El cereal, aliment del poble romà: fonts llatines

Abstract

Cereal was the fundamental food for the Mediterranean basin cultures in Antiquity. In this article I undertake an examination of preserved Latin treatises on agriculture and the work of Pliny the Elder, which should help us better understand the varieties of cereal that were grown in ancient Rome. Such body of texts provides broad information on the field where cereals were grown and on how starch, semolina and flour were produced. These were required products used to obtain different kinds of Roman food. Therefore, this article gives an insight into the different types of crops, cereals and food derived from cereal, all of which are witness to the gastronomic heritage of ancient Rome.