FOOD AND FODDER IN THE MEDIEVAL CITY: ARCHAEOBOTANICAL MATERIALS OF THE BOLGAR HILLFORT

Abstract

Systematic archaeobotanical sampling began at the Bolgar' hillfort at 2011, the collection has now exceeded 200 samples, of which 85 have been investigated. The basic element of collection is the samples obtained as a result of fl otation of the cultural layer. The species composition of the crop plants found in them (millet, bread wheat, oats, emmer and einkorn, barley, fl ax, hemp) makes it possible to judge the structure of consumption of grain production in the city. The archaeobotanical spectrum simultaneously characterizes the everyday food of townspeople and forage products, intended for a small number of cattle kept in private estates, as well as horses – the main transport vehicle of the Middle Ages. It is practically impossible to distinguish between people's food and fodder in these materials. The grain accumulations from Bolgar, on the contrary, indicate not only the grain storage, processing or cooking, but also give a rare opportunity to assess that part of the agrarian products that was intended for animal feed. In some pits, grain was found in combination with straw (sometimes in the big volume), chaff , weeds and presumably with the remains of dung. Two variants of the interpretation of this composition of deposits on the bottom of the pits are suggested: either as litter
burned after cleaning the stables, or as storing forage stocks. No version explains completely such an unusual composition of samples, more detailed studies are required.
An additional source, marking the elite consumption of plant food by the Bolgar’ inhabitants, was the hand–piсked visual fi nds of imported fruits (grapes, peaches, fi gs, walnuts, almonds, olives, chickpeas).