Methods in Ancient Wine Archaeology

Emlyn Dodd

ISBN 10: 1350346659 / ISBN 13: 9781350346659

Published by Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, GB, 2025

About this Item

Bringing together a wide array of modern scientific techniques and interdisciplinary approaches, this book provides an accessible guide to the methods that form the current bedrock of research into Roman, and more broadly ancient, wine. Chapters are arranged into thematic sections, covering biomolecular archaeology and chemical analysis, archaeobotany and palynology, vineyard and landscape archaeology and computational and experimental archaeology. These include discussions of some of the most recent techniques, such as ancient DNA and organic residue analyses, geophysical prospection, multispectral imaging and spatial and climatic modelling. While most of the content is of direct relevance to the Roman Mediterranean, the assortment of detailed case studies, methodological outlines and broader 'state of the field' reflections is of equal use to researchers working across disparate disciplines, geographies, and chronologies.The study of ancient Roman wine has been dominated until recently by traditional archaeological analyses focused upon production facilities and ceramic evidence related to transport. While such architecture and artefact-focussed approaches provide a fundamental foundation for our understanding of this topic, they fail to provide the requisite nuance to answer other questions regarding grape cultivation and wine production, consumption, use and trade. As the first compendium of its kind, this book supports the embedding of modern scientific and experimental techniques into archaeological fieldwork, research and laboratory analysis, pushing the boundaries of what questions can be explored, and serving as a launching point for future avenues of interdisciplinary research.

Seller Inventory # LU-9781350346659

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Methods in Ancient Wine Archaeology
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, GB
• Publication Date: 2025
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1350346659
• ISBN 13: 9781350346659
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: New
• Weight: 720 grams

About this title

Synopsis

Bringing together a wide array of modern scientific techniques and interdisciplinary approaches, this book provides an accessible guide to the methods that form the current bedrock of research into Roman, and more broadly ancient, wine. Chapters are arranged into thematic sections, covering biomolecular archaeology and chemical analysis, archaeobotany and palynology, vineyard and landscape archaeology and computational and experimental archaeology. These include discussions of some of the most recent techniques, such as ancient DNA and organic residue analyses, geophysical prospection, multispectral imaging and spatial and climatic modelling. While most of the content is of direct relevance to the Roman Mediterranean, the assortment of detailed case studies, methodological outlines and broader ‘state of the field’ reflections is of equal use to researchers working across disparate disciplines, geographies, and chronologies. The study of ancient Roman wine has been dominated until recently by traditional archaeological analyses focused upon production facilities and ceramic evidence related to transport. While such architecture and artefact-focussed approaches provide a fundamental foundation for our understanding of this topic, they fail to provide the requisite nuance to answer other questions regarding grape cultivation and wine production, consumption, use and trade. As the first compendium of its kind, this book supports the embedding of modern scientific and experimental techniques into archaeological fieldwork, research and laboratory analysis, pushing the boundaries of what questions can be explored, and serving as a launching point for future avenues of interdisciplinary research.

About the Authors

Emlyn Dodd FSA FRHistS is Lecturer in Classical Studies at the Institute of Classical Studies, University of London, UK, Research Fellow at the British School at Rome, Italy, and Honorary Fellow at Macquarie University, Australia.

Dimitri Van Limbergen is Research Fellow at the University of Verona and Visiting Professor in Mediterranean Roman Archaeology at Ghent University, Belgium.