Macroremains of citrus fruit in Italy

Alessandra Celant y Girolamo Fiorentino

TEXTO BIBLIOGRAFÍA NOTAS AUTORESILUSTRACIONES

TEXTO COMPLETO

 1 Pagnoux et al. 2013.

 2 Van der Veen 2001; 2011; Van der Veen, Tabinor 2007.

 3 Fiorentino, Marinò 2008.

 4 Ciaraldi 2007; Fiorentino, Marinò 2008.

 5 Coubray et al. 2010; Pagnoux et al. 2013.

1The difficult preservation of Citrus carpological remains is probably the main reason
why the presence of this genus was not documented in Italy until a few years ago.
Indeed, the fleshy nature of its hesperidium does not facilitate good preservation,
which has occurred in only a few sealed archaeological contexts: in anaerobic (poorly
oxygenated) waterlogged environments (Rome),1 in extremely dry conditions
(Egypt),2 after charring (Pompeii)3 or inclusion in mineral matter (Pompeii).4 In
general, Citrusseeds from archaeological contexts are easily fragmented and for this
reason they are sometimes unidentifiable. Additionally, the preservation processes
may obliterate the diagnostic characters of cell patterns (shape, size and organization)
and the seed’s keels. Another difficulty in identifying Citrus seeds to species level lies
in their morphological variability. Sometimes, even the determination of fossil remains
to genus level is difficult, as Citrus seeds may be confused with other taxa, for
example Maloideae.5

 6 Cf. Luro et al., this volume.

 7 2013.

 8 Grasso et al., this volume.

2The comparison of fossil Citrus seeds with modern reference samples is complicated
by a long history of anthropogenic activity: selecting and crossbreeding to obtain
 different cultivars of the same species.6 Only after the publication of the paper by
Pagnoux et al.7 were a number of morphobiometrical criteria established, with the aim
of distinguishing C. medica from C. limon in the archaeobotanical
records; quantitative techniques for analysing the shape of the seeds (modern and
archaeological) were employed to shed new light on the complex history of the
genus.8 These criteria have allowed the identification of Citrus seeds from recent
excavations in Italy (Pompeii and Rome), and from various archaeological contexts,
both before and during the Roman period. These data confirm the important role of
the Italian Peninsula in the diffusion of Citrus throughout the Mediterranean Basin in
ancient times.

1. Citrus finds at Pompeii

 9 Fiorentino, Marinò 2008.

 10 2013.

 11 Grasso et al., this volume.

3Recently, five mineralised and one carbonised seed were recovered from a well in
Pompeii, dated to the 3 -2 century BC, in the pre-Roman Samnite levels under the
rd nd

Roman Temple of Venus (fig. 1).9 They represent the most ancient macroremains
of Citrus in the Italian Peninsula. These mineralised seeds are ovoid and
spheroid in shape, with a ventral crest (fig. 2). The cells are arranged in regular
fascicles with a ribbed pattern, longitudinally sinuous. Their dimensions in mm are as
follows (length/breadth/thickness): min 6.3/3.1/2.3, max 7.0/4.2/3.5, average
6.7/3.7/x. Pagnoux et al.10 attributed them, most probably, to C. medica. Conversely,
Grasso et al. used shape analysis to classify the seeds and attributed them
to C. aurantifolia, with a very good probability.11 This conflicting determination may
suggest the presence in Pompeii of an ancient cultivar based on a C. medica hybrid
rather than C. medica or C. aurantifolia independently.
Fig. 1 - Pompeii. a) Plan of the Roman Temple of Venus; b) The well in the pre-Roman
Samnite levels under the temple.
Aumentar Original (jpeg, 3,1M)

Fig. 2 – Pompeii. Seeds of Citrus medica (photograph V. Zech-Matterne).

 Aumentar Original (jpeg, 1,7M)

 12 Ciaraldi 2007: 113, fig. 43.

 13 Ciaraldi 2007: 139, fig. 61.

4More mineralised seeds of the Citrus type were found at Pompeii. One single
mineralised seed originates from the second phase of the House of the Wedding of
Hercules and Ebe and dates back to the first half of the 2nd century BC.12 A further pip
came from a pit dug into the kitchen floor of the House of the Vestals, phase 3, and
dates back to the second half of the 2nd century BC.13 The only known carbonised seed
of Citrus came from the area of the Temple of Venus in Pompeii.9

 14 Comes 1879; Casella 1950.

 15 Jashemski, Meyer 2002: 101; Borgongino 2006: 31-32; De Carolis, this volume.

 16 Tolkowsky 1938: 100-101.

 17 Borgongino 2006: 35.

 18 Jashemski, Meyer 2002: 102

5The city of Pompeii has also yielded some frescoes and mosaics in which Citrus trees
have been identified.14 The trees are depicted with realism and precision, which has
led some to believe that their painters had seen the subject itself. In some cases,
lemons or lemon trees can indeed be recognized on a wall painting from the House of
 the Fruit Orchard.15 On the other hand, some round, orange fruits are questionably
argued to represent oranges, as in a mosaic from Naples16 and a fresco from
Pompeii.17 In addition, wood remains of Citrus were identified by Hueber in the Villa
of Poppaea at Oplontis near Pompeii,18 testifying to the presence of this tree in the
garden of the villa, covered with the volcanic ash of the Plinian eruption.

 19 Bui Thi Mai, Girard 2014: 174.

 20 Coubray et al. 2010; Pagnoux et al. 2013.

6The presence of Citrus pollen19 from the Greek colony at Cumae near Naples also
suggests an early distribution of Citrus in the Mediterranean Basin.20

7To summarize, the cultivation of Citrus trees seems to have been well established in
the Campania region of southern Italy by the beginning of the 1st century AD, probably
as the result of several cultivation attempts from the 6th-5th century BC onwards.

2. Citrus finds in Rome

8In the centre of Rome, in a votive deposit sealed under the floor of the Carcer-
Tullianum, also known as the Mamertine Prison, fifteen waterlogged seeds and a
fragment of skin belonging to Citrus were discovered (fig. 3).
Fig. 3 - Carcer-Tullianum (Rome). Localization of the Citrus macroremains from the votive
deposit.
Aumentar Original (jpeg, 1,1M)

9The Carcer was originally part of the Comitium in the Forum Romanum, just behind
Capitoline Hill. It is now covered by the foundations of the San Giuseppe dei
Falegnami Church (16 -17 century AD), which was built on the previous
th th
medieval Church of San Pietro in Carcere, named after the fact that St Peter is believed
to have been jailed in a cave (Carcer) located under the church. Ancient sources report
that from the Roman Republic (5 -4 century BC) to the 5 century AD this was a
th th th

prison for the public enemies of the Roman state, prior to their execution.
The Carcer was superimposed onto an earlier Archaic Period (8 -7 century BC) cave
th th

(Tullianum), which had been carved into the Servian Wall that protected
the Capitolium. A spring of water was known there since antiquity. Recent excavations
at Tullianum confirmed that the place had a sacral function at the beginning of the
Roman Republic and evidenced the spring which filled it to a constant level of
13.60 m a.s.l. Close to the spring, at the north-east side of Tullianum, a votive
deposit was found in 2010, in a small rectangular pit (25×54 cm) chiselled into the
original rock floor. It was filled with clayey sediments and covered with a flagstone.
Some ceramic fragments were also found in the sediment, along with uncharred plant
remains and animal bones. In the sediment of the votive pit, 9 complete and
6 fragmented seeds belonging to Citrus were recovered. The studied material,
forming one single sample of approximately 20 litres, was washed using sieves with
4, 2, and 0.5 mm mesh sizes. Plant remains were picked out and identified using a
stereomicroscope. The seeds were uncharred, partly swollen because of waterlogging,
and superficially covered by mineral matter (fig. 4).
Fig. 4 - Carcer-Tullianum (Rome). Seeds of Citrus limon (photograph A. Celant). Scale bar
5 mm.
 Aumentar Original (jpeg, 1,2M)

 21 2013.

10The Citrus seeds from Tullianum are characterized by very distinct dorsal and
ventral keels, irregular cell patterns and a lack of longitudinal striations, indicating
that they most probably belong to C. limon, according to the morphological criteria
established by Pagnoux et al.21 Their dimensions, measured using complete
specimens, are as follows:

SEED NO. LENGTH BREADTH THICKNESS

1 8.43 5.59 4.21

2 9.70 5.88 4.61

3 10.49 5.88 4.51

4 9.90 4.51 3.72

5 7.74 4.90 3.72

6 9.90 6.17 4.41

7 10.00 4.12 3.43

8 13.45 4.90 3.53

9 10.19 5.10 4.12

AVERAGE 9.98 5.23 4.03

11In addition, a fragment of fruit skin was recovered, which makes the genus
determination of Citrus a certainty: SEM analysis of the seed surface showed the
typical star-like features of the citrus fruit skin (fig. 5).
Fig. 5 - Carcer-Tullianum (Rome). a) Skin fragment of Citrus limon. Scale bar 5 mm; b) Detail
under SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope). (Photographs A. Celant.)
Aumentar Original (jpeg, 3,9M)

12A number of seed fragments, retrieved from the same votive pit, were AMS dated to
2003±45 BP (LTL8303A; 2σ calibration 120 BC-AD 90), most probably corresponding
 to the Augustan period (27 BC-14 AD), an age confirmed by the archaeological
context.

 22 Grasso et al., this volume.

 23 Luro et al., this volume.

13The results of the seeds’ shape analysis from Rome22 indicate that the samples
exhibits a certain degree of dispersion (perhaps due to the absence in the modern
collection of varieties that might have yielded a less equivocal attribution), with a
tendency towards the species C. aurantium/C. reticulata. As previously
mentioned,23 these two species played a role in the origin of the modern lemon and it
is therefore possible that the remains discovered in Rome also belong to a cultivar
that was derived from these species, but which was not precisely identifiable against
the modern C. limon.

14The citrus remains (seeds and the skin fragment) from the Forum
Romanum currently represent the most conspicuous and best-preserved record of
probable C. limon from the Italian territory, AMS dated to the Augustan Age. The
votive archaeological context supports the hypothesis that Citrus was a precious fruit
which was used in sacred ceremonies and aristocratic meals, as suggested by a
mosaic of the Imperial Age, displayed in the National Roman Museum, Palazzo
Massimo alle Terme, Rome (fig. 6).
Fig. 6 - Roman mosaic from Palazzo Massimo alle Terme with lemon and citron fruits.
Aumentar Original (jpeg, 492k)

3. Discussion and conclusions

15The morphobiometrical analysis of the seeds and the recognition of the testa
surface and cell patterns suggest the presence of C. medica (citron) in Pompeii
contexts and C. limon (lemon) in Rome. These are the first archaeobotanical records
of the two taxa in Italy. They shed new light on the spread of citrus fruits in the
Mediterranean.

16The finds of well-preserved mineralized seeds from Pompeii represent the oldest
record so far of C. medica in Italy (3rd-2nd century BC) and the Mediterranean region;
while the citrus remains (seeds and the skin fragment) from the Forum
Romanum currently represent the most conspicuous and best-preserved record of
probable C. limon from the Italian territory.
17Nevertheless, the introduction of Citrus to Italy might be much older as evidenced
among others by pollen grains and the chemical analyses of organic residues dating
back to at least the 6 century BC in Sardinia and the Campanian coast. This suggests
th

the hypothesis of an early introduction from eastern Mediterranean countries,

potentially by Phoenician settlers; however, Citrus probably remained a rare fruit even
when its diversity began to increase, from the Roman times onwards.
BIBLIOGRAFÍA

Los DOI se añaden automáticamente a las referencias por Bilbo, la herramienta de anotación
bibliográfica. Los usarios de aquellas instituciones quien susbriben a unos de nuestros
pragramas OpenEdition Freemium pueden descargar las referencias bibliográficas para los
cuales Bilbo encontró un DOI.

Borgongino 2006: M. Borgongino, Archeobotanica. Reperti vegetali da Pompei e dal territorio

vesuviano, Roma.

Bui Thi Mai, Girard 2014: Bui Thi Mai, M. Girard, Citrus (Rutaceae) was present in the western
Mediterranean in antiquity, in A. Chevalier, E. Marinova, L. Peña-Chocarro (eds.), Plants and
people: Choices and diversity through time, Oxford-Philadelphia, p. 170-174.

Casella 1950: D. Casella, La frutta nelle pitture pompeiane, in Pompeiana. Raccolta di studi per
il II centenario degli scavi di Pompei, Napoli, p. 355-386.

Ciaraldi 2007: M. Ciaraldi, People and plants in ancient Pompeii. A new approach to urbanism
from the microscope room: The use of plant resources at Pompeii and in the Pompeian area
from the 6 century BC to AD 79, London.
th

Comes 1879: O. Comes, Illustrazione delle piante rappresentate nei dipinti pompeiani,
in Pompei e la regione sotterrata dal Vesuvio nell’anno LXXIX, Napoli, p. 177-250.

Coubray et al. 2010: S. Coubray, V. Zech-Matterne, A. Mazurier, The earliest remains of a

Citrus fruit from a western Mediterranean archaeological context? A microtomographic-based
re-assessment, Comptes Rendus Palevol, 9, p. 277-282.
DOI : 10.1016/j.crpv.2010.07.003

Fiorentino, Marinò 2008: G. Fiorentino, G. Marinò, Analisi archeobotaniche preliminari al

Tempio di Venere di Pompei, in P.G. Guzzo, M.P. Guidobaldi (eds.), Nuove ricerche
archeologiche nell’area vesuviana (scavi 2003-2006), Roma, p. 527-528.

Jashemski, Meyer 2002: W.F. Jashemski, F.G. Meyer (eds.), The natural history of Pompeii,
Cambridge.
Pagnoux et al. 2013: C. Pagnoux, A. Celant, S. Coubray, G. Fiorentino, V. Zech-Matterne, The
introduction of Citrus to Italy, with reference to the identification problems of seed
remains, Vegetation History and Archaeobotany, 22, p. 421-438.
DOI : 10.1007/s00334-012-0389-4

Tolkowsky 1938: S. Tolkowsky, Hesperides. A history of the culture and use of citrus fruits,
London.

Van der Veen 2001: M. Van der Veen, The botanical evidence, in V.A. Maxfield, D.P. Peacock
(eds.), Survey and excavation: Mons Claudianus1987-1993, 2. The excavations, Part 1,
Cairo, p. 174-247.

Van der Veen 2011: M. Van der Veen, Consumption, trade and innovation: Exploring the
botanical remains from the Roman and Islamic ports at Quseir al-Qadim, Egypt, Frankfurt.

Van der Veen, Tabinor 2007: M. Van der Veen, H. Tabinor, Food, fodder and fuel at Mons
Porphyrites: the botanical evidence, in D.P. Peacock, V.A. Maxfield (eds.), The Roman imperial
quarries. Survey and excavations at Mons Porphyrites 1994-1998, 2. The excavations, London,
p. 83-142.

NOTAS

1 Pagnoux et al. 2013.

2 Van der Veen 2001; 2011; Van der Veen, Tabinor 2007.

3 Fiorentino, Marinò 2008.

4 Ciaraldi 2007; Fiorentino, Marinò 2008.

5 Coubray et al. 2010; Pagnoux et al. 2013.

6 Cf. Luro et al., this volume.

7 2013.

8 Grasso et al., this volume.

9 Fiorentino, Marinò 2008.

10 2013.

11 Grasso et al., this volume.

12 Ciaraldi 2007: 113, fig. 43.

13 Ciaraldi 2007: 139, fig. 61.

14 Comes 1879; Casella 1950.

15 Jashemski, Meyer 2002: 101; Borgongino 2006: 31-32; De Carolis, this volume.

16 Tolkowsky 1938: 100-101.

17 Borgongino 2006: 35.

18 Jashemski, Meyer 2002: 102

19 Bui Thi Mai, Girard 2014: 174.

20 Coubray et al. 2010; Pagnoux et al. 2013.

21 2013.

22 Grasso et al., this volume.

23 Luro et al., this volume.

ÍNDICE DE ILUSTRACIONES

Título Fig. 1 - Pompeii. a) Plan of the Roman Temple of Venus; b) The

well in the pre-Roman Samnite levels under the temple.

URL http://books.openedition.org/pcjb/docannexe/image/2194/img-1.jpg

Archivo image/jpeg, 3,1M

Título Fig. 2 – Pompeii. Seeds of Citrus medica (photograph V. Zech-

Matterne).
 URL http://books.openedition.org/pcjb/docannexe/image/2194/img-2.jpg

Archivo image/jpeg, 1,7M

Título Fig. 3 - Carcer-Tullianum (Rome). Localization of

the Citrusmacroremains from the votive deposit.

URL http://books.openedition.org/pcjb/docannexe/image/2194/img-3.jpg

Archivo image/jpeg, 1,1M

Título Fig. 4 - Carcer-Tullianum (Rome). Seeds

of Citrus limon (photograph A. Celant). Scale bar 5 mm.

URL http://books.openedition.org/pcjb/docannexe/image/2194/img-4.jpg

Archivo image/jpeg, 1,2M

Título Fig. 5 - Carcer-Tullianum (Rome). a) Skin fragment

of Citrus limon. Scale bar 5 mm; b) Detail under SEM (Scanning
Electron Microscope). (Photographs A. Celant.)

URL http://books.openedition.org/pcjb/docannexe/image/2194/img-5.jpg

Archivo image/jpeg, 3,9M

Título Fig. 6 - Roman mosaic from Palazzo Massimo alle Terme with
 lemon and citron fruits.

URL http://books.openedition.org/pcjb/docannexe/image/2194/img-6.jpg

Archivo image/jpeg, 492k

AUTORES
Alessandra Celant
Laboratory of Palaeobotany and Palynology, Department of Environmental Biology,
Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro, 5 – 00185 Rome (Italy);
alessandra.celant@uniroma1.it
Girolamo Fiorentino
Laboratory of Archaeobotany and Palaeoecology, Department of Cultural Heritage,
University of Salento, Via D. Birago, 64 – 73100 Lecce (Italy);
girolamo.fiorentino@unisalento.it
© Publications du Centre Jean Bérard, 2017