Discovery of a 2000-year-old fig in Co. Dublin highlights ancient trade links with the Roman Empire
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A team of professional archaeologists and volunteers taking part in the fourth season of the community excavation at Drumanagh Credit: Christine Baker, Heritage Officer/Archaeologist at Fingal County Council.
An extraordinary new archaeological find has extended our taste for exotic foods even further back in time. A collaboration between Fingal County Council and UCD School of Archaeology's Meriel McClatchie has unearthed the charred remains of a fig that is almost 2000 years old. This is by far the oldest find of an exotic fruit from Ireland. How did a fig make its way from distant lands to a field in Fingal almost two millennia ago?
Archaeological and historical evidence indicates that Ireland has a long history of international food trade. Traded produce included staples such as crops and butter, as well as exotic items, like the grapes, almonds and figs imported into Ireland by traders almost a millennium ago and consumed by wealthier members of society.
The Roman Empire ruled large parts of Europe, and the establishment of extensive trading routes means that Roman-style foods became widely available across the Empire, including new herbs and spices, nuts such as almonds, and fruits such as grapes, dates and figs. The power of the Roman Empire did not extend into Ireland, however, but there is tantalising archaeological evidence for trade between Ireland and the Roman Empire around this time.
A key trading post was located at the headland of Drumanagh in north Co. Dublin. For the past few years, Christine Baker, the Heritage Officer/Archaeologist at Fingal County Council has led an excavation at Drumanagh, where her team has uncovered extensive evidence for craft and domestic activities, including metal and ceramic objects that originated in Roman Spain, Gaul and Britain, as well as objects that reflect locally based activities.
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The charred fig from Drumanagh (image by Ruth Pelling; photographed using AHRC-funded Keyence VHX7000 3-D digital microscope at x 30 magnification, AHRC Award AH/V011758/1).
The excavation at Drumanagh has also yielded the remains of plant foods eaten here almost 2,000 years ago. This material has survived because it was burnt, which enabled its preservation until it was dug up by archaeologists. Analysis of this material by Earth Institute Deputy Director Meriel McClatchie (UCD School of Archaeology) has revealed the presence of significant quantities of spelt wheat, reflecting a cereal that was rare in Ireland's past, but was a staple of Roman Britain. An exciting new find has further emphasised Drumanagh's links with favourite foods of the Roman Empire. A large, charred fragment of a fig fruit has just been discovered.
Meriel McClatchie said:
"This is a very rare and ancient find. Fig seeds dating to as far back as the 13th century have been recovered from excavations of medieval Dublin, Cork and other towns. An actual fruit has never been found until now, but what is most important about the Drumanagh fig is its antiquity. It is without parallel in Ireland. Figs were traded across the Roman Empire, but we did not know until now that they made it all the way to Ireland. Finds of fig elsewhere in northern Europe are thought to reflect imports from southern Europe, and it is likely that this new Irish discovery travelled a similar distance. It’s thrilling to imagine someone enjoying such an exotic food here in Ireland so long ago."
Christine Baker noted:
“Our excavations at Drumanagh have revealed more of the story of those living and working at Drumanagh. We now know there was an importation, not just of goods but of lifestyle. By these windswept cliffs people were consuming spelt bread, olive oil and figs, drinking from glass vessels and fine ceramic cups while wearing brooches and glass beads. Who where these people? The evidence so far is pointing to a connection with Chester/Wirral area of Roman Britain during the first 200 years of the Roman conquest.”
About the excavation at Drumanagh
Drumanagh promontory fort is a nationally important Iron Age archaeological site and is of international significance in terms of Ireland’s relationship with the Roman world. The site consists of a headland of c.46 acres defended by a series of earthworks – three closely-spaced earthen banks and ditches. Fingal County Council took ownership of the site at the end of 2016.
Building on the Drumanagh Conservation Study and Management Plan 2018–2023, the Digging Drumanagh project was developed. The Drumanagh Archaeological Advisory Group, comprising members of national heritage institutions and the country’s universities, has been formed to help develop the research objectives for the site. Funded by Fingal County Council with support from the Heritage Council, the ethos of community participation and knowledge sharing is central to the future protection of the site.
Further information
Fingal County Council: Digging Drumanagh
Baker, Christine. “DIGGING DRUMANAGH.” Archaeology Ireland, vol. 33, no. 1, 2019, pp. 26–29. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/26844443.
UCD News: Discovery of a 2000-year-old fig reveals Ireland’s ancient international food trade
