Romans, Rubbish, and Refuse: The Archaeobotanical Assemblage of Regione VI, Insula I, Pompeii

Charlene Alexandria Murphy uses archaeobotanical remains from Pompeii’s Regione VI, Insula I to reconstruct the movement of plants through an urban neighbourhood. Seeds, fruits and cereals recovered during the Anglo-American Project's excavations provide evidence not only for food consumed before the eruption of AD 79 but for changes in the district over a longer period.

Wheat, barley, olives, grapes and figs appear among the remains, together with pulses and less expected cereals such as broomcorn millet. Murphy examines where this material accumulated—in floors, rubbish and other deposits—and what it can reveal about food consumption, discarding and the neighbourhood's changing occupation.