Okay, so, just back from another jaunt to Oxford and saw a wonderful exhibition about feasting and food in Pompeii at the Ashmolean Museum. Of course, it was excellent research for my Roman Mystrade, A Far Flung Corner of the Empire.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Imagine if you will, arriving at the Proconsul's villa, to be greeted in the atrium (above). The garden, or Hortus, was beautifully rendered in computer imaging, showing fountains and statues (below).
The artifacts on display show the wealth of organic matter from the archaeological investigations; grains, fruits, shellfish and nuts. The shells in the bowl (below on,the right) are murex. These were eaten, but they are also where Emperor's Purple dye was derived. Snails would be fed on milk and lettuce to purify them before cooking.
The remains of food are charred but still recognisable. I cannot imagine what those Romans who found themselves in Albion would have thought, missing the wealth and abundance of produce readily available in the homeland; olive oil, murex, sea urchin, citrus fruits, wine. All those would have to be imported, and thus the costs would rise. An aspect of holding feasts was to show off wealth and power. Only the best Terra Sigillata (burnished red clay), silver, and glass tablewares would be in use. Any table in Mycroft's home would use such items.
There were a fair selection of statues, like those in Mycroft's garden, from Bacchus to Mithras. The tomb stones depict people eating and drinking for all eternity. I guess there are worse places to end up.
So next time you read, I hope you get a feel for the atmosphere from reading this, and if you're in the vicinity of Oxford, go take a look. There's a charge to get in but imho well worth it.
