May 2017 barbarian of the worst type, a Christian, outside of Rome’s influence. April saw us welcome Dr Jo Day of the UCD School of Classics. Jo’s topic was ‘Cilician Mists and Illyrian Oils: Crocus and Iris in Antiquity’. We learned that it takes 160,000 flowers to make one kilogramme of saffron and that it is a really labour-intensive task, hence the high price of the product. There are three main uses for saffron: culinary, medicinal and dying. Its origins in the ancient world seem fairly concrete. While there are no organic remains of the crocus bulbs to be found, there are plenty of references on Minoan artefacts and Mycenaean (Linear B) tablets. Pliny (N.H. 21:17) Strabo and Aristotle all wrote about where the best saffron came from and its uses. It seems in ancient times, the spectacle of food was more important than its taste, hence the vibrant use of saffron proclaimed one’s wealth, if not one’s chef’s ability! The second part of Jo’s lecture dealt with the iris and its scent. Again, a very expensive ingredient in contemporary perfumes. Theophrastus, Pliny and Ovid all discussed and agreed that the best irises came from Illyria, whereas now, the best plants come from Tuscany. It seems only the rhizomes produce the scent and, once gathered, they are stored for three years to allow for slow oxidation. Orris butter is the concentrated oil produced and fifteen hectares produce fifteen kilogrammes of rhizomes, which in turn produce one kilogramme of ‘butter’. This can be sold for anything between seventy-five thousand and one hundred thousand euros in today’s market. Again, there is no physical evidence for the oils, but archaeology provides the sources with perfume workshops in Delos and wall paintings of putti in Pompeii. Minoan Crete also provides lots of evidence of botanicals on early vases and vessels. So, the next time someone brings you a bag of saffron home from a trip to Turkey or somewhere equally exotic, be wary – it’s probably not the genuine article unless they spent a fortune on it, though best not to point that out at that moment. It is, after all, the thought which counts! May saw us welcome Members’ Papers and this year we had two offerings. First up was Dr Máire Geaney who spoke on ‘Watermills in the Roman World and early Medieval Ireland’. Grinding wheat using a
CLASSICAL ASSOCIATION OF IRELAND saddle quern or a rotary quern would only produce about eight kilogrammes of flour a day, whereas using a water powered mill would increase productivity, reduce labour and produce in excess of twenty-five kilogrammes a day. Horizontal and vertical watermills made of wood were used in Roman times. The Romans preferred the vertical mill, whereas the medieval Irish preferred the horizontal type. This short talk was fascinating in detail and only served to whet the appetite for more. There are one hundred and fifty horizontal mills in Ireland dating from between 612 AD to 1124 AD and seven vertical ones. Early Irish law conferred a lesser noble status on millwrights, such was their importance to the community. Little island in Cork has both a vertical and horizontal mill side by side, both of which date to 613 AD. The carpentry in the vertical one is identical to that found in Kent, England. The carpenters in Irish mills were using Roman joinery of mortise and tenon joints, so it looks as if foreign millwrights were coming to Ireland at a time when England and Germany were giving up on the Roman methods of construction. The second paper of the night was by Branch member Ms Christine Shine and this centred on the 2016 CAI trip to Bulgaria. Here we saw a delightful selection of slides highlighting a great trip. Amphitheatres, hypocausts, fountains, ancient Roman paving and mosaics were among some of the images on view and the slides were a testament to the great time had by all who ventured to travel! The Cork Branch have had a good season. As always, the Branch is very grateful for the support it receives from Dr David Woods of the Dept of Classics in UCC. We thank all who have faithfully attended on Monday nights. A branch is only as strong as its members and we encourage you to attend the lectures: paying the membership fee is great, but physical attendance is necessary too! We invite all Classical Association members to come to the annual Summer School which will be held in Cork this August (18th-20th). The theme of the conference is ‘Maritime Matters’, Cork being a sea-port. The details of the summer School can be found in this Newsletter, on the CAI website (www.classicalassociation.ie) and on the brochure enclosed. See you in August! Jennifer O’Donoghue 9