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What was a mortarium used for? Organic residues and cultural change in Iron Age and Roman Britain

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 November 2011

Lucy J.E. Cramp ,
Richard P. Evershed  and
Hella Eckardt
Lucy J.E. Cramp
Affiliation:
1Department of Archaeology, University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading RG6 6AB, UK 2Organic Geochemistry Unit, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock's Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, UK (Email for correspondence: [email protected])
Richard P. Evershed
Affiliation:
2Organic Geochemistry Unit, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock's Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, UK (Email for correspondence: [email protected])
Hella Eckardt
Affiliation:
1Department of Archaeology, University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading RG6 6AB, UK
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Extract

The Romans brought the mortarium to Britain in the first century AD, and there has long been speculation on its actual purpose. Using analysis of the residues trapped in the walls of these ‘kitchen blenders’ and comparing them with Iron Age and Roman cooking pots, the authors show that it wasn't the diet that changed — just the method of preparing certain products: plants were being ground in the mortarium as well as cooked in the pot. As well as plants, the mortars contained animal fats, including dairy products. The question that remains, however, is why these natural products were being mixed together in mortaria. Were they for food, pharmaceuticals or face creams?

Keywords

Iron Age and Roman Britainfirst–fourth centuries ADmortariadietlipids
Type
Research article
Information
Antiquity , Volume 85 , Issue 330 , December 2011 , pp. 1339 - 1352
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd 2011

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