Ancient Fishing and Fish Processing in the Black Sea Region
A part of the series Black Sea Studies (2) , and the subject areas Classical studies and Archaeology (classical)
Edited by
Tønnes Bekker-Nielsen
More about the book
About the book
This volume challenges the orthodox view that fishing and fish played only a marginal role in the economy of the ancient world. In fact, there is archaeological evidence for ancient fish processing on a commercial scale not only in the Mediterranean itself, but also on the Atlantic coast and in the Black Sea region, especially the Crimea. Our literary sources testify to the widespread culinary and medicinal use of salted fish and fermented fish sauces in antiquity, and especially in the first centuries AD. In this book, the authors assess the present state of research on ancient fishing and discuss its implications for the history of the Black Sea region, especially the period of Greek colonization along its shores. While grain has traditionally been viewed as the main export commodity of the Pontic colonies, the existence of salting-vats on the coast of the Crimea indicate production of salt-fish or fish sauce on a large scale, presumably for export. However, many questions remain unanswered: for instance concerning ownership and organization of the processing facilities, or how the finished product was transported to distant markets.
Table of contents
Excerpt
Sanne Lind Hansen
MA in ethnography and classical archeology and trained at the Danish School of Journalism. Sanne primarily works with anthropology, archeology and early history. She is also responsible for foreign sales and commission agreements, and she was once employed at the National Museum (Antiquities).
Press reviews
Martin Gyuzelev, Archaeologia Bulgarica
"[...] fishing and fish processing along the Mediterranean coast have been successfully presented as a result of the publihed volume."
Judy Powell, American Journal of Archaeology
"This collection of papers is both evidence of and an important contribution to the increasing research into fishing and fish processing in antiquity."
"[T]he book contributes to both ancient fishing research and Black Sea studies. It will be a welcome addition to libraries with an interest in either topic."
"This book demonstrates how a multidisciplinary approach can illuminate aspects of human society that might otherwise be neglected."
