Wine trade flourished in Islamic Sicily during medieval period, research suggests

After expanding into Sicily, the Islamic community apparently thrived through the production and export of wine, writes Harry Cockburn

A 9-11th century amphorae from Sicily (University of York)

Analysis of wine containers made in the medieval period has revealed chemical residues of grapes, indicating a “prosperous wine trade” in Islamic Sicily, researchers have said.

A team from the University of York said traders in Sicily in the 9th-11th centuries appear to have given Sicilian wine a “rebrand”, by developing slightly differently shaped amphorae (the clay vases used to transport wine) and exported it across the Mediterranean.

Together with academics at the University of Rome Tor Vergata, the scientists analysed the content of the amphorae, and found compounds “comparable to those found in ceramic jars used by some producers today for maturing wine”.

The Islamic empire expanded into parts of the Mediterranean during the 7-9th century AD, bringing Islamic society into regions of the world which produced and consumed wine on a large scale.

Professor Martin Carver, from the University of York’s Department of Archaeology, said: “Alcohol did not - and still does not - play a major role in the cultural life of Islamic society, so we were very interested in the question of how this medieval community had thrived in a wine-dominated region.

“Not only did they thrive, but built a solid economic foundation that gave them a very promising future, with the wine industry one of the core elements of their success.”

It was already known that a wine trade existed in Sicily prior to Islamic occupation, but it appears to have mostly been imported wine, with the emphasis on consumption rather than production, the team said.

The new archaeological evidence suggests the Islamic community had seen the opportunity of this, and turned their attention to production and export, the scientists said.

They said there is no evidence to suggest members of the community actually drank the wine they were trading.

Direct evidence for the consumption of alcohol is difficult to demonstrate in the archaeological record, and there are no historic sources in Sicily at this time to determine what the community was drinking.

Dr Léa Drieu, a postdoctoral research assistant at the University of York’s Department of Archaeology, who carried out the analysis, said: “We had to develop some new chemical analysis techniques in order to determine that it was grape traces we were seeing and not some other type of fruit, but the tell-tale organic residues found in the amphorae in Sicily, Palermo and elsewhere showed the content was almost certainly wine.”

Discoveries of the particular type of amphorae made and used for Sicilian wines can now be used to identify ancient trade routes.

The team said their research reveals great prosperity during this period, powered not only by the wine trade, but new crops, exchange of salted fish, cheese, spices and sugar.

The trade routes show increased production and commercial links between the Christian and Islamic worlds, bringing in a new era of prosperity, which worked alongside the existing “old” industries of Sicily.

Professor Oliver Craig, who directs The University of York’s BioArCh centre where the research was carried out, said: “Now that we have a quick and reliable test for grape products in ceramic containers, it will be interesting to investigate the deeper history, and even prehistory, of wine production and trade in the Mediterranean.”

The research is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.