Dear All,

Please find below a call for papers that may be of interest to some list members. If you wish to submit a paper for consideration, please contact me ([log in to unmask]) with a title and c.300 word abstract by Jan 22. 

Best wishes,

Jo

Celtic Classics Conference, 22-25 June 2016 

University College Dublin

From Farm to Fork: Producing, Distributing and Controlling Ancient Mediterranean Agricultural Resources

Dr C. Trainor (UCD School of Classics) and Dr J. Day (UCD School of Classics)

The currently popular concept of “From Farm to Fork" seeks to connect the modern urban consumer with rural farmers and other food producers, and reflects a contemporary concern with how our food is produced and distributed. This panel will explore a similar theme for the Classical world: how agriculture and agricultural resources were produced, packaged, distributed and controlled.

While Classical dining practices have been studied extensively (the "fork" end of the process!), and landscape archaeology has filled in our picture of the size, extent and number of farms in the Classical world, the practices in between are less well known. Harvesting, processing, storage, transhipment and packaging, resource management and control, and even cooking were all essential aspects in getting food from the producer to the consumer. Drawing on textual, epigraphic, archaeological and ethnographic data, as well as theoretical approaches, this panel will address the underexplored space between the farm and the fork, with key areas of interest being:

·      The management and control of agricultural resources

·      The personnel involved in all stages of the process

·      The mechanisms for distribution of agricultural products

·      Storage of foodstuffs

·      Processing procedures, including food preservation

·      Cooking