This page cannot be viewed in frames

Go to page

If you have found a spelling error, please, notify us by selecting that text and pressing Ctrl+Enter.

Scientists trying to recreate Roman refrigerator

This post is also available in: Polish (polski)

Discovery of the Roman cellar
Discovery of the Roman cellar | Photo: Peter-Andrew Schwarz

In 2018, in the Swiss city of Kaiseraugst (the northern part of the country), which in Roman times was called Augusta Raurica, scientists found an interesting example of a Roman house. Namely, it had a storage box that, according to researchers, could serve as an antique refrigerator. Due to the assumptions, reconstruction works have been started.

Ancient Romans are known for digging this type of holes/hiding places in the ground in order to be able to keep oysters, cheese or vegetables there to make them better preserved. Additionally, in winter, such “refrigerators” could be filled with snow and ice, and then covered with a layer of straw.

Archaeologists plan to check to what extent the refrigerator worked well in ancient times. To this end, they undertook an experiment. They plan to cover the hiding place with successive portions of snow (20-30 cm of a layer), separating them with a layer of straw. In this way, they want to definitely confirm that the storage compartments could effectively act as refrigerators.

Sources

IMPERIUM ROMANUM needs your support!

If you like the content that I collect on the website and that I share on social media channels I will be grateful for the support. Even the smallest amounts will allow me to pay for further corrections, improvements on the site and pay the server.

Support IMPERIUM ROMANUM!

Support IMPERIUM ROMANUM!

Find out more!

Check your curiosity and learn something new about the ancient world of the Romans. By clicking on the link below, you will be redirected to a random entry.

Random curiosity

Random curiosity

Discover secrets of ancient Rome!

If you want to be up to date with newest articles on website and discoveries from the world of ancient Rome, subscribe to the newsletter, which is sent each Saturday.

Subscribe to newsletter!

Subscribe to newsletter

Spelling error report

The following text will be sent to our editors: