The history of bread : from pre-historic to modern times / by John Ashton.

  • John Ashton
Date:
1904
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: The history of bread : from pre-historic to modern times / by John Ashton. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Leeds Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Leeds Library.

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    instruct men in growing corn. He established the worship of Demeter at Eleusis, and instituted the mysteries in honour of the goddess. And in this pretty myth of Demeter and Perse- phone we may trace the story of the seasons ; how for nine months the earth is smiling and fertile, and for the remaining three is dead. Dr. Schliemann claimed to have found the site of ancient Troy when he uncovered the hill of Hissarlik. It was undoubtedly the remains of a pre-historic city, and one which had advanced to a considerable amount of civilisation. And this is shown particularly in one instance, in the huge earthenware jars, or pithoi, that were used for storing corn and wine. The following illustration gives a graphic description of them as they appeared in situ: ‘ One of the compartments of the uppermost houses below the Temple of Athene, and belonging to the third, the burnt city, appears to have been used as a magazine for storing corn or wine, for there are in it nine enormous earthenware jars of various forms, about 5 ft. high and 4| ft. across, their mouths being from 29^ in. to 35^ in. broad. Each of them has four handles 31 in. broad, and the clay of which they are made is as much as 2\ in. thick.’1 Dr. Schliemann says [p. 279]: ‘ The number of large jars which I brought to light in the burnt stratum of the third city certainly exceeds 600. By far the larger number of them were empty, the mouth being covered by a large flag of schist or limestone. This leads me to the conclusion that the jars were 1 Ilios. By Dr. H. Schliemann. London, 1880, pp. 32, 33.