Mar 18 2009
Wine in My Family Line
No wonder I love wine, particularly robust reds like Burgundy — science has proved that it is in my genes. Or maybe not.
What researchers have discovered is the remains of a vineyard in eastern France dating back to the Gallo-Roman era. The site is near the town of Dijon.
Years ago a member of my family looked into the genealogy of my father’s side of the family — Bernardin — and was able to trace males bearing that name all the way back to a small town outside of the Dijon area of France.
No wonder why I love spicy mustards! It must be genetic. Or maybe not.
How did the scientists make their determination? Fortunately, the tell us.
How can we date these remains? Vines planted in rows are characteristic of Antiquity (and of the 20th century, but old land registers contain no trace of recent vineyards). Not only do these pits closely resemble those in other Gallo-Roman vineyards, but the spacing within rows, and the distances between rows, are multiples of the Roman foot (29.6 centimeters). The excavations showed that the pits were dug in ancient soil (from the Neolithic to the protohistoric periods), at a time that can thus be situated after the Gallic period. According to the fragments of pottery found in the pits, they probably date from the 1st century AD.
Okay, the vineyards date back only a couple thousand years. But that is five hundred years longer than the origin of the dating system that “gave us” B.C. & A.D. According to Wikipedia.
The Anno Domini dating system was devised in 525 by Dionysius Exiguus . . . .
Why didn’t the science writers use the more contemporary and inclusive “C.E.” I wonder.
Anno Domini is sometimes referred to as the Common Era, Christian Era or Current Era (abbreviated as C.E. or CE). CE is often preferred by those who desire a term ostensibly unrelated to Christian conceptions of time. For example, Cunningham and Starr (1998) write that “B.C.E./C.E. … do not presuppose faith in Christ and hence are more appropriate for interfaith dialog than the conventional B.C./A.D.”
Yes, more appropriate for dialogue with people of differing faiths. Or no faith at all. I’ll raise my glass to that idea.
