‘Well, Sextus, what can we do with this?’ The disposal and use of insect-infested grain in Roman Britain

David Smith and Harry Kenward

Environmental Archaeology, 2012, vol. 17, issue 2, 141-150

Abstract: Beetle (Coleoptera) pests of stored products such as the granary weevil may have entered the archaeological record by various routes, including: (1) deliberate dumping, and usually burial, of spoilt grain with the aim of preventing further infestation of grain in storage; (2) the use of infested grain as human and animal food; (3) the incorporation of infested grain and living or dead grain pests into deposits by accident and by reworking. It is suggested that these routes, although outlined specifically for beetle grain pests, can stand as a model for the way other insects and biological remains became incorporated into the archaeological record. It also is suggested that the identification of these different depositional routes depends strongly on taking a multi-proxy (‘indicator group’ or ‘indicator package’) approach to the archaeological and biological record of urban sites.

Date: 2012
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DOI: 10.1179/1461410312Z.00000000012

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