2,000-year-old fig unearthed in Ireland marks ‘oldest example of an exotic fruit’ discovered in the area

A fig dating backmost 2,000 years agone was recovered during excavations of Drumanagh successful Dublin. The uncovering shines airy connected the foods that were traded betwixt the Roman Empire and Ireland thousands of years ago. 

The 2,000-year-old fig is 1 of galore items that person been unearthed during excavations successful the area. Among different finds see metallic and ceramic objects, arsenic good arsenic further nutrient remains, according to University College Dublin's merchandise astir the past find. Food remains were capable to enactment preserved owed to their burned condition. 

The past fig provides caller insights into the goods traded betwixt the Roman Empire and Ireland. 

Pictured supra displays details of the seeds embedded wrong the charred fig from the Drumanagh excavation. (Historic England)

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"Fig seeds dating to arsenic acold backmost arsenic the 13th period person been recovered from excavations of medieval Dublin, Cork and different towns," Professor Merial McClatchie, manager of the UCD Ancient Foods probe radical astatine UCD School of Archaeology, said per the quality release. 

The past find is simply a first-of-its benignant for Ireland. 

"An existent effect has ne'er been recovered successful Ireland until now, but what is astir important astir the Drumanagh fig is its antiquity. It is without parallel successful Ireland and is by acold the oldest illustration of an exotic effect recovered here," McClatchie said. 

Trade routes betwixt the Roman Empire and Ireland allowed for the speech of food. Before this find, it was chartless by researchers that figs made their mode to Ireland thousands of years ago. 

The squad progressive successful the Drumanagh excavation were capable to unearth a scope of past items astatine the location. (Christine Baker, Fingal County Council)

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"It’s thrilling to ideate idiosyncratic enjoying specified an exotic food present successful Ireland truthful agelong ago," McClatchie said, per the quality release. 

The excavations of Drumanagh person been led by Christine Baker, Heritage serviceman and archaeologist astatine Fingal County Council. 

She and her squad were capable to unearth galore past objects beyond nutrient remains. All the finds unneurotic person helped researchers amended recognize however radical successful Ireland lived thousands of years ago. 

"Our excavations person revealed much of the communicative of those surviving and moving astatine Drumanagh," said Baker per the quality release. "We present cognize determination was an importation, not conscionable of goods but of lifestyle. By these windswept cliffs radical were consuming spelt bread, olive lipid and figs, drinking from solid vessels and good ceramic cups portion wearing brooches and solid beads. The grounds truthful acold points to a transportation with Chester/Wirral country of Roman Britain during the archetypal 200 years of the Roman conquest." 

Pictured supra is the charred fig recovered during the Drumanagh excavation. (Historic England)

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Ireland has been a determination afloat of food-related finds done the years. Another caller illustration of an past find successful Ireland came from County Donegal, wherever a husbandman recovered a 60-pound slab of bog butter connected his onshore by means helium called "pure luck." 

He recovered the bog food aft discovering a "cheesy" scent successful the air. While bog food is not considered an incredibly uncommon find successful the area, with astir 500 finds recorded successful Ireland, it was much unsocial successful its size. 

The 60-pound slab was described arsenic 1 that could beryllium "one of the biggest chunks of bog food recovered successful Ireland to date," according to Paula Harvey, an archaeologist who visited the site, per The Irish News. 

"It was conscionable by axenic luck that we came crossed it," Micheal Boyle, who recovered the bog food said, per the Irish Examiner, explaining that helium saw thing successful the ground, and was surrounded by a "cheesy smell," starring him to rapidly reason what helium had discovered.