Dataset Information

Chemical evidence for the persistence of wine production and trade in Early Medieval Islamic Sicily.

ABSTRACT: Although wine was unquestionably one of the most important commodities traded in the Mediterranean during the Roman Empire, less is known about wine commerce after its fall and whether the trade continued in regions under Islamic control. To investigate, here we undertook systematic analysis of grapevine products in archaeological ceramics, encompassing the chemical analysis of 109 transport amphorae from the fifth to the eleventh centuries, as well as numerous control samples. By quantifying tartaric acid in relation to malic acid, we were able to distinguish grapevines from other fruit-based products with a high degree of confidence. Using these quantitative criteria, we show beyond doubt that wine continued to be traded through Sicily during the Islamic period. Wine was supplied locally within Sicily but also exported from Palermo to ports under Christian control. Such direct evidence supports the notion that Sicilian merchants continued to capitalize on profitable Mediterranean trade networks during the Islamic period, including the trade in products prohibited by the Islamic hadiths, and that the relationship between wine and the rise of Islam was far from straightforward.

SUBMITTER: Drieu L

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7958205 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Chemical evidence for the persistence of wine production and trade in Early Medieval Islamic Sicily.

Drieu Léa L Orecchioni Paola P Capelli Claudio C Meo Antonino A Lundy Jasmine J Sacco Viva V Arcifa Lucia L Molinari Alessandra A Carver Martin M Craig Oliver E OE

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20210301 10

Although wine was unquestionably one of the most important commodities traded in the Mediterranean during the Roman Empire, less is known about wine commerce after its fall and whether the trade continued in regions under Islamic control. To investigate, here we undertook systematic analysis of grapevine products in archaeological ceramics, encompassing the chemical analysis of 109 transport amphorae from the fifth to the eleventh centuries, as well as numerous control samples. By quantifying ta ...[more]

PMID: 33619175

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Dataset Information

Chemical evidence for the persistence of wine production and trade in Early Medieval Islamic Sicily.

Publications

Chemical evidence for the persistence of wine production and trade in Early Medieval Islamic Sicily.

Similar Datasets

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