The Roman City of Baelo Claudia and the Secrets of Garum

Baelo Claudia has become a laboratory for the study of salted fish and garum, a fish sauce highly valued in classical times. These topics are included in broader studies of how the Ancient World exploited fish resources.

This story is a brief sample of the temporary exhibition that took place at the Archaeological Ensemble of Baelo Claudia.

It shows the results of the work done by a multidisciplinary team of archaeologists, food engineers, marine biologists, chemists and geologists from the University of Cadiz in collaboration with other institutions.

And now come with us to get to know the main phases of the so called "halieutic cycle" (related to the process of garum and salted fish in the ancient world).

Like today, tuna was the most valued species for the production of salted fish. In this picture we can see the remains of tuna bones with cut marks.

Although we do not have a description of the "ronqueo" or specialized tuna cutting process, we know what they called its various parts thanks to Pliny and Athenaeus of Naukratis in his Deipnosophistae. And like today, each of them had a different price.

Roman hooks and jigs are morphologically identical to today's hooks and jigs, the only difference being the material of construction: from bronze then to steel today.

The Baelo Claudia urban salting factories were very functional, with salting ponds for macerating the fish, rooms for cleaning and cutting, and warehouses.

A number of large vessels (dolia) have been found in the factories of Baelo, some of which are complete. Recent excavations have shown that, as in Pompeii, these vessels were also used to ferment fish.

The two hectares of the southern quarter could accommodate about 37 cetariae (of which we know only 11). The production capacity of Baelo Claudia was very high, estimated at 2500 m³.

We know of about 300 salting factories throughout the Mediterranean and along the Atlantic coast, supplying both the major cities and the army. In Rome, salted fish was often consumed, and garum gaditanum was one of the most appreciated.

The productive and commercial activities were closely linked. Bronze coins for everyday transactions are often found in excavations. Purchase and sale contracts must have been common, as evidenced by the written evidence (inkwells and quills).