A Consideration of the Sub-Fossil Remains of 'Vitis vinifera' L. as Evidence for Viticulture in Roman Britain

It has generally been accepted that the Romans cultivated the vine in Britain although evidence for this, from either literary or archaeological sources, is limited. Information on crops cultivated in this country in early historical times must largely be obtained from sub-fossil remains, and the recent finding of mineralized grape-seeds from a mid second-century pit in the vicus at Doncaster resulted in a search of the literature for other records. The main purpose of this article is to evaluate these records as evidence for cultivation of the vine in Roman Britain. There are very few instances of this species being recovered from Roman archaeological deposits. The lack of detailed information in the early records not only renders them virtually worthless as proof of local viticulture but also prevents a reappraisal of the evidence in the light of present knowledge. These records have been listed previously in discussions on Roman viticulture but without much thought to the evidence they contain. It is apparent that this is partly due to a reliance on sources other than the original records, which is also suggested by errors noted in the quoting of these records.