What did ancient Greek sailors have in their amphorae?

JMSAZ

If you thought the ancient Greeks only transported wine in their amphorae, you are mistaken.

(PhysOrg.com) -- While many historians have assumed that Greek sailors were using amphorae, or ancient storage containers, to transport and trade wine, new DNA testing is providing evidence that these containers were used for many different products.

The research, published in the Journal of Archaeological Science, reveals the DNA results of vegetables, herbs and nuts in a sampling of jars tested.

Led by archaeologist Brendan Foley from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and geneticist Maria Hansson from Lund University in Sweden, the researchers retrieved DNA samples from nine amphorae that were obtained from sunken ships and dated back to the fifth and third centuries BC.

As assumed by historians and the trade of wine, the DNA of grapes was found in five of the nine containers. Six of the jars also showed the DNA of olives, presumably from olive oil. The containers also revealed DNA hits from ginger, walnut, juniper, legumes, mint, oregano and thyme. Each container showed multiple DNA samples suggesting that the containers were reused and carried different products each time.

Archaeological and written evidence from the time period shows that trade included such items as wine, oil, honey, resin, fruit, fish and other meats. The results of this study provide more evidence that wine was not the only product traded from these containers.