria shipwreck dating back to 100e90 BC, discovered at a depth of 42 m near Albenga (Italy). Analysis aimed at assessing the origin and nature of the samples was carried out. The chemical characterisation, in particular lead content, was consistent with an oenological product produced using ancient techniques. The organic matrix was observed and shown to have deteriorated seriously, with infiltration of sea water and migration from the clay vessel. Isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) analysis confirmed that the residue was wine, excluding the possibility of the sediment coming from the sea or the clay of the amphora. As regards palynological analysis, the pollen components were useful for diagnosing and characterising the oenological nature and geographical origin of the sample from Albenga. The extremely high percentage of grape pollen suggested that the liquid traded was must or wine subjected to little decantation. Finally, the presence of pollen from certain arboreal species widespread in central-southern Italy is in accordance with the opinion of archaeologists, who have suggested that the cargo originated in the centre-south of the Tyrrhenian area.

Wine before the Greeks : the contribution of the organic chemistry analyses

2017

In this occasion we'd like to point out the value of the results obtained by chemical analysis combined to bioarchaeological and traditional archaeological methods in order to determine the organic content of vessels and their implication in funerary ritual. Furthermore, through identification and contextualization of food and drink remains trapped in funerary sets belonging to four tombs of the indigenous necropolis of Cuma (Napoli) dated to the Iron Age, the research has led to the recognition of functional categories of proto-historical pottery.

Roman and Late Antique Wine Production in the Eastern Mediterranean

Archaeopress, 2020

This book is devoted to the viticulture of two settlements, Antiochia ad Cragum and Delos, using results stemming from surface survey and excavation to assess their potential integration within the now well-known agricultural boom of the 5th-7th centuries AD. Interdisciplinary and ethnographic data supplements the main archaeological catalogue and provides a rounded understanding of production and use. The publication of an excavated viticultural vat in Rough Cilicia for the first time, along with the first complete discussion of the viticultural industry on Delos in Late Antiquity, underscores the significance of this book. The combined catalogue, analysis and discussion reinforce the noteworthy position viticulture held in Late Antiquity as an agricultural endeavour, socio-cultural and economic factor engrained within eastern Mediterranean settlements.

Production and Transport of Goods in the Roman Period: Residue Analysis and Wine Derivatives in Late Republican Baetican Ovoid Amphorae

Environmental Archaeology: The Journal of Human Palaeoecology (online). Routledge: 1-13., 2020

Amphorae are key materials in the investigation of the production and transport of goods in ancient times. For the Roman period, many typologies of amphorae are standardised and there are hypotheses concerning their uses and contents mainly based on the shape, provenance, tituli picti and, when preserved, the solid contents. However, there are still many amphora types that have to be investigated in order to better understand the economy of the regions where they were produced and filled. This is the case of the amphorae object of this paper: the so-called ovoid amphorae of Hispania Ulterior/Baetica. This paper presents new results of an interdisciplinary investigation aimed to discover the commodities contained in ovoid amphorae. This amphora type and its specific use have never been investigated, except for a preliminary test. Here, organic residues analysis of twenty-four amphorae produced in two different locations in Hispania Ulterior/Baetica (Bay of Cadiz and the Guadalquivir Valley) and excavated at the site of El Olivillo in Cadiz (Spain), are presented. The findings suggest that the majority of the amphorae were coated with abundant pitch derived from Pinaceae trees and that most of them contained grape derivatives, although other products were also identified. Not only is this documentation of Hispania Ulterior/Baetican wine production in the late Republican period important, but the use of ovoid amphorae for carrying wine is somewhat unexpected because it is usually thought that amphorae of this type in southern Italy and in the Corinthia probably carried olive oil.