Feasting and commensal rituals

Abstract

Feasting was an important means of social communication in Iron Age Europe and has been described as a kind of social glue—creating and recreating society by bringing people together to mark important events and ceremonies, through the communal consumption of large quantities of food and drink. This chapter examines the archaeological and literary evidence for Iron Age feasting, focusing in particular on the various social roles of the feast and the often elaborate material culture involved. A picture is built up of the varied types of feast that took place, and the types of food and drink that were consumed at them.