from the also-an-oyster-and-cigar-bar-next-door dept.
Archaeologists have discovered the remains of an 1,800-year-old winery at the Villa of the Quintilii outside of Rome. By the team's measure, the winery was designed as much for the spectacle of wine-making as the practice itself.
Decorated rooms around the winery appear to have hosted guests who would observe the wine-making process, the researchers found, and the finishes (including marble floors) seem installed for appearances over practicality. The team's research is published in Antiquity.
"Agricultural labor was romanticized by the ruling classes of many ancient cultures, especially as it was often the source of both their wealth and status," said Emlyn Dodd, a researcher at the Institute of Classical Studies at the University of London, in an Antiquity release.
Journal Reference:
Emlyn Dodd, Giuliana Galli and Riccardo Frontoni, The spectacle of production: a Roman imperial winery at the Villa of the Quintilii, Rome [open], Antiquity, 97, 2023. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2023.18
(Score: 3, Funny) by Gaaark on Saturday April 22, @04:02PM (2 children)
Wondering if it may have been a place you could go and learn the craft as well as watch.
I'd have been the type to want to learn it: watch, then learn and do.
I'd have called it Wines' World. Schwing!
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 22, @08:41PM (1 child)
> a place you could go and learn the craft ...
Your mind is much too clean...when I read tfa I immediately thought brothel, with an attached winery.
(Score: 3, Touché) by Gaaark on Saturday April 22, @09:11PM
I'm married...with children.
I'm dead inside. ;)
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 4, Insightful) by istartedi on Saturday April 22, @04:53PM (2 children)
We may not be "ruling elites", but pizza places often let you watch the whole process. Trust me. The pizza making is not merely a spectacle. We always eat it when it's done.
The way archaeologists write sometimes, it's like a meme they share. The only thing missing here is "ceremonial purposes".
I don't think we would have too much trouble finding a winery like this in modern times. Maybe you don't see the whole ongoing process, but you can definitely tour wineries and breweries and there's onsite consumption. The people who throw down $1000 for a weekend in Napa aren't called "ruling elites" either, but they often are.
Appended to the end of comments you post. Max: 120 chars.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Thexalon on Saturday April 22, @07:08PM (1 child)
I live in an area with a lot of wineries in a 15-mile radius. While the wine is generally quite nice, at least to my palette, they've all invested heavily in providing a nice experience for tourists, which means the cheese boards, the restaurant decorations, the overall look of the vinyards, the music, etc all very plainly matter to them at least as much as fermented grape juice.
The ancient Romans really weren't all that different from us, and mostly wanted the same things we do: Cash, sex, drugs, booze, freedom, and a veneer of respectability so we can make fun of other people who want those things too.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 2) by Joe Desertrat on Wednesday April 26, @01:11AM
I'm sure the wine is still the focus, at least until they let sales people and accountants completely take over. Probably more of "We've made wine for decades and it's been good, anything we change in that process will be a negative, so how else can we soak tourists for cash?".