Storage Pit

Preserved food was an important part of ancient diets and often the only way to ensure food supplies through harsh winters. One way of preventing it from going off is by smoking it, whereby meat or fish is hung over smouldering wood chippings, usually of oak or alder. Smokehouses were also used to store the cured food for the winter months ahead. Aside from smoking, salting and pickling were common methods of preservation. As the salt draws the water from the food it also brings out the bacteria, slowing the oxidation process by which it goes rancid.