peratures, bright sunshine, and low humidity were needed, so
drying was not always possible. Accordingly, the ancient Eu-
ropeans turned to a related technique, smoking, particularly
for meat and fi sh. Smoke contains a number of substances
that bind to the surface of the cells of meat products, allow-
ing them to resist the action of bacteria. While meat and fi sh
would normally spoil aft er perhaps a week, smoked meat and
fi sh could be consumed safely for three months or more.
Similarly, storing meat, fi sh, and vegetables in brine—
that is, a concentrated solution of water and salt—provided
similar protection against microbes. Salt was a highly valued
commodity in ancient Europe, and the salt-producing region
of Austria near the modern-day city of Salzburg (salz means
“salt” in German) enjoyed a great deal of wealth by mining it.
Th e ancient Gauls sold salted pork to the Romans. Salt was
especially valuable to the Scandinavian cultures of northern
Europe, whose diet included a great deal of fi sh that had to be
stored during winter months, when bodies of water were fro-
zen over or too stormy to allow fi shing. A related technique
was the use of spices to preserve food; modern scientists
have shown that some spices eff ectively fi ght the formation
of harmful bacteria. In ancient Europe, however, spices were
extremely valuable commodities, available only from Arab
traders. Th e average person probably would not have had ac-
cess to spices, although the elite would have.
Th e ancient Europeans, again in common with the rest
of the world, needed reliable sources of wholesome bever-
ages that would not become stale and brackish in storage.
Fermented beverages, such as beer and wine, provided them
with drinkable liquids throughout the year. Of course, the
Europeans by no means invented fermented beverages, but
they did introduce the wooden barrel as a way of storing and
transporting wine and beer.
Th e ancient Europeans devoted considerable resources
to the storing of food. In common with other cultures of the
world, they used caves where they could. Caves have the ad-
vantage of being at a constant cool temperature, with reliable
humidity levels. Caves were the earliest form of root cellars
and were particularly useful for the storing of root vegetables
as well as fruits.
Where caves were not available, the Europeans con-
structed granaries and other facilities for the storage of food,
particularly for grain. Th roughout the Celtic lands of west-
ern Europe and the British Isles, for example, archaeologists
have uncovered a large number of hill forts and, in Scotland,
brochs (circular stone fortifi cations) that date from the Iron
Age. Th ese hill forts were settlements that housed up to sev-
eral hundred people, though sometimes they were occupied
seasonally or provided a place of refuge for people and their
livestock in times of war. Th ese hill forts were administrative
centers for the surrounding region, and one of the major func-
tions they served was that of food storage and preservation.
In England, for example, hill forts such as Danebury
have been found with massive grain-storage capacity. Many
of these hill forts were built on chalk subsoil, and in their in-teriors were pits used for food storage, as underground grain
silos. Normally, the moisture of an underground pit would
cause any grain stored in them to rot. However, the Europe-
ans may have found a solution to the problem. Th e grain was
poured into the pit, and then the pit was covered with an air-
tight clay seal. Th e seal was then covered with dirt to keep the
seal from drying and cracking. Th e grain in contact with the
moist earth of the pit germinated, consuming all the oxygen
in the pit and releasing carbon dioxide. Because the seal was
airtight, no further oxygen could enter. Th e remainder of the
grain, then, was preserved in a state of “suspended anima-
tion.” In this way it could have been preserved for months, as
long as the seal remained intact.GREECE
BY LYN GREEN
From the Minoans and Mycenaeans (2600–1100 b.c.e.) of the
Bronze Age to the Hellenistic Greek world more than a thou-
sand years later there were many similarities in food storage
and preservation. No matter what the time period, the stor-
age needs of the people did not change. For the short term,
food had to be stored before eating or before it was redistrib-
uted through rations. An example of medium-term storage
was putting aside an amount of food to last through the gaps
between growing seasons or before it was exported or other-
wise used in trade. Farmers also had to put aside enough seed
each year to plant the next season’s crop, and prudent house-
holders a nd cit y r u lers put aside food in case of fa mine or wa r.
Th ese were examples of long-term storage in large volumes.
Although both seed for planting and food put aside against
famine were both problems in long-term and large-volume
storage, there was one signifi cant diff erence. When it was
time for crop planting, the storage areas for seeds would be
emptied until the end of season. Th ere was no need to worry
about contamination or spoilage of food that was now open
to air. Th is may have aff ected the choice of container or struc-
ture for storage.
Tablets from the palaces of Crete and Greece in the
Bronze Age show that palatial structures served as ware-
houses for goods and food items from the surrounding coun-
tryside. Olives, olive oil, grain, honey, fruit, and meat all were
stored there. Grains such as wheat and barley were some-
times kept in palace courtyards in huge pottery vessels called
pithoi. Th ere were also other means of storing grain. Th e
earliest forms of storage were probably pits lined with clay
or stone. Th ey would have been kept tightly sealed to keep
out air and vermin, such as rats and mice. Th ere is much dis-
agreement among scholars about the purpose of some of the
large pits excavated at places like Knossos and whether they
would have been an effi cient way to store grain, because it
might have been diffi cult to keep out pests and mold-causing
moisture. It is generally agreed, however, that these large pits
would have been most suitable for long-term storage. Clay
bins were also used for keeping grain. Sometimes, however,storage and preservation: Greece 10670895-1194_Soc&Culturev4(s-z).i1067 1067 10/10/07 2:30:57 PM