A 5,000-year-old Tavern

I’m struck by how often in my research–like when I read about this 5,000-year-old tavern in Mesopotamia–I discover signs that ancient people share a lot in common with us today. That’s not to underestimate the abundant differences I juggle while writing historical fantasy set in the Hittite Empire in 13th century BCE. But I find the commonalities more surprising.

Excavating a 5,000-year-old Tavern

My favorite authority on ancient foods, Laura Kelly, alerted me to this CNN article, “Archaeologists find 5,000-year-old tavern — including food remains — in Iraq.” Archaeologists excavated without finding much in what they gathered was an open courtyard. Months later they returned to widen the trench. This time they found:

“the industrial-sized oven, a moisture-wicking ancient ‘fridge,’ to keep food cool, and dozens of conical bowls, many containing fish remains, revealing the purpose of the courtyard to be an outdoor dining area.”

Unearthing Daily Life at Lagash

The archaeologists dug in the ancient city of Lagash, one of the largest and oldest Mesopotamian cities. It’s located northwest of the junction of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers. (The photo at top is a statue of Gudea, a ruler of Lagash)

Previous excavations focused on the architecture of elite and religious contexts. This finding revealed a snippet of everyday life. People were hanging out at the local cafe/bar. Apparently, a long-held interpretation was that Lagash’s society included only the powerful and the enslaved. This 5,000-year-old tavern contradicts that interpretation.

“The fact that you have a public gathering place where people can sit down and have a pint and have their fish stew, they’re not laboring under the tyranny of kings,” Goodman said.

Isn’t it fascinating what archaeology reveals and how scholars process those discoveries?

For Further Reading about Ancient Food

If you’re interested in foods of this area and other parts of the ancient world, a good place to start is with Laura Kelly’s website The Silk Road Gourmet.

Do you have my “novel” cookbook?

Laura Kelly contributed to my collection of recipes using the ingredients from the ancient Near East. When you sign up for my newsletter (in right sidebar), one of the gifts you’ll receive is copy of Cooking from My Fiction: Recipes imagined in my novels, designed with Bronze Age Mediterranean Ingredients. If you’re already receiving my monthly (approximately) author newsletter, and don’t have a copy, leave a comment and I’ll get it to you.

Further Ancient Recipes

If you’d enjoy a Babylonian recipe for beets and lamb, here’s my post “The World’s First Recipes: Babylonian Cooking.”