Preserving Harvest

[Demson]

This is a question, I'm not proposing a debate.

 

How did the ancient people preserve their harvest in Northern Europe? I remember reading they used sealed pottery, then stored it partially submerged barns. I'm not sure if this is the case though.

 

I imagine it was hard to preserve cereals in the moist North. Which could explain (amongst other things) why livestock seemed to be so important in the Celtic societies. Question then is - how did they feed the livestock during winter?

[Ursus]

"The Celts were great salt producers and salting was their chosen method of preservation, especially of meats ...

 

"The main method of storage was by use of pits. "

 

he goes on to say that if the pits were sealed, the grains could last several months.

 

Peter Ellis. _The Celts, A History. _

 

Moving this to forum peregrini since it deals with non-Roman areas.

[Demson]

They just dumped it into the grounds? I can hardly believe that. There must have been some technique they used. Otherwise their harvest would just rot away like all other biological matter that disappears underground.

 

Unless you can conserve grain with salt, they must have used some sort of technique.

[Ursus]

The subterranean pits were made of dry-stone wall, and had lintel roofing.

 

Supposedly some of the grain was allowed to germinate in storage because it sucked up the oxygen, and thereby prevented the other grain from germninating.

 

This is all I could find. *shrugs* Not an expert on Celts and even less on agriculture.

 

Maybe someone else can help you better. Have you tried the people at IMBAS, the Celtic religion and culture group?

[Zeke]

hmmm.....Now adays how do we peserve Cereals? Is it refrgeration or.......is it air tight stuff? I always wondered how cereal can last for like 4 years if it stays sealed in a box lol.

 

Zeke

[Primus Pilus]

I'm assuming preservatives.

[Ursus]

Yeah, they say that stuff is unhealthy precisely because of the amount of preservatives.

[Moonlapse]

Supposedly some of the grain was allowed to germinate in storage because it sucked up the oxygen, and thereby prevented the other grain from germninating.

That's how it was done for thousands of years.

[Zeke]

So.....certain seeds germinate and suck up all the air so the rest of the seeds stay peserved longer??? hmmm thats intresting.

 

How long could it stay like that???

 

Zeke

[Moonlapse]

Depending on conditions, 15+ years.

[Lacertus]

Northern peoples used deep pits for preservation harvest. Their depth was approximately 6 feet. The pit inside was covered with a layer of clay which was allowed to dry. The bottom of the pit was filled with dry sand and coniferous boards were laid over it. Grain was filled up by layers. each The layer of grain was spaced with a layer of coniferous branches. The needle possesses antibacterial action and the harvest could store a few years. The layers enabled to keep air and grain could "breathe". Above the pit was covered with a rough fabric or a leather and closed tightly by boards and branches.

It is considered that such way kept completely the harvest up to 10 years. There was preserved nothing so long usually.

[Demson]

Very interesting. Thanks allot!

[Guest SPQR1001]

i kept racing pigeons for many years and stored thier grain in many diffrent ways, it is suprising how long the grain would last as long as it was dry and stored in a dark cool place it could last many months.

 

Im sure they use to use deep pits as the other replys on this thread, also i read that grain used to be stored in very large clay vessels.

 

hope this helps.

[Viggen]

...did the

On 16.6.2005 at 9:46 PM, Lacertus said:

Northern peoples used deep pits for preservation harvest. Their depth was approximately 6 feet. The pit inside was covered with a layer of clay which was allowed to dry. The bottom of the pit was filled with dry sand and coniferous boards were laid over it. Grain was filled up by layers. each The layer of grain was spaced with a layer of coniferous branches. The needle possesses antibacterial action and the harvest could store a few years. The layers enabled to keep air and grain could "breathe". Above the pit was covered with a rough fabric or a leather and closed tightly by boards and branches.

It is considered that such way kept completely the harvest up to 10 years. There was preserved nothing so long usually.

...from when on did they had cats? Must have been paradise for mice....