Cooking stands and braziers in Greek sanctuaries

Abstract

The presence of dining-rooms in Greek sanctuaries shows that food was eaten and most likely also cooked on the premises. The study of both the preparation and the cooking of the food eaten in the sanctuaries would be too much, and this paper will therefore concentrate on the presence of cooking stands and braziers in Greek sanctuaries, their uses, and on other related means of carrying the pots. Cooking stands were meant to hold the cooking pots above the fire; they were open at the bottom and were placed in the fire or perhaps rather in the glowing embers of a fire. In Etruria, there were three types (types I–III): a cylindrical stand with a top plate with holes, a half-cylindrical stand with three supports attached to the inner side of the wall, and a barrel-like stand with a narrower top. Cooking braziers had, unlike the cooking stands, a closed bottom as well as the means to carry a pot.

Cultural Shift or Short-Lived Fashion? Interpreting the Role of Hellenistic Braziers From the Agora of Nea Paphos, Cyprus

“…This may have caused less efficient heating and a slower process of cooking. As was noticed by Scheffer (2014, 180–1), a small number of braziers could be used by an equally small group of people. The analysis of cooking pottery from the Agora dated to the LH and ER periods suggests that the prevailing way in which food was prepared was by boiling and stewing, as indicated by the very large quantity of cooking pots and casseroles produced during these periods.…”

“…M. Şahin (2003) has argued, by reference to the more frequent sanctuary finds and the decorations, that relief-decorated braziers with high stands and mould-made attachments were used in cultic contexts during sanctuary visits as well as at home. In many locations in Greece and Asia Minor, a large number of braziers and their fragments (mainly attachments) were found in sanctuaries or in their vicinity (Scheffer 2014, 178). However, our comprehension of the role of braziers in the worship of the local deities in Nea Paphos is problematic, as there is no precise evidence linking them to this practice.…”