Food and Drink VI

Oyster shells, © FLamiot, <a href='https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:OysterHu%C3%AEtreRecif.jpg'target='_new'>Wikimedia Commons</a>

The Roman author Juvenal writes about oysters being imported to Rome from Britain. Oyster shells are often found on high status Roman sites, as are fishbones.

Archaeologists can also analyse the chemical composition of human bones, which shows whether individuals ate a lot of marine foods. In the British Iron Age people ate hardly any fish but many high status Romans consumed large amounts.


Scientist