Roman fishing and fish processing

A multidisciplinary analysis of Holocene sediments from La Cascajera (Tinto-Odiel estuary, SW Spain) has allowed to differentiate five sedimentary facies (sandy tidal flat, clayey tidal flat, washover fan, salt marsh,
edaphic horizon), according to their granulometric characteristics, internal structure, mineralogical composition, clay mineral assemblage and paleontological record. These data, coupled to 14C AMS dating, suggest an evolution from a sandy tidal plain to a chenier before 2100 cal yr BP. This initial chenier was partially eroded later by regional storms between 2100 cal yr BP and 1900 cal yr BP, leading to the deposition of two washover fans. These facies have been eroded in the last centuries by the action of an ebb-tide channel.

This paper offers an introduction to the special issue of the Journal of Maritime Archaeolog which publishes a colleciton of the contributions to the conference "The Bountiful Sea: Fish Processing and Consumption
in Mediterranean Antiquity" that was held at the University of Oxford on 6–8 September 2017.

In studying fish products in the ancient Mediterranean we explore textual and archaeological sources to understand the fish preservation processes, to estimate the volume of production , to infer the nature and richness of the raw materials, and, ultimately, to understand how this industry was embedded in the economies of the past. The papers and posters in the Bountiful Sea Conference have demonstrated the richness of these approaches and they have elaborated on the potential of future research. Departing from the sphere of production, fishing grounds, salting vats and foul smelling cetariae, the salted fish, the fish sauces and pastes became food, a desired commodity. Processed fish products in antiquity were known by a large variety of names: garum, liquamen, muria, allec; names that derived from their shape, the method of processing, the species and the body parts that were processed, their origin, their colour and their texture, to name only some possibilities (Figs. 1, 2). Names are descriptive and informative. They reflect the way people order their world. The abundance of names for salted fish and sauces suggest an intense social interest in them. Most importantly these names are closely linked to the sphere of consumption. Some presentations in the Bountiful Sea Conference elaborated on such aspects: processed fish on the table, in cuisine and in medicine. Eating is not a simple process and it is not only about sustenance; by eating we incorporate the world and we define ourselves! When eating, taste, smell, texture and also the memories these evoke are crucial. The stories around the food we eat are also very important ! These immaterial aspects of the past are the most elusive to modern researchers (e.g. Lupton 1996; Tarlow 2000). The Bountiful Sea Conference attempted to explore them by offering opportunities of an experiential approach to the issue in parallel to the academic program. A number of culinary events and experiences were organized along with presentations of modern-day fish products by the producers themselves. The celebratory event of the conference was the " Roman Feast " that took place in the Ash-molean Museum. Food historian Sally Grainger in collaboration with chef Mike Dewing, set the table with replicas of Roman Samian ware platters, bowls and glass bottles, with Mediter-ranean fruits and greens (Fig. 3). This event gave the participants the opportunity to form a multisensory personal view of what seafood and processed fish look and taste like, of what are

The Roman city of Baelo Claudia (Baetica, Hispania) is one of the best known halieu-tic sites of the Mare Nostrum, dating from between the 2nd century BC and the 5th century AD. Recent archaeological investigations have included the discovery, excavation and interdisciplinary study of two new ish-salting factories (so-called " Conjuntos Industriales " XI and XII), providing valuable new information on the exploitation of marine resources. This paper provides the irst synthesis of all of the available archaeological evidence for the irst three phases of the ishing-product cycle (marine resources/ishing equipment/process-ing facilities and food products) at this unique site on the Strait of Gibraltar. Keywords Cetariae · Baelo Claudia · Fishing · Salsamenta · Garum · Fretum Gaditanum

A multidisciplinary analysis of Holocene sediments from Saltés Island (Tinto-Odiel estuary, SW Spain) has allowed to differentiate eigth sedimentary facies, according to their textural characteristics, internal structure, paleontology and archaeological content. Its interpretation and the chronological datings carried out reconstruct a transition from a sandy tidal plain to a final occupation by a Roman salting (cetaria) between the 1st century BC to 5th century A. This evolution includes the deposit of washover fans derived from high-energy events between the 1st century BC to 3th century AD. The integration of these new data with others from previous research has allowed partially complete the palaeoenviromental reconstruction of the marine domain of the Tinto-Odiel estuary.
Keywords Sedimentary facies · Palaeontology · Archaeology · Roman evolution · Holocene palaeoenviromental reconstruction · Tinto-Odiel estuary