Within the rapidly expanding area of research on food and foodways, the medieval eastern Mediterranean is still very much an unexplored area. The aim of the POMEDOR project was to explore this new field in a multidisciplinary way and to stimulate further research. Although the project focused primarily on food and foodways approached through archaeological and archaeometric studies of pottery - from transport amphorae to serving dishes, through food processing utensils, cooking wares, and wares used in food production processes - the conference encompassed a wider field, including historical, archaeozoological, archaeobotanical and anthropological studies.
Case studies in Greece, Turkey, Israel, Cyprus, Ukraine, etc., provide insight into food and foodways in the Byzantine Empire, the Crusader states, and beyond. Special attention was paid in the project to transitional periods, when new rulers and new populations with different cultural identities came into contact: the Fatimid and Crusader Levant, the Aegean between Byzantine and Frankish rule, Anatolia from the Byzantine to the Ottoman periods, etc. The conference presents the latest research, from exploratory studies on Late Byzantine transport amphorae to synthesis on the role of the harbour of Chalcis in food and pottery supply and maritime trade.
The POMEDOR project is funded by the French National Research Agency (ANR).
Information and Registration before May 1rst:
yona.waksman@mom.fr
Download the Conference Program
Program & Abstracts
THURSDAY 19 May
- 09h00 Registration
- 09h20 Welcome
- 09h40 Introduction. People, Pottery and Food in the Medieval Eastern Mediterranean: the POMEDOR Project, S.Y. Waksman (CNRS Lyon)
- 10h30 Coffee Break
Cyprus and the Levant
Session chair Nicholas Coureas
- 11h00 Population Change in the Southern Levant as Reflected in Ceramic Production and Consumption from the Fatimid to the Crusader Periods, E.J. Stern (Israel Antiquities Authority), A. Shapiro (Israel Antiquities Authority), S.Y. Waksman (CNRS Lyon)
- 11h30 Food and Holy War: the Role of Food in the Crusaders' Conduct of War and in their Encounter with the New Land and its Inhabitants, J. Bronstein (Haifa University)
- 12h Eating and Drinking at Medieval Kinet, S. Redford (University of London), C. Çakırlar (Groningen University)
- 12h30 Discussion
12h45 Lunch Break
Session chair Smadar Gabrieli
- 14h00 Between "Tanur" and "Oven" - From the Early Islamic to the Crusader Kitchen, E. Yehuda (Tel Aviv University)
- 14h30 Some Thoughts on Sugar Production and Sugar Pots in the Middle Islamic to Mamluk Periods in Jordan, R.E. Jones (Glasgow University), T. Grey (University of Wales Trinity St David)
- 15h00 Ceramic Evidence for Sugar Production in the 'Akko Plain: Typology and Provenance Studies, E.J. Stern (Israel Antiquities Authority), A. Shapiro (Israel Antiquities Authority), N. Getzov (Israel Antiquities Authority), S.Y. Waksman (CNRS Lyon)
- 15h30 Discussion
15h45 Coffee Break
Session chair Scott Redford
- 16h15 Du lac de Limassol aux tables de Nicosie : pêcheries et consommation de poissons à Chypre sous la domination latine (1191-1570), P. Trélat (Rouen University)
- 16h45 Les tavernes (canutes) comme instruments de contrôle économique et social dans le royaume de Chypre aux XIIIe-XVIe siècles, G. Grivaud (Rouen University)
- 17h15 Food, Wine and the Latin Clergy of Lusignan Cyprus, 1191-1473, N. Coureas (The Cyprus Research Centre, Nicosia)
- 17h45 Archaeological and Archaeometric Investigations into Cooking Wares in Frankish and Venetian Cyprus, R.S. Gabrieli (University of Sydney), A. Pecci (Barcelona University), A. Shapiro (Israel Antiquities Authority), S.Y. Waksman (CNRS Lyon)
- 18h15 Discussion
20h00 Conference Dinner (for speakers)
Byzantine Dinner Created by S. Grainger, A. Dalby and I. Anagnostakis
Paul Bocuse Institute, Ecully
Under the Patronage of Chef Régis Marcon
FRIDAY 20 May
- 10h00 Coffee and Posters Session
Byzantium and beyond
Session chair Filiz Yenişehirlioğlu
- 11h00 La nourriture des autres aux yeux des Byzantins (10e-14e s.): Petchénègues, Latins et Turcs, B. Caseau (Paris-Sorbonne University)
- 11h30 The Composition of Church Festive Meals in a Medieval Christian Community in the Southern Crimea, Based on Ceramics and Faunal Materials, I. Teslenko (National Ukrainian Academy of Science)
- 12h00 Eating in the Aegean (ca. 700-1500): A Comparison of Pots and Pans in Athens and Ephesus, J.A.C. Vroom (Leiden University)
- 12h30 Discussion
12h45 Lunch Break
Session chair Béatrice Caseau
- 14h00 Ceramic Vessels and Food Supplies: Chalcis as a Major Production and Distribution Centre in the Byzantine and Frankish Periods, N.D. Kontogiannis (Ephorate of Antiquities of Boeotia), S.S. Skartsis (Directorate of Byzantine and Post Byzantine Antiquities, Athens), G. Vaxevanis (Ephorate of Antiquities of Euboea), S.Y. Waksman (CNRS Lyon)
- 14h30 Food consumption and pottery in Corinth, 12th-13th centuries, E. Tzavella (Open University of Cyprus)
- 15h00 L'approvisionnement de Constantinople et des cités pontiques par les Occidentaux, M. Balard (Paris-Sorbonne University)
- 15h30 Discussion
15h45 Coffee Break
Session chair Richard Jones
- 16h15 Animals in Food Consumption during the Byzantine Period in Light of the Yenikapı Metro and Marmaray Excavations, Istanbul, V. Onar (Istanbul University)
- 16h45 Foods Consumed in Byzantine Greece: the Evidence of Biological Data and Stable Isotope Analysis, C. Bourbou (Ephorate of Antiquities of Chania)
- 17h15 Food Production and Consumption in the Byzantine Empire in Light of the Archaeobotanical Finds, A. E. Reuter (Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum Mainz & Kiel University)
- 17h45 Discussion
18h30 Public Conference
Banquets byzantins: la gastronomie du centre du monde, A. Dalby
SATURDAY 21 May
Trading goods, trading tastes
Session chair Michel Balard
- 9h00 Residue Analysis of Medieval Amphorae from the Eastern Mediterranean, A. Pecci (Barcelona University), N. Garnier (Garnier Laboratory), S.Y. Waksman (CNRS Lyon)
- 9h30 One Amphora, Different Contents - the Multiple Purposes of Byzantine Amphorae According to Written and Archaeological Data, E. Todorova (Bulgarian Academy of Sciences)
- 10h00 Byzantine Amphorae of the 10th-13th Centuries from the Novy Svet Shipwrecks, Crimea, the Black Sea. Preliminary Archaeological Typology and Archaeometric Studies, S. Zelenko (Kiev University), I. Morozova (Kiev University), S.Y. Waksman (CNRS Lyon)
- 10h30 Discussion
10h45 Coffee Break
Session chair Edna Stern
- 11h15 Freightage of Amphorae, Tableware and Foodstuffs in the Middle and Late Byzantine Period: the Evidence of Shipwrecks, G. Koutsouflakis (Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities, Athens)
- 11h45 Production for Whom and for What Target: Thoughts on A Group of Wine Containers from the Kuşadası, Kadıkalesi Excavation, Z. Mercangöz (Ege University Izmir)
- 12h15 Food Habits and Tableware in Venice: the Connections with the Mamluk Sultanate, V. Vezzoli (Ca' Foscari University, Venice)
- 12h45 Discussion
13h00 Lunch Break
Byzantium and beyond
Session chair Joanita Vroom
- 14h15 Changing People, Dining Habits and Pottery Technologies: Tableware Productions on the Eve of the Ottoman Empire in Western Anatolia, J. Burlot (Lyon University), S.Y. Waksman (CNRS Lyon), B. Böhlendorf (Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum Mainz), J.A.C. Vroom (Leiden University), I. Teslenko (National Ukrainian Academy of Science)
- 14h45 Ottoman Period Sources for the Study of Pottery and Food (15th-18th centuries), F. Yenişehirlioğlu (Koç University, Ankara)
- 15h15 Discussion
15h30 Concluding Remarks