Grape (Vitis vinifera) use in the early modern Low Countries: a tentative combination of aDNA-analysis and historical sources

Vegetation History and Archaeobotany https://doi.org/10.1007/s00334-025-01041-y ORIGINAL ARTICLE Grape (Vitis vinifera) use in the early modern Low Countries: a tentative combination of aDNA-analysis and historical sources Mariëlla Beukers1 · Merit Hondelink2 Received: 16 August 2024 / Accepted: 21 January 2025 © The Author(s) 2025 Abstract Historical sources show that cultivated grapevines (Vitis vinifera L. ssp. vinifera) grew in mediaeval and early modern city gardens and the gardens of country houses in the northern Low Countries (today’s Netherlands). Archaeobotanical analysis of cesspit samples often report hundreds to thousands of grape seeds per sieved macrobotanical soil sample. These seeds are invariably interpreted and recorded as (fresh) grape, currant or raisin. Unfortunately, neither (culinary) historians nor archaeobotanists have so far studied the exact possible uses of the grapes. This paper describes the results of our aim to ascertain if aDNA-analysis of archaeobotanical grape seeds from early modern cesspits can help identify grape variety, and in extension can be used to deduce provenance and use, i.e. how the grape was processed and consumed. In this pilot study, aDNA of six grape seeds found in early modern cesspits in the town of Delft, Holland, was analysed. The results show that two samples provided high quality endogenous DNA, three samples provided moderate levels of endogenous DNA, and one sample yielded basically no identifiable grape DNA. There is evidence for multiple varieties of grapes, ascribed to different European regions of origin. A kinship-analysis between the archaeological samples analysed and modern varieties shows that there are likely connections with Iberian grapes and a possible parent-offspring relation with Pinot. For some seeds, a raisin might be the most likely provenance, for others use as verjuice or fresh grapes is most likely. In all cases, grapes used for wine remain a possibility. The results of the aDNA and kinship analysis therefore provide novel insights into early modern grape consumption practices in general and provenance and potential processing of the grape seeds in particular. Keywords Grape · Ancient DNA · Culinary archaeology · Wine history · Food preparation · Early modern era · Vineyards Introduction Wild grapevines (Vitis vinifera ssp. sylvestris (Gmelin) Hegi) are estimated to be one of the first fruits to be cultivated in the Middle East and the Mediterranean region (Zohary and Spiegel-Roy 1975; McGovern et al. 1997; Terral et al. 2010). The emergence of grapevine cultivation, and Communicated by C. C. Bakels. Mariëlla Beukers 1 Department of Humanities, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands 2 Groningen Institute of Archaeology, Groningen University, Groningen, The Netherlands in extension viticulture and wine making in this region, has been researched extensively (Renfrew 1972; Palmer 1994; McGovern et al. 2003; Zohary et al. 2012; Pagnoux et al. 2015; Garnier and Valamoti 2016; Valamoti et al. 2020; Coradeschi et al. 2023). The grapevine thrives in Mediterranean-type environments, though it can also tolerate more cooler and humid conditions, making it possible to reproduce in the relative mild climate of western Europe (Zohary et al. 2012). The start and growth of cultivating grapevines (Vitis vinifera L. ssp. vinifera) for use in wine production in other regions is documented too, though less elaborate than the domestication process (Unwin 1991). The earliest grapeseed finds in the Netherlands according to the Relational Archaeobotanical Database for Advanced Research, RADAR (van Haaster and Brinkkemper 1995), predominantly date to the Roman period and are generally interpreted as seeds of cultivated grapes (Knörzer 1967, 13 Vegetation History and Archaeobotany 1981; Zeven et al. 1997; van Haaster 2005, p 6). From the mediaeval period onwards, grape seeds are found in most archaeological contexts related to food consumption, such as cesspits (Hondelink and Schepers 2020, p 558), with no or very little difference between their presence in contexts attributed to different social classes. Especially when dealing with mediaeval and early modern archaeological culinary contexts, the number of grape seeds found can surmount to the thousands (RADAR), begging the question in what form the grapes were consumed: as table grape, raisin, wine, or verjuice? Little can be said about the number of grapes consumed based on the archaeobotanical finds. Grapes produce an average of four ovules per ovary, with each ovule potentially producing one seed when fertilised. This means that one grape contains an average of four seeds (Carmona et al. 2008; Vasconcelos et al. 2009; Hondelink and Schepers 2020, p 558). The number of grapes per cluster and the number of clusters per vine of course varies enormously depending on different factors, such as the variety of grapevine, the weather, the soil, pruning, pests, and many more. Furthermore, it must be considered that seedless grapes existed at least since the early Middle Ages (Power 2006, p 215), making the grape seeds found in cesspit samples only the tip of the iceberg. In fact, currants specifically could be seedless. In his Fructologia, the famous German gardener and botanist Knoop (1763), working in the Netherlands, mentions the Vitis Corinthiaca sive apyrena, the grape from Corinth with no or little seeds. These factors combined make it impossible to even guesstimate how many grapes were consumed, in whatever form. Still, when considering the number of seeds found in archaeological contexts, the consensus among archaeobotanists is that (fresh) grapes were (seasonally) available and consumed by many of the public. Archaeobotanists tend to interpret archaeological grape seeds as a group: grape/currant/raisin, as it is not possible to distinguish between fresh and preserved grapes (i.e. currants and raisins, or grapes stored in vinegar, honey or a coating of sugar). The premise behind this is the unspoken assumption, also shared by historians, that the Dutch climate was unfavourable for producing wine. But an alternative use for grapes, such as verjuice, is relatively unknown and therefore almost unstudied. In our view, the focus of archaeobotanists on grapes consumed as either grape, currant or raisin, without further study of the uses of the fruit, and the lack of historical studies into the presence of grapevines in the Netherlands poses a lacuna in the research conducted into mediaeval and early modern Dutch food consumption. To explore those possible consumption practices, nontraditional methods need to be implemented. Cappellini et al. (2010) and Wales et al. (2016) demonstrated that many waterlogged grape seeds contain high proportions of endogenous DNA that could be identified with state-of-the-art, 13 high throughput aDNA sequencing. This paper aims to explore ways in which aDNA-analysis of archaeobotanical grape seeds from early m (...truncated)