Ancient Fishing and Fish Processing in the Black Sea Region (Black Sea Studies) (Black Sea Studies)

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. Tonnes Bekker-Nielsen teaches ancient history at the University of Southern Denmark, Esbjerg. ISBN......Page 4 Contents......Page 5 Illustrations and Tables......Page 7 Introduction......Page 13 Fish as a Source of Food in Antiquity......Page 21 Sources for Production and Trade of Greek and Roman Processed Fish......Page 31 The Archaeological Evidence for Fish Processing in the Western Mediterranean......Page 47 The Technology and Productivity of Ancient Sea Fishing......Page 83 The Reliability of Fishing Statistics as a Source for Catches and Fish Stocks in Antiquity......Page 97 Fishery in the Life of the Nomadic Population of the Northern Black Sea Area in the Early Iron Age......Page 105 Fish and Money: Numismatic Evidence for Black Sea Fishing......Page 115 The Archaeological Evidence for Fish Processing in the Black Sea Region......Page 133 A Fishy Business: Transport Amphorae of the Black Sea Region as a Source for the Trade in Fish and Fish Products in the Classical and Hellenistic Periods......Page 161 Size Matters: Estimating Trade of Wine, Oiland Fish-Sauce From Amphorae in the First Century AD......Page 171 Abbreviations......Page 183 Bibliography......Page 185 Contributors......Page 205 Index of Persons......Page 207 Index of Places......Page 213 Index of Ancient Sources......Page 219 "This volume challenges the orthodox view that fish products played only a marginal role in the economy of the ancient world. The authors assess the present state of research on ancient fishing generally and discuss its implications for the economic and environmental history of the Black Sea region, especially the Greek settlements on the north coast."--BOOK JACKET