Cheese production in Gaul during the Iron Age and the Roman period

state of knowledge and analysis of its place in the ancient world

Alain Ferdière, Jean-Marc Séguier

Abstract: Along with other dairy products, cheese is an essential part of the diet of all pre-industrial societies. An outline of dairy technology is given followed by a more detailed examination of the documentation that was based mainly on archaeological data regarding the Roman provinces of Gaul, Germania and the Alps during the Iron Age and the Roman period. The main focus of this examination was on the operational sequence of cheese-making. The data collected for these provinces were then compared with textual, epigraphic and iconographic data for the rest of the ancient Greco-Roman world. Gaul’s place in this overview can be considered as highly informative, revealing –through the discovery of pottery cheese strainers– previously unsuspected production regions as well as gaps, which we try to explain.

Appendix 1

Review of ancient Greek and Latin texts
regarding cheese and dairy products (8^th c. BC – 7^th c. AD)

Appendix 2

Iconographic documentation (cheese and dairy products)
during Antiquity

Appendix 3

A collection of terracotta faisselle

References:

Appendix 1 – DOI: 10.34847/nkl.fe205800

Ferdière A. 2020: Annexe 1 – Recension des textes antiques, grecs et latins, concernant le fromage et les produits laitiers (viii^e s. av. J.-C.-vii^e s. apr. J.-C.), in Ferdière A., Séguier J.-M., Le fromage en Gaule à l’âge du Fer et à l’époque romaine : état des lieux pour sa production et analyse de sa place dans le monde antique, Gallia, 77-2.

Appendix 2 – DOI: 10.34847/nkl.24b537ge

Ferdière A. 2020: Annexe 2 – La documentation iconographique (fromage et laitage) pour l’Antiquité, in Ferdière A., Séguier J.-M., Le fromage en Gaule à l’âge du Fer et à l’époque romaine : état des lieux pour sa production et analyse de sa place dans le monde antique, Gallia, 77-2.

Appendix 3 – DOI: 10.34847/nkl.fde4s8ly

Ferdière A., Cador H., Delor-Ahü A., Dövener F., Mathelart P., Séguier J.-M. 2020: Annexe 3 – Corpus des faisselles en terre cuite, in Ferdière A., Séguier J.-M., Le fromage en Gaule à l’âge du Fer et à l’époque romaine : état des lieux pour sa production et analyse de sa place dans le monde antique, Gallia, 77-2.