Galerie Muséale INRAP

Let's eat!

The meal in Gallo-Roman times

In Gallo-Roman times, the populations that inhabited Gaul added to their habits those of the Romans who conquered the territory. To find out how these populations lived, archaeologists study the traces left by them in the ground: objects, but also remains of buildings or roads, and even seeds or animal bones. The meal was an important part of the life of the Gallo-Romans, as today.
Thanks to archaeology, we can answer many questions about it:
How was the food produced? How was the food cooked?
How was the food eaten?

When was the Gallo-Roman period?

Illustration : Peinture aux Cadeaux (xenia). Lyon (69) - Lugdunum, Musée et Théâtres romains.

1. Wheat, meat, fish

How was food produced?

Agriculture has existed in Europe since the VIIᵉ millennium BCE, long before the Gallo-Roman era. So the Gallo-Romans knew how to cultivate the land to grow plants to eat after they were harvested and prepared. They raised animals, like cows for their milk or sheep for their wool, but also for their meat. Hunting and fishing also provided food. Much of the food was produced on farms, the largest and most beautiful of which were called villae.

Illustration : Proposition de restitution de la villa de Beaudisson.

Agriculture

Part of a fork, metal, 25 cm long. Nantes [44] Musée Dobrée.
Gallo-Roman farmers cultivated the land with various tools, such as this fork, which is now deformed and has a missing wooden handle. These tools were used in particular to cultivate wheat, which was the basis of the diet in Gallo-Roman times. The Gallo-Romans also grew vegetables, fruit, and vines to make wine.

Discover the tools

From wheat to flour

Stone grindstone, 13 cm in diameter.Nantes [44] Musée Dobrée.
To turn wheat into flour, a grindstone like this one was used. The millstone was in two parts: a stationary part, the meta, seen here, and a movable part, the catillus that rotated on top. The movable part was rotated by hand, which crushed the grains against the immovable part, to reduce them to powder.

How does a grinding wheel work?

Breeding

Lamp in the shape of a rooster or peacock, 8 cm high, metal with glass inlay. Besançon [25] Musée des Beaux Arts et d'Archéologie.

This oil lamp could represent a rooster or a peacock. These two birds were raised in Gallo-Roman times for their meat. Peacock meat was even considered a luxurious dish in Roman Gaul.

Fishing

Tuna vertebrae discovered in Marseille, 12 cm high. Marseille [13] - Musée d'Histoire de Marseille.

In Gallo-Roman times, people also ate fish, which they caught in the seas and rivers. These tuna vertebrae were found during excavations in the ancient port of Massalia, which is now Marseille, on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. They have traces of cutting, which show that the fish were prepared as soon as the fishing boat returned to port.

2. Shopping around

The Gallo-Romans set up their stalls around the forum (central square surrounded by covered galleries). There they could find vegetables and fruits produced locally (market gardening, orchards) or imported from other regions or countries thanks to trade, as well as cheese, wine, honey, spices or olive oil.

Illustration : Évocation d'une galerie portique à colonnade le long d'une rue gallo-romaine à Orléans (Loiret).

The drink

Left: Wine amphora, terracotta, 45.5 cm high.Nantes [44] Musée Dobrée.
Tonneau. Lyon (69) - Lugdunum, Museum and Roman Theaters.

Liquids like wine were transported and sold in amphorae. Made of terracotta and often fitted with handles or handles, they sometimes traveled very far by boat. They could contain about thirty liters and were closed by a wooden stopper. Some could hold several hundred liters. They were often thrown away once emptied of their contents, and sometimes crushed to be reused as building material.

Transporter

Lead merchandise label, 3.3 x 1.6 cm. Clermont-Ferrand (63) - Musée Bargoin.

Containers of the time were not transparent, so one could not see what was inside. They were identified by labels. This one had inscriptions on both sides and was attached to the object by a tie. The goods came from all over the Roman Empire, which occupied the entire Mediterranean and much of Europe.

Buying and selling

Gold coin, diameter 2 cm. Marseille [13] - Musée d'Histoire de Marseille.

Coins were issued under the control of the Emperor. They were made of bronze, silver or gold and did not have the same value. On their face were often engraved the head of the Emperor and inscriptions.

Controlling the goods

Wooden customs officer's tablet, 14.7 x 9.6 cm. Marseille [13] - Musée d'Histoire de Marseille.

Some goods sometimes came from other countries. Their entry was controlled and taxed by customs officers using wax-covered tablets on which they wrote the value collected.

3. In the kitchen

The kitchen of a Gallo-Roman house was generally equipped with a hearth made of rectangular clay slabs, either full or raised by arches or pillars. The upper part, hollowed out, was used to hold the embers on which the food was cooked. Each cooking utensil corresponds to the way in which the meals were prepared and the shape of the pots speaks of their use: grilling, boiling, roasting, frying, sautéing, simmering. The Gallo-Romans often cooked fried chicken with olive oil, roasted meat drizzled with honey, fish sauces seasoned with salt, bell pepper, vinegar, wine, honey or mint, cakes and porridges prepared with cereals, vegetables, flat or round bread.

Illustration : Ensemble mobilier d'une sépulture. Clermont-Ferrand (63) - Musée Bargoin

Keeping liquids

Two-handled jug, terracotta, 24 cm high. Périgueux [24] -Vesunna, site-musée gallo-romain.

The meals of the Gallo-Romans were generally accompanied by wine, water or milk preserved or carried in jugs. Oils were also kept in them for cooking. The best known and most widespread were small containers with a spout and a handle opposite the spout. Those with two handles, less numerous, were also present. Given their small size, they could be moved and transported easily. They were very useful for people who worked in farms or orchards.

Patties on the menu

Oven dish, terracotta, 1.7 cm high. Périgueux [24] -Vesunna, site-musée gallo-romain.

Staple foods such as cakes or bread were prepared by housewives for middle-class families, or by servants for wealthy families.
It was a little later that bakeries appeared with the development of bread ovens. But this did not change their habits. To cook their cakes, they used a clay container (oven dish), which they put on an open fire, under a mobile bell or in a fixed construction.

An ancestor of the barbecue

Tripod vase, terracotta, 12 cm high.Périgueux [24] -Vesunna, site-musée gallo-romain.

The so-called tripod vases are very particular. Thanks to their feet, one could do without using the fireplace as with ordinary vases. All one had to do was to put the embers underneath, and then start cooking the sauces. The three feet allowed the air to circulate between the embers and the bottom of the vase to prevent the fire from being smothered.

Boil

Terracotta cooking pot, 12 cm high.Perigueux [24] -Vesunna, site-musée gallo-romain.

The cooking pot represents the oldest and most common form in the Roman china cabinet. It was used to cook fluid and liquid dishes, especially cereal porridges, common dishes in Gallo-Roman cuisine. It was also used to boil meat before it was simmered with vegetables in sauce.

Grind

Mortar, terracotta, 9 cm high.Périgueux [24] -Vesunna, site-musée gallo-romain.

To obtain a dish to their taste, the Gallo-Romans used a lot of spices crushed using a mortar and pestle. Held in the hand, the pestle was used to crush these spices against the bottom of the mortar made rougher with large grains of sand to the clay during the manufacturing process. The mortar was replaced by the vegetable mill and the grater in some of its uses.

4. At mealtime

The Gallo-Romans had only one big meal a day: breakfast (jentaculum) which was light, as well as the midday snack (prandium) whether at home or in a tavern were composed essentially of cheese, fruit, bread soaked in wine.
It was dinner (cena), at dusk (so very early in the winter), was the most important meal of the day. It consisted of at least three courses: the hors d'oeuvres (gustatio) composed of vegetables, fish or eggs, accompanied by a honeyed and flavored wine (mulsum). Then the first course (prima mensa): with meat or fish in sauce, rich in spices and aromatics, accompanied by vegetables. Finally the dessert (secunda mensa) with fruit and cakes.

Illustration : Céramiques sigillées et moule. Lyon (69) - Lugdunum, Musée et Théâtres romains.

Serving containers

Serving pot, terracotta, 11 cm high.Périgueux [24] -Vesunna, site-musée gallo-romain.

The containers are different to store food and to serve at the table. Most often, Gallo-Roman tableware is made of terracotta or wood, but it can also be made of precious metal (bronze, silver,...) or glass for the wealthier. Remains of tableware are often found in archaeological excavations, which uncover houses or manufacturing workshops - like this clay serving pot.

Discover the work of the potter
Discover the work of the ceramologists

The cutlery

Bone spoon, 3.8 cm long. Epinal [88] Musée Départemental d'Art Ancien et Contemporain.

At mealtime, once the food is brought on trays, one serves oneself directly in the cooking vessels or else in the serving dishes. There is no individual cutlery. The forks and knives exist but are only used for serving. One eats with the fingers for meat, with a spoon for soups and porridges, and the cochlear -a spoon with a long pointed handle-for tasting eggs and shellfish.

Glass tableware

Square glass bottle. Epernay [51] Museum of Champagne Wine and Regional Archaeology.
Glass bowl. Marseille (13) - Museum of History of Marseille.

Glass is made from sand; the technique has been mastered for a long time, but it is during the Roman period that the blowing rod was invented. This technique will allow to produce in large quantities. The Romans also learned to make colorless glass. Thus the use of glass spreads. It was adopted for tableware because it had the advantage over ceramic or bronze of not altering the taste of the food. Bottles, vases, cups, glasses, goblets and flasks were found with a wide variety of decorations, colors and shapes.

The history of glass

To drink!

Oenochoe, terracotta, 19 x 16 cm.Périgueux [24] -Vesunna, site-musée gallo-romain.

After being transported and stored in amphorae, the wine is mixed with water in a crater and then served at the table in oenochoes - pitchers with a handle and a spout. This one, made of clay, is quite simple, but we could find very decorated oenochoés. The Gallo-Romans drank a lot of wine. The art of making wine was brought by the Greeks to Marseilles and the whole of Gaul became a wine region, to the point of competing with Roman wines. Wine is drunk mixed with water (sometimes sea water) and can be flavored with honey, spices and herbs. It is considered healthy and even children drink it!

Baby food

Bottle or breast pump, ceramic, 6 cm high. Périgueux [24] -Vesunna, Gallo-Roman site-museum.

Until the age of 2, babies were breastfed or fed with sheep's milk in a terracotta or glass bottle. Several have been found like this one: they look like a small jug with a handle, ending in a spout. Then, as soon as the child has teeth, the milk is gradually replaced by solid food. The child eats very early the same food as the adults.

5. Celebrating: banquets

Daily meals were usually eaten standing up or sitting on a stool around a table. Banquets or feasts gathering many guests were also organized by the richest Gallo-Romans.
During these festive meals, the guests could discuss, listen to music, and even dance or play games.
These banquets were held in a dining room called the triclinium, where guests ate reclined on benches arranged around a table. This dining room was richly decorated with murals and mosaics on the floor, and the dishes that accompanied these meals were also luxurious.

Illustration : Stèle funéraire de la fille de Mascellio. Périgueux [24] -Vesunna, site-musée gallo-romain.

Receiving guests

Gift painting (xenia), painted plaster, 2.43m high. Lyon (69) - Lugdunum, Musée et Théâtres romains.

This remnant of a fresco found in a house depicts a still life painted on a small board fitted with shutters and suspended by ribbons. A rooster, with its legs tied, sits on a shelf with two fruits, a jug decorated with a ribbon, two fish and a hare sit in the right foreground. These are gifts of hospitality (xenia) that the host offered to guests. This fresco therefore probably adorned a reception room or dining room.

Luxury cutlery

Knife handle, ivory, 2.2 cm high. Rennes (35) - Musée de Bretagne.

In Gallo-Roman times, knife handles were generally found fashioned from animal bones or even deer or roe antlers, but the most luxurious were carved from ivory. This one represents Pan, the god of hunters and herds in Greek mythology.

Decorated tableware

Cup decorated with a hunting decoration, terracotta, 8.5 cm high. Périgueux [24] -Vesunna, Gallo-Roman site-museum.

This type of red ceramic vase characteristic of Roman antiquity is called sigillated ceramic. This ceramic, first produced in Italy, is then manufactured in large quantities in Roman Gaul. This bowl, which was intended for table service, is distinguished by a decoration in relief that represents animals chasing others.

Gallo-Roman recipes

Discover some recipes

Acknowledgements

This exhibition was created by the student curators of the Institut National du Patrimoine as part of the European Archaeology Days 2022.

Joséphine Bivigou-Moutsinga
Axelle Chabroux
Sabari Christian Dao
Ingrid Junillon
Agnès Villain

Drawing : Greg Blondin , color : Manon
Animation : IdéesCulture

Permanent exhibition locations of the objects presented :

Besançon [25] Musée des Beaux Arts et d'Archéologie.
Clermont-Ferrand [63] - Musée Bargoin.
Epernay [51]- Musée du vin de Champagne et d'Archéologie régionale.
Epinal [88] - Departmental Museum of Ancient and Contemporary Art.
Lyon [69] - Lugdunum, Museum and Roman Theaters.
Marseille [13]- Musée d'Histoire de Marseille.
Nantes [44] - Dobrée Museum / Great Heritage of Loire-Atlantique.
Périgueux [24] -Vesunna, site-musée gallo-romain.
Rennes [35] - Brittany Museum.

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