Re: France's earliest winery found

On Jul 10, 10:08 am, "Uwe Müller" <uwemuel...@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
"Eric Stevens" <eric.stev...@xxxxxxxxx> schrieb im Newsbeitragnews:l8o6939m2bmfsk2d0bbikk1jj8ff2ka552@xxxxxxxxxx



On Tue, 10 Jul 2007 12:24:51 +0200, "Uwe Müller"
<uwemuel...@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

"Eric Stevens" <eric.stev...@xxxxxxxxx> schrieb im Newsbeitrag
news:c175931bl7v4nciflt8kr9sdp14pootgt4@xxxxxxxxxx
On Mon, 09 Jul 2007 03:34:14 -0700, Jack Linthicum
<jacklinthi...@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Probably started as a means of raising wine grapes on the cheap, away
from the expensive Italian real estate.

France's earliest winery found
July 2, 2007
Chris Mercer

Roman ruins found in southern France have been declared remnants of
the country's earliest known winery.

The large site, built around 10AD, is still surrounded by vines today
on the outskirts of Clermont l'Herault, in the heart of Languedoc wine
country.

'It's really exceptional, and very elaborate,' Stephane Mauné, head of
the site and archaeologist with France's CNRS research institute, told
decanter.com.

Mini craters that once formed the bases of huge pottery wine vessels
sit in neat rows where the old winery building stood. Each one held up
to 1,800l, while irrigation channels show how winemakers used water to
maintain a constant temperature.

A villa, complete with 200m² swimming pool, was attached to the
building.

Mauné said inscriptions named the founder as Quintus Iulius Primus,
who probably came from southern Italy to invest in the region's
burgeoning wine industry.

Romans arrived in Languedoc Roussillon via Narbonne around 118BC.
Historians know that after subduing local tribes the Romans cultivated
vines to send wine back to Italy.

'There was lots of economic development in this area. You have good
access into ancient Gaul and there were ports close by,' Mauné said.

But, in a story reminiscent of France's wine market problems today, it
is thought greater competition eventually sent the winery near
Clermont l'Herault out of business.

Local winemakers now hope to profit from the tourism and prestige the
ancient site could bring. A tourism centre is set to be built, and a
special public viewing will take place on 11 July.
http://www.decanter.com/news/127087.html

The technical complexity of the site suggests a well developed history
of winemaking before it was built. Of course the technology does not
have to have been developed in France. The question is, where did the
the technology come from?

Massilia, a greek colony named Marseille today, was founded around 600
BCE,
afair. Massiliotic amphorae, which probably contained wine, were traded
as
far away as southern Germany in the early 5th c. BCE. So there was
probably
a professional wine production by that time.

Drinking sets, made up of a largish container and matching cups, often
including a ladle and/or strainer, are common in the European Bronce age.
But we don't know if they already drunk wine. These drinking sets keep
appearing in graves till the 3rd c. CE.

It makes sense. can you point me to a reference on these matters/

That's easier said than done. AFAIK there is no standard text on drinking
sets in burials, the debate has ranged for more than 80 years. It started
off with questions about the interpretation of burial goods and today
encompasses the transition from Hallstattkultur D3 to early celtic Art
Latène A, questions of social, political and religious organisation, about
personal and economic contacts.

Any book on bronze age europe that differentiates the diverse cultural
groups into temporal horizons will name numerous examples of such burial
assemblies or from hoards. The same goes for the early iron age. Roman wine
trade is well researched, the richly furnished germanic burials we discussed
earlier in this group usually contained drinking sets.

They have been interpreted as a kit for feasting with after death (the
Walhalla interpretation), as a link between the living and the dead parts of
a family (as in the Chinese example you referred to earlier) or as holy
instruments used by a sacred priest-king in communal rituals (there are
bronze and even golden cups, some vessels are imported and more than 100
years old).

I'd buy the communal feasting thing, but instead of the fancy priest-king
I'd take the local big-man (which can be male or female) as organiser. There
are many settlements that show just one somewhat outstanding place for
feasting, sometimes like a barbecue place surrounded by stakes, sometimes in
or next to a house showing not-normal signs of use. But little research has
been published on settlements. And as to the interpretation of the published
data, there are different opinions.

The english versions of the exhibition catalogues sponsored by the EU about
the Bronze age in Europe and the Celts should provide a starting point and
supply further references. There should be more than enough on roman wine
trade and the richly furnished germanic graves in any archaeologic library.

have fun

Uwe Mueller

Unless you are looking for wine specifically, the fish and fish sauce
trade used the same amphoras and extended as far as the Canary Islands.

.

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