boiled, but would have enhanced the blandness of any cereal dish with a
richer taste. Olives were evidently processed elsewhere, rather than in
close proximity to the house, but olives were among the principal
identifiable foodstuffs stored on the estate.
Since neither of the two estates could be fully investigated, and the
associatedfinds have yet to be fully published, the preliminary evidence
has to be considered in qualitative terms. There can be little doubt that
the standard of living at the country house sites was high. The use of
exceptionally large storage containers at Komboloi points to an ambi-
tious plan for quality stored foods within the management strategy of the
estate, while the range of plant residues at Tria Platania indicates a diet
enriched with alternative cereals (hulled barley, rye, oats) and legumes,
and laced with fruits and nuts—sesame (Sesamum indicum); blackberry
(Rubus fruticosus); vine and grape (Vitis vinifera); cornelian cherry
(Cornus mas); pine nut (Pinus pinea); hazelnut (Coryllus avellana);
almond (Amygdalus communis); walnut (Juglans regia); acorn (Quercus).
Danewort (Sambucus ebulus) has poisonous berries, but the leaves have
medicinal uses. Flax plants may have been used for their oil seeds as well
asfibres, while poppies could have served in a range of recipes and
stimulant drinks.^39
In the second half of thefirst millenniumbc, one factor that made the
‘northern’diet distinctive was the wide availability of durum wheat, spelt,
lentils, and grass pea, which would have provided a regular diet of bread
and porridge-like recipes, with an admixture of fruit, nuts, and a variety
of herbs. Pine nuts andfigs provided nutritious and tasty additions.
Thoughfigs in particular occur naturally in Macedonia and the coastal
parts of Aegean Thrace, they would have travelled easily to other parts of
the region.^40 The northern Aegean had its own range of high quality
wines, of which that from Thasos—a heady, dark wine, with afine
bouquet (Arist.Lys. 196) and a scent of apple (Athen. I, 29e)—was
manifestly highly prized, as its southern as well as northern distribution
demonstrates.^41 Mendean wines were also valued and widely dissemin-
ated.^42 Discoveries of significant regional centres of wine production,
such as the country house at Komboloi, show that we should not
underestimate the importance of local wines alongside imported
(^39) Margaritis 2006, 45; Valamoti 2007, 94, 96, on pulses and stimulant substances.
(^40) Margaritis 2006, 34–8, 101.
(^41) Salviat 1986, 147–54; Brunet 1993, 201–11; Grandjean and Salviat 2000, 182–3 with
refs; Brock and Wirtjes 2000, 561; Xen.Symp. 41: in Athens Thasian wine was a symbol of
luxury and was evidently expensive there.
(^42) Brock and Wirtjes 2000, 460, 464, with refs; See Ch.5, 193–248 and nn.14, 20.
286 Dining cultures