Subscribe now for full access and no adverts
REVIEW BY EMLYN DODD
The study of dolia, and indeed research more generally into ancient viti- and viniculture, has become increasingly popular in the past two decades. Cheung’s book fits neatly into this trajectory and complements other recent work on the topic by Maureen Carroll, Charlotte Carrato, Dimitri Van Limbergen, and Yolanda Peña Cervantes, among others. This monograph also builds from several related articles and chapters already published by Cheung, though often extends or explores different analytical avenues from her past research.
The nine chapters of this book aim to ‘trace the life of dolium-based storage technology’, beginning with an introduction to these containers and their role in food storage, through their production, use, distribution, and various aspects of repair, recycling, discard, and decline. Cheung focuses for the most part on dolia in relation to wine, although she acknowledges that they were used for other commodities, including olive oil and dry foods. The book as a whole is nicely published, with a section of colour plates complemented by black-and-white figures in the text, a robust bibliography, and clearly laid-out appendices. At times, however, further explanation or bibliography might have been helpful in light of recent debate (for example, when considering the attribution of dolium contents, are these reached using organic-residue analysis, archaeobotanical remains, contextual features, and how certain can we really be?).
The book’s contents are rigorously researched and include several new intellectual contributions. Occasional ethnographic notes are particularly useful: for instance, the practice in modern Portuguese production using talhas of adding a layer of olive oil on top of the wine to act as a preserving seal (a method for which we have evidence in antiquity, too). Chapter 7 highlights the ‘rarely discussed’ aspect of dolium repairs, helpfully illustrated here with diagrams and photographs. Particularly interesting is the inclusion of Cato the Elder’s description of the use of sulphur and gypsum in dolium repairs, which made this reviewer reflect on their other use in wine preservation, perhaps serving a joint purpose – serendipitously or not – in antiquity.
While these strengths are not insubstantial, one significant lacuna persists throughout the book: how does the dolium phenomenon fit into the spatially and chronologically broader landscape of ancient wine production and storage? A cursory glance over the contents highlights a focus only on Italy, Gaul, and Iberia. What was happening in other regions, and, more specifically, why were dolia never (or extremely rarely) integrated in places like North Africa, the Aegean, or the Levant, where enormous quantities of wine were produced in Roman antiquity? This seems an important aspect to address for a book on Rome’s ‘empire of wine’.
More consequential is that this gap then generates several other challenges. Given the considerable focus on central Italy (over three-quarters of the book), one must be cautious with conclusions grounded only in regional material that might easily be interpreted as broadly applicable: for example, the statement that dolia emerged as the defining feature of wine and olive oil cellars (p.69). Our current evidence suggests that this is simply not true for more than half of the ancient Mediterranean. It is also now widely accepted that patterns observed at Vesuvian towns cannot necessarily be mapped empire-wide, and this is certainly the case regarding the use of dolia in urban storage.
Elsewhere, integration of recent scientific data would have built a more holistic and up-to-date image of developments in, for example, Iberia and Gaul, where archaeobotanical, ancient DNA, or climate analysis and modelling are nuancing theories of Phoenician, Greek, or Etruscan vinicultural influence. Similarly, including recent work by Peña Cervantes would have helped to construct a more detailed analysis of mixed cellars and dual-fermentation traditions using dolia and orcae in Iberia.
Despite these limitations, Cheung’s book is a considerable new contribution to the study of the dolium as a feature central to winemaking, transport, and storage in certain regions of the Roman Republic and Empire. It will undoubtedly make this material accessible to a wider audience and useable by a much broader cross-section of the research community – both of which are strengths and should be applauded. Cheung’s prose is clear and approachable, and the book is nicely produced with minimal errors, creating a resource useful for teaching, specialist research, and for the reader generally interested in aspects of ancient wine, foodways, trade, and economy.
Dolia: the containers that made Rome an empire of wine
Caroline Cheung
Princeton University Press, £45
ISBN 978-0691243009
