Scientists have studied DNA from the rest of the fish in the Roman Salt factory in Spain and learned that Sardins Europe is the main component of the famous sauce garum.
Romans love fish so much and process it for long -term storage in coastal salt plants – Cetarium. There, the small fish were crushed and fermented, turned into flour and sauce with a rich taste of mind. Modern sauce is based on fermented fish, for example, woster sauce or Asian fish sauce, continue this tradition.
It is difficult to determine which fish is used in ancient times, because the serious handling process has destroyed the remains. To solve this problem, the group of international researchers decided to analyze DNA. Despite the fact that the fermentation and grinding process worsened genetic materials, scientists managed to highlight and decode Sardin's DNA from the remains at the bottom of one of the Cetarium in Spain.
Comparing ancient samples with modern sardines, they find that the fish are very similar in genetics. This is very important, because sardines are widely moving at sea.