In addition to this exotic fruit, the populations who lived there 2,000 years ago consumed olive oil and wine.
In Ireland, the land of tap dancing and the bodhrán (a traditional instrument), scientists from University College Dublin found a piece of blackened material with a rather gruesome appearance. After some thorough research, they discovered that seeds were embedded in the object, and that it was in fact a 2,000-year-old charred fig.
The fruit was found on the east coast, north of Dublin, the country’s capital. For archaeologists, it is proof of an ancient Roman presence on the island, which was thought to be beyond the reach of the famous empire. If they didn’t conquer it, it was probably because of its climate, which may have dampened their long-term colonizing ambitions, suggests the New York Post . But conquest or not, they would have lived there—at least long enough to have brought some of their way of life with them.
Ireland is not a land of figs. In fact, it’s not the land of potatoes either , contrary to popular belief. As for figs, they were first cultivated in eastern Turkey and northern India before being traded in other Mediterranean countries, where the Romans first tasted them.
Spelt was also in Ireland
While historians knew that the Romans were avid fig lovers , it was not known that these little delicacies had crossed the borders of northern Europe to reach the Roman colonies. According to Meriel McClatchie, head of the research group at University College Dublin, the discovery of the fruit was a momentous occasion: “Until now, we had never found an ancient exotic fruit in Ireland. But the most important thing about this fig is its antiquity.”
A large quantity of spelt, a grain that was rare in Ireland’s past but a staple food in Roman Britain, was also found. Overall, the discoveries reveal that the quality of life on the island of Ireland 2,000 years ago was very different from what was previously thought.
The archaeologist in charge of the excavations , Christine Baker, explains: “We now know that there was an importation, not only of goods, but also of a Roman way of life. On these windswept cliffs, people consumed olive oil and figs, and drank wine from glass vessels.”
Researchers believe that figs and spelt arrived in Ireland via the Roman occupation of the Chester & Wirral region in western Britain, which was settled during the first 200 years of the Roman conquest . North of the English Channel, the first Roman settlement on the island of Ireland was Colchester, founded in 49 AD. As for London, called “Londinium” at the time, it was built in 70 AD, also by the Romans.
