Article] Fish fossils reveal Roman trade routes

[Robert Kar]

Fish fossils reveal Roman trade routes Genetics shows
ancient Anatolians imported Egyptian catfish. 14 July 2003
HELEN R. PILCHER

Fossilized remains of a fish supper have revealed a hitherto
unknown Roman trade route. Genetic analysis shows that
1400-year-old catfish unearthed in an ancient Anatolian city
probably came from Egypt1.

The fossils were found among the mountain-top ruins at
Sagalassos, 110 kilometres inland from Turkey's southern
Mediterranean coast. Catfish (Clarias gariepinus) are not
native this region.

In AD600 Sagalassos was a hub of Greco-Roman culture,
agriculture and export. "The catfish was probably a delicacy
for aristocrats," says the director of the dig Marc Waelkens
from the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium. Romans may
also have imported these and other exotic fish to stock their
decorative pools. Waelkens and his colleagues found Nile perch
(Lates niloticus) and African tilapia (Tilapia zillii) at the
site too, they report in this month's Journal of
Archaeological Science .

Read the rest at Nature
http://www.nature.com/nsu/030714/030714-1.html

--
Kind Regards, Robert Karl Stonjek.

[Cordrym]

"Robert Karl Stonjek" <stonjek@ozemail.com.au> wrote in
message
news:<eXQQa.5124$wU5.4501@news-server.bigpond.net.au>...
> Fish fossils reveal Roman trade routes Genetics shows
> ancient Anatolians imported Egyptian catfish. 14 July 2003
> HELEN R. PILCHER
>
> Fossilized remains of a fish supper have revealed a hitherto
> unknown Roman trade route. Genetic analysis shows that
> 1400-year-old catfish unearthed in an ancient Anatolian city
> probably came from Egypt1.

>
> Read the rest at Nature
> http://www.nature.com/nsu/030714/030714-1.html

I sent them a note that the catfish that they have in the
picture is a Cory cat form South America.