Fish and Fishing in the Roman World

Abstract

This article focuses on two aspects related to fish and fishing. It first discusses the social context for the consumption of preserved and fresh fish, showing that generally consumption of certain types of fresh fish conferred status, whereas consumption of preserved fish, being more affordable, was attested across social strata. The article then moves on to examine the organisation of the 'fishing industry', specifically the relationship between fish-salting establishments and the fishermen who provided the fish. Although we have many literary, documentary, and archaeological sources for fish preservation and fishing techniques in classical antiquity, the fishermen engaged in large-scale fishing remain rather elusive. Keywords Fish consumption · Fish salting · Fishermen · Business organisation · SocietatesAn abundant scholarly literature focusing on the production and commercialisation of salted fish products in classical antiquity exists, for which we have ample archaeological evidence in the remains of fish-salting establishments and the amphorae used to commercialise the products.1 Within this literature, it is only more recently that scholars' attention has shifted to include also the study of ancient fishing techniques and fishing gear. In regard to the role of fish in the ancient diet-whether fresh or preserved-research has focused, on the one hand, on the specific socio-cultural context of fish-consumption, and on the other, on the use of scientific techniques such as isotope analysis to determine what role marine protein had in people 's diet (e.g., Purcell 1995;Craig et al. 2009).

Food at the heart of the Empire: dietary reconstruction for Imperial Rome inhabitants

“…As previously reported, several classical authors wrote about agricultural and horticultural practices in the Roman world, confirming the leading role of such a productive activity. Although literary sources on horticulture focused on the cultivation of olives and grapes for their significance in elite production (Lomas 1993), these authors examined the production of cereal grains too, because they made up the bulk of most people's diets as they were used to make bread and porridge (puls) (Brown 2011). Our data do not support evidence for exclusive C4 plant exploitation, upholding the notion that animals mainly consumed them in Roman antiquity rather than humans, even though the livestock data reported here does not suggest a foundational role for these plants.…”

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