From garden to gut and beyond: the plant remains from Rathfarnham Castle

Transcription

1 From garden to gut and beyond: the plant remains from Rathfarnham Castle BY PENNY JOHNSTON

2 Excavations were carried out in late 2014 and early 2015 by Antoine Giacometti Details of the excavation on the Archaeology Plan website ( They were to facilitate conservation and restoration at the Castle Image: From Rathfarnham Castle excavation report by Giacometti (2016) Archaeology Plan

3 Focusing on deposits from a large wash-pit and open air drain ( C2, C6 & C7) These features were built in the 16 th century, filled with 17 th and early 18 th century material (1690 ±30 years) More than 17,500 artefacts found One coherent assemblage Image: From Rathfarnham Castle excavation report by Giacometti (2016) Archaeology Plan

4 Most artefacts appear to have been associated with the household of Adam Loftus ( ) Wine bottles - AL 1688 Castle restored to the Loftus family at Restoration (1660) Known for the luxury of their lifestyle Lucy Loftus inherited, her son sold the Castle in 1723 See From Chaplains to Lords for more details ( Image: Portrait of Dorothy Allen, second wife of Adam Loftus, by Godfrey Kneller

5 Artefacts included items associated with: Fashion and toiletries (including 130 items associated with shoes) Entertainment & diet (e.g. table ware) Sanitation (1/3 of ceramic assemblage) See the Ceramic report for more details ( f?dl=0) Image by Alva McGowan Archaeology Plan: Bristol Staffordshire slipware chamber pot 6:1137 from the Ceramic Report

6 Preservation The plant remains were preserved by waterlogging For approximately the last 300 years, these deposits have been damp or wet Lack of oxygen (anoxic) Limited decay of organics Includes items hardly visible to the naked eye (seeds and insects) Image: Washpitfrom Rathfarnham Castle during excavation (image courtesy of Antoine Giacometti Archaeology Plan)

7 Archaeobotany Study of the remains of plants from archaeological deposits May be plants that grew in the local environment Or a direct result of human activity Can provide information about food, agriculture, craft & local habitats See: ogged/recovery for more details

8 Processing waterlogged plant remains Wash-over technique Stack of sieves used Stored in anaerobic conditions Organic remains are sorted under magnification Seeds are extracted

9 Image John Sunderland Rathfarnham Castle seeds are mostly food indicators Remains from berries were common Seen as cess indicators (hard and pass through gut) Suggests that the deposits include household waste and human excrement as well as artefacts

10 See ( /Environmental.pdf?dl=0) for more details See The Coleopteristphoto gallery ( for images of beetles) Fossil insects Analysed by Steve Davis (2016) Preserved in anoxic conditions Generalist aquatic taxa (as well as a species from fast-flowing water) Species from decaying timber General indicators of decaying vegetable material and refuse (some probably waste from food processing) Some dung and cess indicators were found Supports interpretation of seeds

11 Berries Berries were one of the most common items in the samples Approx seeds were counted Strawberry and raspberry were the most common Rubusspp. -includes all types of raspberry & blackberry (as well as others such as dewberry)

12 Context Proportions of different berry seeds varied according to context C2, C6, C7 all from the washpit Similar deposit Small differentiation in distribution Local, but not significant differentiation

13 Berry proportions C2 65% strawberry 35% Rubus C7 91% strawberry 9% Rubus C6 25% strawberry 75% Rubus

14 Public Domain Image: Parker Earle (strawberry) watercolor drawn in 1890 by Deborah GriscomPassmore (USDA) ( color.jpg) Berry remains in archaeological deposits These are not preserved as whole fruits Seeds passed through the gut, usually not digested Some may have been mechanically broken down (e.g. by teeth) Around 200 seeds per berry Strawberries are native fruits, exploited from very early periods By 17 th and 18 th centuries gardeners were probably experimenting with varieties

15 Raspberry Image: P. Johnston CC-BY-SA Similar to strawberries -not preserved as fruits There are c seeds per fruit Garden or field varieties would be an improved version of the native fruit (wild raspberries can be very small) Historical accounts from C 16 th Britain suggest cultivation began around this time

16 Density per litre Other fruits Other fruits Berries were not the only evidence for fruit As well as ordinary fruits, there were also exotics Including figs and grapes 0 C.2 C.6 C.7 Fig seeds Prunus Pear/Apple Haw Grape Melon/cucumber

17 Public Domain Image of Fig ( e:feige-schnitt.png) Figs Each fig fruit can produce between 30 and 16,000 seeds These can be dried and will travel well Fig seeds in Irish deposits from late C12th (medieval Cork) Records from mid 17 th century indicate fig trees were imported BUT fruits from Irish trees tend to be parthenocarpic(not fertilised and don t produce seeds)

18 Grapes Public domain image of grape ( rape_j-734a_(psf).png) Grape pips found in all 3 samples Possibly imported Grapes found at other sites: early C 12 th finds from medieval Kilkenny Carbonised grapes from medieval Kilkenny Records indicate that grape vines were grown in Ireland in the 1600s (Palmerstown & Lismore)

19 Melon/cucumber Image: Lionel Rich, CC-BY_SA-2.0-fr ( Single seed found Very rare in Ireland British finds usually C 18 th + Historical records much earlier for cucumber (C 12 th ) Difficult to grow/an accomplishment Fashionable?

20 Every gardener nowadays knows how to raise melons, but few to govern them; when you would gather a ripe melon, you will notice its turning a little yellow the gardener must therefore not fail of visiting the Melonière at least three times a day, for this critical time. After twenty-four hours keeping; for Contrary to the Vulgar Opinion, it should be preserved in some sweet dry place and noteaten immediately it come from the garden. Text from 1699, cited in Hartley, 1954 (2006 ed., p. 424).

21 Hot beds For growing tender plants such as melon and cucumber Raised beds Sheltered Used fresh manure that generated heat as it decomposed

22 Greenhouses? Period when glass technology is developing Orangeries becoming fashionable after 1688 Usually heated Growing under glass became relatively common in C 18 th Dublin

23 Nut trees Cobnuts, filberts & hazelnuts widespread Identified by Matthew Jebb(2016) from hand-picked material: abz0pn9j3/environmental.pdf?dl=0 Some walnut also found Nuts were easy to store May have grown in local walled gardens Image John Sunderland

24 Apples and Pears Apple/pear pips found From Castle orchards? There were improvements in orchard and soft fruits from C 16th onwards in Britain Orchards common in settled parts of C 17th Ireland But many neglected or destroyed in turbulent Cromwellian period Image: P. Johnston CC-BY-SA Some contemporary gardens & orchards were destroyed by retreating Jacobite forces (1690)

25 Other fruits Image John Sunderland Other evidence for fruit trees include cherry/plum stones Peaches and apricots stones were also found in other deposits from the site Apricots grown in Palmerstown in this period (John Temple s gardens)

26 Extraordinary hospitality Suggestion that Anglo-Irish adopted aspects of Gaelic traditions of hospitality Visitors to Ireland remarked on the lavishness of the entertainments provided, including food Also a reputation for drunkenness (possibly undeserved) This is one of the characteristics of Adam Loftus of Rathfarnham Castle that we do know about The Anglo-Irish cultivated European fashions (we know that French cooks were later seen as the height of sophistication)

27 Fruits Sumptuous Still Life by Abraham van Beijeren in 1654 from the Museum Boijmans Collection Fruit and Flowers by Abraham Breughel in c from the Museum Boijmans Collection Still Life with Ham, Lobster and Fruit by Jan Davidsz. de Heem (c. 1652). From the Museum Boijmans Collection Grapes Melon Apple/pear Plums Cherries Apricots? Figs (fresh) + fruits not found at Rathfarnham These luxury fruits were eaten fresh, but what do we know about preservation & processing methods?

28 Image: P. Johnston CC-BY-SA Fruits became more popular in cooking in the C 17 th (fruit quality improved) Fruit was used for Juices Baking (pies & tarts) Fruit creams, butters & cheeses -similar consistency to dairy -(e.g.mixfruit juice with beaten egg whites, sugar, cream & lemon) Jams? (With pectin-rich apple juice)

29 180 Annual average brown sugar re-export to Ireland from Britain Sugar? (measured in 000 cwt) Years Figures from Table 3.2 in Sheridan 1974 p.32 Sugar trade developing from the C 17 th & into the C 18 th C 17 th Ireland: intermittent trade with colonies Concessions withdrawn in 1685 Sugar imported to Britain first, re-exported to Ireland (until 1780) Recipes suggest sugar was used in wealthy houses

30 Shanahan, M. (2014). Manuscript Recipe Books as Archaeological Objects: Text and Food in the Early Modern World. Lanham: Lexington Books. Manuscript recipe books Useful proxy as household accounts do not include items produced on an estate NLI holds 8 different manuscript recipe books started in C 17 th (Shanahan, 2014, p.35) Recipe collectors were all wealthy (or comfortable ) & mostly Anglo-Irish Preserves & pickles amongst most common recipes (ibid., p.42) Sugar was available, but not necessarily used as a common preserving agent (salt & vinegar used)

31 Where was the food grown? Rathfarnham Castle, 1774, by Gabriel Beranger (c ) [Public domain image from Wikimedia Commons.] ( thfarnham_castle,_1774.jpeg) 1699 James Verdon s journal of a tour to Dublin described Rathfarnham Castle as the greatest house I saw in Ireland, all free stone surrounded with woods in abundance (quoted in Costello, 2015, p.27) Anne Connolly wrote that Rathfarnham Castle had fine gardens, a wooded park and many fishponds with very large carp (Loftus, 2015, p. 564).

32 Gardening style Late 17 th century house and gardens (restored) at Doneraile, Co. Cork. Image John Sunderland Extensive parks & woodlands Very controlled landscaping gardening as a civilising influence Plant remains do NOT give us any indication the habitat of the gardens

33 Image John Sunderland Summing up Our evidence hints at gardens where food is produced Food types found suggest a lavish table ( exotics ) Gardens with unusual plants & good orchards probably a fashionable accomplishment Ties in with what we know of the Anglo-Irish idea of improvement that develop into the C 18 th

34 Supplementary reading Barnard, T. (2004) A New Anatomy of Ireland: The Irish Protestants, , New Haven And London, Yale University Press. Black, M., & Le Faye, D. (1995). The Jane Austen Cookbook. London: The British Museum Press. Davis, S. (2016). Insect remains(rathfarnham Castle Excavations 2014: Plant and Animal Remains. No. VII) (pp ). Dublin: Archaeology Plan. Giacometti, A. (2016a). Rathfarnham Castle Ceramic(Rathfarnham Castle Report Series No. III). Dublin. Retrieved from Giacometti, A. (2016b). Rathfarnham Castle Glass(Rathfarnham Castle Report Series No. II). Dublin. Giacometti, A., & Mac Gowan, A. (2015). Rathfarnham Castle Excavations 2014: Preliminary Stratigraphic Report.(Submitted to the National Monument Service No. I). Dublin: Archaeology Plan. Retrieved from %29.pdf

35 Greig, J. (1996). Archaeobotanical and historical records compared -a new look at the taphonomy if edible and other useful plants from the 11th to the 18th centuries A.D. Circea, The Journal of the Association for Environmental Archaeology, 12(2), Greig, J. (1982). Garderobes, sewers, cesspits and latrines. Current Archaeology, 85, Hartley, D. (1954). Food in England(Paperback edition, 2006). London: Little Brown. Loftus, S. (2015). From Chaplains to Lords. Irish Arts Review, 32(4), Lyons, S. (2015). Food plants, fruits and foreign foodstuffs: the archaeological evidence from urban medieval Ireland. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. Section C: Archaeology, Celtic Studies, History, Linguistics, Literature, 115C, Mac Con Iomaire, M. (2013). Public dining in Dublin: The history and evolution of gastronomy and commercial dining International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 25(2), Mac Con Iomaire, M., & Cashman, D. (2011). Irish culinary manuscripts and printed books: a discussion. Petits Propos Culinaires, 94,

36 McMINN, J. (1999). Pastoral properties: Swift and gardens. Journal for Eighteenth-Century Studies, 22(1), Mitchell, G. (1987). Archaeology and Environment in Early Dublin(Medieval Dublin Excavations : Series C, Vol. 1). Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. Nash, R. C. (1985). Irish Atlantic trade in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The William and Mary Quarterly: A Magazine of Early American History and, Shanahan, M. (2014). Manuscript Recipe Books as Archaeological Objects: Text and Food in the Early Modern World. Lanham: Lexington Books. Sheridan, R. B. (1974). Sugar and slavery: An economic history of the British West Indies, University of West Indies Press. Stace, C. (1997). New Flora of the British Isles(2nd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.