DRUMANAGH, IRELAND—Last year, Irish archaeologists working at a fort on the Drumanagh promontory north of Dublin uncovered a 2,000-year-old charred fig, the oldest evidence of the exotic Mediterranean fruit ever found on the island. RTE Ireland reports that they recently made another remarkable discovery—an intact Roman pot. Although the Roman Empire’s boundaries enveloped much of Europe, they never reached Ireland. That did not mean, however, that Roman influence and goods did not land on the Emerald Isle. Previous archaeological work at Drumanagh has demonstrated that although there was not a settlement located there, people with a Roman background or with Roman trading contacts frequented the site. Excavated artifacts include glass beads, gaming pieces, and a bone comb, but the intact Roman vessel was the first of its kind ever recovered in Ireland. “We’re breathless with the sheer excitement of it all,” said archaeologist Christine Baker. “We have found five or six different types of Roman artifacts here, including the neck of an amphora, but nobody has ever seen a pot like this before in Ireland.” To read more about the charred fig from Drumanagh, go to "A Passion for Fruit: Ancient Comfort Food."
