storage and preservation: Rome this process preserve the fruit itself, but the alcohol in the fermented drinks (or the acid in the vinegar) could be used to preserve other foods ROME BY LYN GREEN Throughout the history of Rome, as capital of both a republic and an empire, the city faced the daunting task of keeping its growing population fed and supplied However, unlike some other urban centers of the ancient world, the local countryside around Rome was inadequate to feed its massive population To complicate matters further, as Rome grew in size and wealth, so did the demand for luxuries of all kinds The growth of the Roman Empire and the spread of the Roman bureaucracy also increased demand for the same sorts of products throughout the vast territories as officials tried to maintain the lifestyle they had enjoyed in Italy This demand necessitated a complex web of shipping routes and the facilities and techniques necessary to store goods of all kinds Although Roman writers liked to recall the good old days when their ancestors lived on pulmentarium (stew or porridge made of grains or beans), bread was the most important item in the Roman diet Although spelt, barley, or rye could be used to make bread, wheat made the best loaves Unfortunately, wheat was not a crop that grew well in Italy North Africa and especially Egypt were the major exporters of wheat throughout the ancient Mediterranean, and trade routes from the ports of the African coast to Ostia were vital to the survival of Rome However, as the wheat would first be stored, then shipped to Rome by boat, and then stored at Rome, some method of processing grain for storage was essential In order to avoid spoilage, grain must be kept in a cool, dry, and dark place These places must also be designed to keep out such vermin as mice or rats, which would eat or contaminate the food In the drier areas of the Mediterranean, such as Spain, the grain could be stored in underground pits that were lined with straw and tightly sealed The Roman author Varro (116–27 b.c.e.) also mentions that the farmers of Thrace stored their grain in caves In northern Spain and southern Gaul, the grain was stored in huge terra-cotta jars called pithoi or in silos Varro also suggests using above-ground granaries that were ventilated by windows and raised up on wooden supports to allow air circulation Another ancient description of these granaries mentions that they had brick walls feet thick and were accessed from above The author of that description also states that amurca, the dregs of pressed olives, should be incorporated into all the tiles and plaster used to seal the granaries in order to discourage vermin Wherever Roman legions went, they built large granaries, sometimes intended to hold enough food to last through a yearlong siege These were originally built of timber, but after Trajan’s (r 98–117 c.e.) time stone granaries became more common In either case, the grain was probably stored in sacks or baskets rather than piled loosely in chambers 1069 The containers would have made the job of measuring out rations much easier and would have served as barrier to vermin The biggest civil granaries were undoubtedly those at Ostia, where the grain from Africa was delivered Two types of granaries have been excavated at Ostia: a building consisting of long, narrow rooms facing a courtyard and two rows of rooms opening off a central corridor Some granaries show evidence of stairs leading to an upper floor Archaeologists are confident that grain was stored on the lower floors, but grain was of course only one of the items that could be stored in these buildings A number of methods of preserving food were known to the ancient Romans, and the choice of which one to use depended on the local climate and the type of food being stored Drying, salting, smoking, and pickling were the most common ways of preserving food Some fruits, like grapes, figs and dates, naturally lent themselves to drying without loss of flavor They could also be packed in honey or in a mixture or honey and boiled wine Beans, peas, lentils, and pulses were also dried, while cucumbers and olives were pickled in brine Fish and meat were often salted by being immersed in brine, although in the hot, dry areas of the empire they could also have been wind-dehydrated Pickling food could be done using beer vinegar, fig vinegar, wine vinegar, wine, and sour milk The increased acidity of the food discourages the growth of bacteria, as does alcohol As the Romans did not use distilled alcohol, wine or even beer could be used to preserve foods Pork was the most popular meat for upper-class Romans, but it did not keep well and care had to be taken to preserve it soon after slaughtering To salt the meat, ancient authors recommend rubbing it with coarse salt each day for 12 days For the first three days, between rubbings, it was kept pressed under weights to squeeze out excess moisture Sometimes this step could be followed by further drying or smoking Pork could also be salted in jars The deboned pieces of meat were jammed into the jars and layered with salt until the container was crammed full Then it was sealed tightly The same methods were used to prepare salt fish In the 1990s some archaeologists experimented with using spices to preserve food They discovered that cinnamon, cumin, onion, and especially garlic slowed or even stopped the growth of microorganisms that would cause food to spoil Black pepper, on the other hand, was not very effective in stopping bacterial growth Although there were ice houses in the ancient world, they were not always available Therefore, the Romans developed other methods of keeping the color, scent, and shape of preserved foods: They prevented any air from reaching the food and starting the process of decay There are a number of different techniques described by the ancient writer Columella (first century c.e.) For example, he states that if grapes are picked with their stems on, the ends of the stems should be sealed with pitch to keep out the air This method is also recommended by other ancient authors for apples, quinces, cherries, plums, and pears Quinces and pomegranates could