Grain storage?

[docoflove1974]

Disclaimer: these questions come after a usual 'philosophical discussion' with my dad...which usually involves a few mind-loosening, tongue-warming libations...so take the logic (or perhaps lack thereof) with a grain of proverbial salt.

 

In the food thread, we have been talking about several types of grain. And as my dad and I were discussing this and that, a thought both occurred to us: how did the ancients (not just the Romans, but the other ancient cultures) store their grain?

 

The North American Amerindians came up with the idea of the silo--and theirs, by and large, looked like squirrels' nests, with a conical shape above ground. (Dad was the source on this...no idea where he read it, but I know it's out there.) I guess one could conceive of a double-glazed clay pot to store grain...but neither of us knows or has a clue as to what was used.

 

A secondary question: it's been documented (here and elsewhere) that one way for cultures to preserve their grain is to make an alcoholic drink from it (beer, etc.). Do we know how storing this (yummy!) foodstuff came about? It would require a large kiln in order to bake off a large series of pots...so I'm guessing (and that's what this really is) that this was an accidental discovery, made in small clay pots, and then taken on a larger scale. Any other thoughts?

[Moonlapse]

The Celts dug pits in the ground that were small at the top and wide at the bottom. Once filled with grain a large clay cap was placed over the hole, also covering the area around the hole, in order to seal out air, light and excess moisture.

 

The grain that contacts the soil will germinate, use up existing oxygen, produce carbon dioxide and form a barrier around the rest of the grain. The CO2 puts the stored grain into hibernation. This method could conceivably store grain for several years.

 

This isn't absolutely verified though, afaik.

[Gaius Paulinus Maximus]

The ancients have been storing and processing grain from as far back as 8000BC, yet just how they did it I'm still trying to find out, probably something along the lines of the pit system mentioned by Moonlapse i expect

[Bryaxis Hecatee]

Many solutions were in use through the time and civilizations to store the grain. The purpose built building, called silo, was the most commonly used, in with various kind of silos being built. They can be divided in two main categories :

 

- dug silos

- built silos

 

The dug silos could be pits in the ground covered by, for example, a clay or ceramic cap as described above. A more refined variant could be large ceramics dug in which the grain would later be put, the neck of the ceramics coming over the ground level, thus providing a protection against small scale inundations ( rain ). The built silos could take many forms. We find them as early as the Egyptian Ancient Empire and early Mesopotamian civilizations. A wide range of shapes could be used. They could be directly on the ground or on a raised platform ( to keep rodents out ). When the silos reach a certain size are called granaries for they are no longer built for private ( or family ) use but for collective use, in which case they are a strong indication of centralized state organization.

 

We have medieval examples of Moroccan granaries also being fortified and being the strong point of the village, the point to which everyone fell back in case of raids. Those are very interesting granaries with a complex organization inside made of dozens of individual grain chests cut inside the walls, on chest per family.

 

About beer production it has mainly been studied in the Egyptian context, thus you should look there for informations.

[Rameses the Great]

A secondary question: it's been documented (here and elsewhere) that one way for cultures to preserve their grain is to make an alcoholic drink from it (beer, etc.). Do we know how storing this (yummy!) foodstuff came about? It would require a large kiln in order to bake off a large series of pots...so I'm guessing (and that's what this really is) that this was an accidental discovery, made in small clay pots, and then taken on a larger scale. Any other thoughts?

 

The Egyptian invented the stove closed on three sides, and cooked on an open fire. They heavily relied on grain and later discovered beer.

 

That's why they say, 'Egypt was built on bread and beer.' The Egyptians believed that Osiris taught them to make beer. It was often used as payment, for lower wage workers.

 

Mesopatamians were said to have first stored grain and gave it to other various groups, I believe.

Edited January 13, 2007 by Rameses the Great

[Pertinax]

Docoflove , I think you are making an oblique reference to Sumerian beer/ bread in your first post-that being a twice baked malt loaf that could either be stored dry or recycled and used as a "mash" to form the basis of a very nutritious beer.The japanese have attempted to re-create the recipe.

 

The Roman storage solution in Brittania ia of course stone built granaries with very well ventilated underfloor areas to dispel heat and moisture.

 

http://www.unrv.com/forum/index.php?act=mo...si&img=1410

[Andrew Dalby]

Docoflove , I think you are making an oblique reference to Sumerian beer/ bread in your first post-that being a twice baked malt loaf that could either be stored dry or recycled and used as a "mash" to form the basis of a very nutritious beer.The japanese have attempted to re-create the recipe.

 

The Roman storage solution in Brittania ia of course stone built granaries with very well ventilated underfloor areas to dispel heat and moisture.

 

http://www.unrv.com/forum/index.php?act=mo...si&img=1410

 

If the question extends as far as the storage of beer, I don't think there's much evidence that ancient peoples were able to do this, at least not for long. Essentially it requires airtight containers, as with wine (they could manage that), able to withstand pressure (not as with wine, which, even once it has fermented out, remains drinkable long term). I believe therefore that wherever in the ancient world beer was made, it was drunk fairly close to the brewery, fairly soon after brewing -- and (there is some evidence for this) it was drunk through a straw, as the only way to keep the sediment out of your mouth.

[CiceroD]

Those early beers I'd imagine would be really rough!

 

They would of had no time to let it mature and therefore it would of been pretty yeasty, It would of been warm and would probably go flat on the inside of ten seconds. But beer was beer

 

Also- Inground silos would be most effective on a farm, for small amounts.

 

The grain dole corn would have to be guarded. and pits in the ground in the middle of nowhere would seem to be inefficient. To distribute it they would have needed grainaries in the city

Somehow I cant imagine Quaestors digging pits in the middle of Rome!

 

I know this is all speculation