A SHORT NOTE ON CEREAL BRAN FROM THE ROMAN FORT AT ANNETWELL STREET, CARLISLE, CUMBRIA.
Author(s): J P Huntley
Cereal bran was extracted from two latrine samples of different periods from the Roman fort at Annetwell Street, Carlisle. It was chemically treated and compared with modern reference material. Wheat/rye bran was the most commonly recovered from both samples although a small amount of both barley and oats were found. Some quantity of corncockle was present in the later material in spite of its poisonous nature. This sample also produced some material identified as a Brassica sp. seed coat. More work is essential to demonstrate if the apparent differences between period 3 and period 5 latrine material are significant. The results shed light upon the Roman military diet which has not been identified elsewhere in Carlisle where, particularly, whole grain identifications have been predominantly of barley, albeit carbonised.
- Report Number:
- 17/1989
- Series:
- AML Reports (New Series)
- Pages:
- 4
- Keywords:
- Grain Plant Remains
