CORK, IRELAND—The Irish Times reports that an international team of researchers collected data on animal bones and seeds from archaeological digs across southeast Ireland, and analyzed pollen extracted from a sediment core taken from a lake in Kilkenny, to learn what people ate between 2,700 and 2,000 years ago. “Cattle and pigs provided dairy and meat, barley was a staple, and we also have evidence of a variety of wheats, including spelt, emmer, and naked wheat,” said Katharina Becker of University College Cork. The researchers partnered with baker Declan Ryan to attempt to recreate baked products of Ireland's Iron Age. Since houses from the period do not contain recognizable hearths, Becker suggests that people may have gathered at boiling pits to eat. She speculates that the Iron-Age diet was probably plant-based, with meat and dairy foods served on special occasions. For more, go to "The Vikings in Ireland."
