An archive picture of archaeologists packing snow in a hole in Augusta Raurica
(Peter-Andrew Schwarz)
What’s the secret behind a shaft found during excavations in Kaiseraugst in northern Switzerland? Researchers from the University of Basel are filling it with snow and testing whether the Romans could have used it as a fridge.
Kaiseraugst, in canton Aargau, is home to ruins of the Ancient Roman city of Augusta Rauricaexternal link. The Romans are known to have used such holes to store fruit, vegetables, oysters, cheese and other products that go off. In winter, they would fill them with snow and ice and cover them with straw.
This is the third fridge-building attempt by archaeologist Peter-Andrew Schwarz and his team. This time they are using the method of the “nevatersexternal link” (ice makers) from Majorca.
“We’ll add 20-30 centimetres of snow, pack it tightly and cover it with straw, before adding the next layer,” Schwarz told the Swiss News Agency.
The experiment, which is set to run until Friday and can be viewed by the public, is not actual proof that the shafts were used as fridges, but Schwarz said he wanted to show that it was possible in principle. The analysis of the third attempt is expected in August.
All rights reserved. The content of the website by swissinfo.ch is copyrighted. It is intended for private use only. Any other use of the website content beyond the use stipulated above, particularly the distribution, modification, transmission, storage and copying requires prior written consent of swissinfo.ch. Should you be interested in any such use of the website content, please contact us via contact@swissinfo.ch.
As regards the use for private purposes, it is only permitted to use a hyperlink to specific content, and to place it on your own website or a website of third parties. The swissinfo.ch website content may only be embedded in an ad-free environment without any modifications. Specifically applying to all software, folders, data and their content provided for download by the swissinfo.ch website, a basic, non-exclusive and non-transferable license is granted that is restricted to the one-time downloading and saving of said data on private devices. All other rights remain the property of swissinfo.ch. In particular, any sale or commercial use of these data is prohibited.
