The Food and Fodder Supply to Roman Quarry Settlements in the Eastern Desert of Egypt

Abstract

The analysis of botanical remains from two Roman quarry settlements has demonstrated that, despite their location in the remote Eastern Desert of Egypt, the workforce had access to a healthy and well-balanced diet, comprising carbohydrates, protein, sugars, fats, minerals and vitamins. Both staple foods and luxuries have been identified, demonstrating that the food supply to these sites was concerned with much more than basic survival and human nutrition. Some of the foods were supplied in kind, but the workmen also received a salary with which purchases of further foods, luxuries and other goods could be made. Remarkably, some foods, i.e. vegetables, were locally grown, highlighting the value attached to fresh 'greens'. The results provide new evidence for a highly developed food economy in Roman Egypt, able to support substantial non-agricultural communities.

Origin and emergence of the sweet dessert watermelon,Citrullus lanatus

“…to those from the Roman period at Qusayr al-Qadim have also been reported from the Roman outpost of Mons Claudians in Egypt, an inland site $300 km to the south, in the eastern desert(van der Veen, 1999). Seeds of Citrullus dating to the second century CE have been found in a cave above the Dead Sea near 'En Gedi in eastern Israel…”

Upper Egypt: vegetation at the beginning of the third millennium BC inferred from charcoal analysis at Adaïma and Elkab

“…For instance, C. procera is known from charcoal analysis only at two sites: in the Libyan desert around 7000 uncal. BP (Abu Ballas/ Mudpans, [31]) and in the Arabic desert during the Roman period (Mons Claudianus, [47]) and as a single fruit remain prior to the Roman period, at Helwan (I. dynasty, [22]). …”