came about in thefirst millenniumbchave only begun to attract the
same level of scientific sampling and analysis during the last two decades.
Valamoti has identified einkorn, one of the early varieties of domesti-
cated wheat, together with the grass pea, as the distinctive staples of the
northern diet, with a marked distribution in Macedonia and Thrace
during the Neolithic and Bronze Age. Spelt wheat, the Celtic bean, and
other legumes, as well as the opium poppy, were added to the repertoire
of cereals and legumes over the course of the Bronze Age (through
contacts with more northerly continental peoples), while millet made
an early appearance in northern regions and became widespread in the
Late Bronze Age. Valamoti has postulated a common origin for millet
alongside domesticated horses. Perhaps riders helped to disseminate the
new cereal.^37
The archaeological and archaeobotanical evidence from Tria Platania,
Komboloi, Krania, and a number of other country houses in Pieria and
along the Aegean coast of Thrace presents a much clearer idea of how
dietary regimes developed in the second half of thefirst millenniumbc.
In contrast to the intensive production of wine at Komboloi, at Tria
Platania the dominant stored foodstuff was olive oil or preserved olives,
although grapes and wine, pulses (lentils, peas, and beans), hulled barley,
and pine nuts were also stored. Archaeobotanical samples were particu-
larly well represented in the north wing of the complex at Tria Platania.
The dominant cereal remains included durum wheat (Triticum aesti-
vum), spelt wheat (Triticum spelta), oats (Avena sativa), and rye (Secale
cereale).
It is not clear whether the presence of einkorn and emmer, which were
dominant earlier in prehistory, but had been superseded by free-threshing
durum-type wheat variants during thefirst millenniumbc, represent
‘contaminants’or weeds, or were simply fodder material. The range of
pulses—lentils (Lens culinaris), peas (Pisum sativum), Celtic beans (Vicia
faba), bitter vetch (Vicia ervilia), and grass pea (Lathyrus sativus)—can
be matched at other sites in the east Balkans where similar evidence is
forthcoming, which seems to confirm the continuing existence of a
distinctive‘northern’dietary mix.^38 Bitter vetch is a nutritious plant
but toxic when eaten raw. The seeds have traditionally been used as
animal fodder, which probably explains their presence at the estate,
whereas the other pulses may well represent a major component source
of regular nutrition alongside cereals. The legumes had to be soaked and
(^37) Valamoti 2007, 98–102.
(^38) Tria Platania: Margaritis 2006; Popova 1996; and Popova 2002 (Adjiyska Vodenitsa,
Vetren); 2005 (Koprivlen, near Gotse Delchev).
Dining cultures 285