90% of the Roman population were poor, rural peasants, about whose life habits, economies and diet virtually nearly nothing is known. The "Roman Peasant Project” centred in Cinigiano in the Maremma area of Tuscany is a major attempt to fill that obvious research gap. Over six years, the Project excavated farms, habitations and work places of Roman peasants. By analysing their houses, their access to local and imported goods, the organic remains of their meals, mapping local soils and resources, the Project revealed the lived experience of this largest, most invisible, group of ancient Romans.
