20 October 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

A Fig Dating Back Over 2,000 Years has been Discovered in North Dublin – A First of Its Kind for Ireland

The discovery of a fig dating back 2,000 years during an archaeological excavation of Drumanagh in north Dublin, has been described as “incredibly rare”. The discovery shines a light on the foods that were traded between the Roman Empire and Ireland thousands of years ago.

In Drumanagh, between Loughshinney and Rush, on a headland where a significant Roman Empire trading post once stood, a charred piece of fig fruit was discovered during an excavation.

The 2,000-year-old fig is just one of many artifacts discovered in the region during excavations. Other discoveries include ceramic and metal items, along with more food remnants, according to a press release from University College Dublin regarding the archeological discovery. Food remains were able to stay preserved due to their burned condition.

Christine Baker, Fingal County Council’s Heritage Officer/Archaeologist, is leading the excavations, which have been ongoing for several years during the summer months.

The ancient fig provides new insights into the goods traded between the Roman Empire and Ireland.



📣 Our WhatsApp channel is now LIVE! Stay up-to-date with the latest news and updates, just click here to follow us on WhatsApp and never miss a thing!!



“Fig seeds dating to as far back as the 13th century have been recovered from excavations of medieval Dublin, Cork, and other towns,” Professor Merial McClatchie, director of the UCD Ancient Foods research group at  University College Dublin (UCD)  School of Archaeology, said per the news release.

The ancient find is a first of its kind for Ireland.

The charred fig from the Drumanagh excavation. This image was taken at a Historic England laboratory using an AHRC-funded Keyence VHX7000 3-D digital microscope at x 30 magnification Credit: Historic England
The charred fig from the Drumanagh excavation. This image was taken at a Historic England laboratory using an AHRC-funded Keyence VHX7000 3-D digital microscope at x 30 magnification Credit: Historic England

“An actual fruit has never been found in Ireland until now, but what is most important about the Drumanagh fig is its antiquity. It is without parallel in Ireland and is by far the oldest example of an exotic fruit found here,” McClatchie said.

But while figs were traded across the Roman Empire, McClatchie said “we did not know until now that they made it all the way to Ireland”.

At its height, the Roman Empire ruled much of Europe, and parts of Western Asia and North Africa. Its power did not extend into Ireland, however.

The establishment of extensive trading routes within the Empire allowed Roman cuisine to become widely available, including new herbs and spices, nuts such as almonds, and fruits such as grapes, dates and figs.

All the finds together have helped researchers better understand how people in Ireland lived thousands of years ago.

“Our excavations have revealed more of the story of those living and working at Drumanagh,” said Christine Baker per the news release. “We now know there was an importation, not just of goods but of lifestyle. By these windswept cliffs people were consuming spelt bread, olive oil and figs, drinking from glass vessels and fine ceramic cups while wearing brooches and glass beads. The evidence so far points to a connection with the Chester/Wirral area of Roman Britain during the first 200 years of the Roman conquest.”

The Drumanagh promontory fort is a nationally important Iron Age archaeological site and consists of a headland covering approximately 46 acres, defended by a series of earthworks.

University College Dublin

Cover Image Credit: Detail of seeds embedded within the charred fig from Drumanagh. This photograph was taken at a Historic England laboratory using an AHRC-funded Keyence VHX7000 3-D digital microscope at x 30 magnification. Credit: Historic England Historic England

Related Articles

Ancient Water Pipeline Unearthed on 65-Meter Hill in Tajikistan Reveals Engineering Marvel of the Past

19 August 2025

19 August 2025

Archaeologists in Tajikistan have made a groundbreaking discovery at the Mugtepa settlement in Istaravshan: an ancient water pipeline system, constructed...

The excavation, which started in a cave in Turkey’s Mardin, turned into a huge underground city

19 April 2022

19 April 2022

In an underground city known used as a settlement in the early Christian era, in the Midyat district of Mardin,...

“Secret” Excavations in Luxembourg Reveal 141 Roman Gold Coins from Nine Roman Emperors

13 January 2025

13 January 2025

Archaeologists uncovered a Roman gold coin hoard of 141 Roman gold coins dating to the second half of the 4th...

Remains of first Islamic madrassa found in Turkey’s Harran

1 December 2021

1 December 2021

The remnants of a 12th-century madrassa (Islamic institution of higher instruction) have been discovered in the archaeological site of Harran,...

Surprising Discovery: In Guatemala, archaeologists uncover hidden neighborhood in the ancient Maya city

28 September 2021

28 September 2021

A recent lidar analysis revealed, the region surrounding Central Tikal’s Lost World Complex, which was long thought to be a...

Evidence of Brain Surgery performed 3,000 years ago discovered in the ancient city of Tel Megiddo

27 February 2023

27 February 2023

Researchers have discovered a rare instance of delicate cranial surgery, possibly the earliest of its kind in the Middle East,...

A center on the Anatolian Mesopotamian trade route; Tavsanli Mound

24 October 2021

24 October 2021

Excavations at Tavşanlı mound, which is known to be the first settlement in Western Anatolia during the Bronze Age, continue....

Paleontologists Unearth Dozens of Giant Dinosaur Eggs in Fossilized Nest in Spain

15 November 2021

15 November 2021

Spain was the scene of a new paleontological discovery. Paleontologists extracted 30 Titanosaurus dinosaur eggs from a two-ton rock in...

First in Anatolian Archaeology, a 2,600-year-old Sacred Room and Stone Symbolizing the Goddess Kubaba Discovered at Oluz Höyük

29 November 2024

29 November 2024

Archaeologists have discovered a sacred room and stone from the Phrygian period, dating back 2,600 years, during excavations at the...

Archaeologists have unearthed a flawless Roman blue glass bowl in the Dutch city of Nijmegen

23 January 2022

23 January 2022

Archaeologists excavating the site of a comprehensive housing and green space development in Nijmegen’s Winkelsteeg, one of the oldest cities...

A Monumental 3,800-Year-Old Warrior Kurgan Discovered in Azerbaijan

16 July 2025

16 July 2025

A monumental discovery has emerged from the windswept plains of Ceyranchol in western Azerbaijan: a 3,800-year-old Middle Bronze Age kurgan,...

Scientists unlock the ‘Cosmos’ on the Antikythera Mechanism

13 March 2021

13 March 2021

Scientists may have finally made a complete digital model of the 2000-year-old Cosmos panel of a mechanical device called the...

In Fraueninsel in Lake Chiemsee: Romanesque a central building hidden underground for 1,000 years discovered

25 February 2024

25 February 2024

On Fraueninsel, an island in Germany’s Lake Chiemsee, archaeologists discovered a cult site that may have been slumbering underground for...

7,000-Year-Old Animal-Figured Seals Found in Arslantepe, Anatolia’s First City-State

27 August 2024

27 August 2024

Archaeologists working at the Arslantepe Mound (Turkish: Arslantepe Höyük), a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Türkiye’s eastern Malatya province and...

Mendik Tepe: A Neolithic Discovery That Could Rewrite History Before Göbekli Tepe

29 August 2025

29 August 2025

Archaeologists working at Mendik Tepe, a prehistoric mound in southeastern Türkiye, are unearthing evidence that may date earlier than the...