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Ancient winery gave rich Romans a taste of winemaking — without the hard work
A lavish 2,000-year-old winery uncovered in the ruins of a villa just outside Rome may have been used as an entertainment venue, providing a winemaking “experience” for wealthy Romans.
The structure, which dates from the mid third century AD, is the second known example of a winery built as a spectacle for the rich and powerful, and perhaps even a Roman emperor, researchers say.
The Villa of the Quintilii, where the winery was discovered, was sprawled across a basalt ridge descending from the Alban Hills, southeast of Rome.
Excavation of the villa began in 1998, but a 2017 mission focusing on its gates and towers has revealed a “lavishly decorated” complex of rooms and channels that was used to produce and store wine, archaeologists writing in the journal Antiquity revealed.
They discovered an area with all the hallmarks of a winery, with equipment that included a large, marble grape-treading area, and presses, a vat for the collection and settling of grapes, and channels leading to a wine cellar filled with ceramics for storage.
Though these features were typical of third-century wineries, it is the “highly unusual” decoration and architecture at the winery that set it apart, researchers said, adding that it displayed “a degree of luxury rarely seen in ancient production spaces.”
The winery was also surrounded by three dining rooms, allowing curious observers a glimpse of the production process – something researchers say is commented on in ancient letters that “recount the act of banqueting while watching and listening to the workers treading grapes.”
“Agricultural labour was romanticised by the ruling classes of many ancient cultures, especially as it was often the source of both their wealth and status,” lead author Emlyn Dodd, previously of the British School at Rome and now based in the Institute of Classical Studies, University of London, explained in a statement.
“The excavations at the Villa of the Quintilii reveal to us how ancient Roman elites reimagined the annual vintage as a ‘theatrical’ performance, prioritizing the experience of those observing over the practical needs of the workers,” he added.
Researchers speculate that an emperor and his courtiers could have visited the villa every year for the experience.
“It would have been a real spectacle for those watching, the combination of fountains of wine and water, luxurious materials – especially the thin white marble channels through which the wine could be seen flowing – and the sounds of the workers and music would have resulted in a theatrical show,” Dodd added.
The earliest evidence of winemaking has been traced back 8,000 years to Georgia, southeastern Europe, by an international team of scientists, after Neolithic pottery shards were found to contain grape wine residue from 6,000-5,800 BC.
注释：
lavish: adj
表示"过分慷慨的;浪费的"，means "very generous or wasteful in living or using"，如：A rich man can be lavish of his money. 富有的人用钱大手大脚。
sprawl: v
表示"使蔓延"，means "sit or lie with one's limbs spread out;go, come, or spread in a rambling or irregular way"，如：I like to sprawl out in a big bed. 我喜欢四肢全伸开松散地躺在大床上。
basalt: n
表示" 玄武岩"，如：Basalt is the commonest volcanic rock. 玄武岩是最普通的火山岩。
Excavation: n
表示"发掘;出土文物"，means "the act of digging;"，如：Excavation of the site will begin tomorrow. 明天开始挖掘工作。
Antiquity：n
表示"古代；古物；古迹"，means "the historic period preceding the Middle Ages in Europe;extreme oldness"，如：The culture of antiquity was rediscovered. 古代文化重见天日。Animals and plants of remote antiquity turned to fossils. 远古的动植物变成了化石。
hallmark: n
表示"标志；特征"，means "a distinctive characteristic or attribute"，如：One hallmark of a good politician is his ability to influence people. 衡量一个优秀政治家的标志之一就是他影响大众的能力。
vat: n
表示"大桶，大盆，缸"，means "a large open vessel for holding or storing liquids"，如：The worker is dyeing cloth in a vat. 工人正在一个大桶里染布。
banquet: v
表示" 宴请；设宴"，means "provide a feast or banquet for"，如：They banqueted her when she became the director of the company. 当她就任这家公司的经理时, 他们为她举行了宴会。It's interesting for me to banquet. 对我来说参加宴会很有意思。
romanticise: v
表示" 使浪漫化"，means "=romanticize(美),make romantic in style."，如：Unlike many in the development world, she does not romanticise poverty or patronise the poor. 不像发展界中的许多人，她从不把贫穷浪漫化，也不对穷人盛气凌人。
vintage: n; adj
1. n表示" 收获；"，means "a season's yield of wine from a vineyard"，如：The vintage was later than usual last year. 去年葡萄收获季节较平常晚。
2. adj表示"古典的；"，means "classical"，如：Jiaxing is a vintage town marinating in a thick cultural atmosphere. 嘉兴是一座有着浓厚文化积淀的历史名城。
theatrical: adj
表示"剧场的；夸张的"，means "of or relating to the theater;"，如：The expert is writing a theatrical review. 专家正在写戏剧评论。He has a very theatrical style of speaking. 他说话非常夸张。
中文简要说明：
古罗马人生活奢华，又多了一处史迹可佐证。英国考古期刊报导，一处2000年前的豪华酒庄遗址最近在意大利罗马附近出土，年代可上溯至公元3世纪，有可能是古罗马皇帝兴建，考古学家说，这处酒庄甚至具备能喷出美酒的喷泉，权贵可以边用餐边观赏酿酒工人劳动。现代人也得以藉此一窥古罗马酿酒业发达程度。
美国有线电视新闻网引述期刊《古物》（Antiquity）报导，遗址位于位于罗马东南部亚尔巴山（Alban Hills）的昆提里别墅（Villa of the Quintilii），靠近阿皮亚古道（Via Appia Antica），酒庄建于一处玄武岩缓坡。研究人员指出，这是历来已知第2处为古罗马富豪权贵兴建的酒庄，甚至有可能是为古罗马皇帝所建。
这处考古地点早在1998年即已开挖，但这次发现豪华酒庄的则是2017年成立的任务小组，这个小组把考古重点聚焦于遗址的大门与塔楼，此前已发现战车竞技场、剧场、大理石浴场。考古人员近来又找到一区「装潢奢华」的复合建物，包括用于酿造、储存葡萄酒的房间与通道。这片区域出土的建物与文物全有酒庄的特征，其中不少是酿酒设备，例如以大理石筑成的葡萄踩踏区、榨汁器、用于收集葡萄的盆桶，还有多条通往酒窖的通道，酒窖内满是用来储存葡萄酒的陶器。
上述发现具有公元3世纪酒庄的特征，然而此处酒庄的装潢与建筑「高度不凡」，与其他已发现的酒庄遗迹截然不同。研究人员表示，这处酒庄遗址显示了「古代作坊之中罕见的奢华程度」。 这处酒庄四周还有3间餐室，让莅临酒庄的宾客可以实地观看制造葡萄酒的过程。研究人员说，这一点在古代已有着墨，有文献「描述众人饮宴同时观看、聆听工人踩踏葡萄」。
这项研究报告的第一作者是曾任职罗马英国学校、现于伦敦大学（University of London）古典研究所的达德（Emlyn Dodd）。他表示，古代许多文化的统治阶级都把农业劳动赋予浪漫想象，尤其因为这是统治阶级构筑财富与地位的来源。
达德说，昆提里别墅此番发现的遗迹，向世人展现古罗马精英阶级如何重新看待年度酿酒大事，当时的权贵把酿酒当成一种「剧场」表演，在权贵心目中，观看者的体验比酿酒工人的需求更重要。
研究人员推测，古罗马时代有一位皇帝与朝臣可能年年造访这处别墅，就为了观看这种「酿酒剧场」。达德说：「这在当时称得上是值得一看的奇观，此处结合了会喷出酒与水的喷泉，陈设富丽堂皇，行经白色薄大理石砌成的甬道时还可以看见美酒流过，再加上酿酒工人劳动时的声响与乐音，这些都是表演的元素。」
《古物》报导，这处酒庄所处年代必定晚于古罗马皇帝康莫德斯（Commodus，卒于公元192年）统治时期，酒庄建物盖过康莫德斯时期兴建的圆形广场一部分，酒庄设施建筑具备戈尔迪安三世（Gordian III，公元244年遭罢黜）时期的特征。考古团队指出，康莫德斯在公元182到183年下令杀害别墅主人昆提里兄弟以夺取这处产业，这座别墅长期为古罗马皇帝拥有，后经陆续修建拓展，至少持续到戈尔迪安三世统治时期。时至公元4世纪至5世纪，别墅首度出现废弃迹象。
目前已知人类历史最早的酿酒行为距今8000年前，地点是现今欧洲东南部的乔治亚。这项发现是一支跨国科学家团队的考古成果，科学家在当地发现新石器时代陶器破片含有公元前6000年至公元前5800年的葡萄酒残留物。
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