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6.3

6.3.1 Digging in the Sewers
6.3.2 Botanical Finds
6.3.3 Fish and Shellfish

6.3.1 Digging in the Sewers

Historical background

Near Pompeii is the smaller town of Herculaneum, which was also destroyed in the eruption of Vesuvius. During the eruption, the sewers slowly filled with ash. When the ash hardened they were totally sealed, protecting the material inside. Archaeologist Dr Erica Rowan studied 775 bags (11,625 litres) of soil taken from a sewer in Herculaneum; that’s a lot of poo!

The sewers in Herculaneum didn’t wash waste away like modern ones, instead they acted like a cesspit and simply collected the waste where it fell. Foods which would have been fully digested or rotted away – for example leafy plants, bread and meat – were obviously not detectable in the material being studied, but Dr Rowan was able to sort through and examine tiny pieces of plants (such as seeds), as well as bones and shells, and identify what they came from. These findings can be used to make claims about the diet people ate.

Evidence

The sewer served Insula Orientalis II, a mixed commercial and residential area, where middle- and lower-class Romans would have lived. Properties in the insula had two or three storeys, and the ground-floor shops were of all different sizes and types. Many had domestic spaces in the backrooms, or on upper floors. At the time of the eruption, almost half of the ground-floor spaces were use for commercial purposes and the varied layouts of the shops and apartments reflect a range of activities and people. 

In the picture on the right you can see an upper layer of volcanic material and a bottom layer (below the gap) of organic remains (poo etc.). The gap formed when the volcanic material became solid and the organic material continued to rot away. Dr Rowan studied sewer-soil taken from layers going back over 10 years and some of the remains she found were just a couple of millimetres in size! In total, she identified 194 different types of find, including 94 botanical (coming from plants), 45 fish, 53 shellfish and 2 from chickens.

From her findings it seems that people living in this insula ate a limited number of main foods which was then supplemented with over 100 different types of fruits, herbs, fish and shellfish. Dr Rowan's findings were similar across all her samples in terms of how common and plentiful particular foodstuffs were. We can infer therefore that regardless of who you were in Herculaneum, there were certain foods that were your everyday staples. There was, however, a slightly higher concentration of more expensive foods such as black pepper and sea bass at the southern end of the sewer. This implies that households at this end were richer and could afford a few more luxuries to add to these staple foods.
 

6.3.2 Botanical Finds

Historical background

Near Pompeii is the smaller town of Herculaneum, which was also destroyed in the eruption of Vesuvius. During the eruption, the sewers slowly filled with ash. When the ash hardened they were totally sealed, protecting the material inside. Archaeologist Dr Erica Rowan studied 775 bags (11,625 litres) of soil taken from a sewer in Herculaneum; that’s a lot of poo!

The sewers in Herculaneum didn’t wash waste away like modern ones, instead they acted like a cesspit and simply collected the waste where it fell. Foods which would have been fully digested or rotted away – for example leafy plants, bread and meat – were obviously not detectable in the material being studied, but Dr Rowan was able to sort through and examine tiny pieces of plants (such as seeds), as well as bones and shells, and identify what they came from. These findings can be used to make claims about the diet people ate.

Evidence

There were 120 types of botanical material found, these included cereals, pulses and legumes, fruits, nuts, and herbs and seasonings.

Whilst a wide range of cereals were found – implying a range of cereal plants were eaten – most were present in very small quantities. By far the most common cereals found were various types of millet, indicating these were a main food. The lack of wheat and barley is probably due to these being processed outside Herculaneum and/or such grains being ground into flour and then used to bake bread.

Three varieties of pulses and legumes were identified, with lentils being the most common. The small quantities of these are probably due to the fact that such foods soften and break down when they are cooked.

The fruits were the most diverse and plentiful type of food found by Dr Rowan. We can confidently claim that figs, olives and grapes were an important part of the diet in Herculaneum as they are present in very large quantities. Whilst some of the huge amount of olive finds will be from people eating them, it is likely that many of the remains have come from pressing them to make olive oil. Apples, pears, mulberries and blackberries were also relatively common. 

Some nuts were found, as were nine types of herbs or seasonings. The most commonly found – and therefore probably most commonly used – being poppy seeds, wild celery and mustard. Black pepper would have been imported from India during this period and was probably one of the most expensive items found in the sewer.

These findings match up with the types of food found in people's houses in Pompeii and Herculaneum. Some examples are given in the images on the right.

6.3.3 Fish and Shellfish

Historical background

Near Pompeii is the smaller town of Herculaneum, which was also destroyed in the eruption of Vesuvius. During the eruption, the sewers slowly filled with ash. When the ash hardened they were totally sealed, protecting the material inside. Archaeologist Dr Erica Rowan studied 775 bags (11,625 litres) of soil taken from a sewer in Herculaneum; that’s a lot of poo!

The sewers in Herculaneum didn’t wash waste away like modern ones, instead they acted like a cesspit and simply collected the waste where it fell. Foods which would have been fully digested or rotted away – for example leafy plants, bread and meat – were obviously not detectable in the material being studied, but Dr Rowan was able to sort through and examine tiny pieces of plants (such as seeds), as well as bones and shells, and identify what they came from. These findings can be used to make claims about the diet people ate.

Evidence

There were 45 types of fish identified in the material from the sewer. The remains that were examined included fish bones and otoliths (calcium carbonate structures from the inner ear of the fish). The fact that 304 whole and 183 fragmentary otoliths were found is incredibly rare, and suggests that the sewer was especially good at preserving them. Very few fish scales were found.

The most common types of fish were the damsel fish and black sea bream, both native to the Mediterranean. These were followed by seven more types of sea bream.

Also found were 52 types of shellfish, 31 of which are thought to be edible, plus land snails – found in large enough quantities to suggest that they were being eaten – which were grouped with the shellfish by Dr Rowan. The shellfish that were found were all types that lived near to the coast, from the beach to approximately 60m into the sea. Most of the species live on the beach or the sea floor. This area is particularly well suited to the collection of shellfish as the sea was shallow along the coast, less than a metre deep. Of the edible shellfish the only types found in very large quantities were purple sea urchins, corneous wedge clams, and Italian keyhole limpets. 

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