Archeonaut - APT Basilicata

A RATHER UNUSUALSAUCE FOR STRONG STOMACHSWith its hoard of over 60 anchors,including shanks (55) and flukebraces(8), the deposit in SantoJanni, a few metres from the Marateacoastline represents one of the richestbasins in the Mediterranean. But whyhave all these anchors of various sizes(the shortest is 70 cm long and thelongest around 2m) been found in thesea around this tiny island standing inthe waters of the Lucanian Tyrrhenian?Simply because the Romans were fondof garum, a sauce obtained from thefermentation and then draining of fish,together with their entrails.It appears it was used a lot, more or lesson everything, and no expense wouldbe spared to get hold of some. Seneca,Apicius, Plynius and Petronius mentiongarum as a delicious sauce, in referenceto the excesses for which the empirewas often known, or as a medicine. Toobtain good garum, the fish had to becaught, placed in an outdoor vat, saltedabundantly and left to ferment. It wasthen rinsed in sea water and sealedin special containers, earthenwarearateaamphorae, and loaded aboard sailingships destined for the dining tables ofpatricians or rich gourmets. The fishpools in Santo Janni (on the Marateacoast), where garum was produced,must have been animated by preciselythese kinds of fervent activities. Inthis open-air food factory, a system ofcocciopesto vats and bulkheads formedfrom natural rock basins ensured thecorrect execution of the key operationsfor obtaining authentic garum.The numerous discoveries of remainsof amphoras off the coast of Maratea(in fragments, but also whole andeven sealed with pitch and still holdingtheir precious contents) leaves nodoubt about the snares that the watershere laid for sailors, whom it seemswere often caught unawares by stormsthat left them shipwrecked over twothousand years ago.The anchors, the amphoras (of variousshapes, originating from Africa andthe Mediterranean) and finds fromthe prehistoric era are housed in theMuseum of the Sea in Maratea, situatedin the 18th- century Palazzo De Lieto inthe city’s historic centre.“Fatty fish may be used (...) to which are addedthe entrails of small fish in a tub well sealed with pitch.Spices, herbs and two fingers of salt may be used.It is left for seven days to dry in the sun,and another twenty mixed. in the end Garum is obtained”(Martial)Transport amphora74 75