Good taste of Roman slaves
12 April 2012
Roman slaves lived a life of luxury when it came to their diet, researchers have found.
Dr Marijke van der Veen of Leicester University analysed rubbish heaps at a giant quarry in Egypt, where slaves dug marble for temples in Rome. She found they ate an extremely well-balanced diet.
They had dined on artichoke, hazelnuts, walnuts, pine nuts, pomegranate, almonds, figs and pepper imported from India. They also ate lentils, dates, onions, garlic, olives, donkey meat, fish from the Red Sea, and Nile Valley wine.
There was evidence of 50 plants and 20 sources of meat protein. Documents at the site confirm the presence of fruit and vegetable gardens.
