Level 3 - Life in Roman Sussex - Food & Drink

Food & Drink

Food & Drink types

Dressel 20 Amphora The Romans increased the availability of certain foods and drinks in the new province, especially among the elite and urban population, and those who lived near military establishments. Wine, already imported before the conquest, was no doubt drunk in increasing quantities, as attested by the many amphora fragments in Chichester, Fishbourne, and other sites. By far the most common amphora type to be found at these sites was the rounded dressel 20 (pictured here), which contained olive oil from southern Spain (Baetia). A smaller number of other vessels contained fish sauce, or liquamen, which was an essential ingredient of much Roman cooking. These imports show that new recipes and cooking techniques were incorperated into existing modes of food preparation.

The main food types to be eaten were vegetables that were in season, bread, animal products (meat, milk, butter & cheese) and fish. Unfortunately, vegetables generally leave no remains, but it is known that varieties such as cabbage, onion, carrot and turnip were introduced after the conquest and soon formed regular parts of many people's diets. The remains of the other categories have been found in the forms of charred grain seeds and bones. Shellfish, especially oysters, were commonly eaten, and indeed Juvenal remarked that British oysters were a delicacy in Rome, indicating that they were also exported.
Herbs and spices were probably brought in initially by the military, and later by traders who found a ready market for them, particularly in the Romanized southern part of the province.

Aside from wine, beer also seems to have been drunk in quantity, continuing native traditions. Most of this was probably made from wheat, although barley was sometimes used instead.