Water on fire: experimental approaches towards detecting (or ruling out) presence of liquid during formation of cereal based amorphous charred objects

Abstract The identification and interpretation of cereal based amorphous charred objects (ACOs) can be imprecise, at best. Integrating experimental archaeology in archaeobotanical assessment of the ACOs aids in ACO type classification and analysis. The current paper discusses results from the experimental material’s assessment via the application of micro-computed tomography (MicroCT). This paper is part of the Crunchy Beer project, a larger experimental archaeology project dedicated to the assessment of ACO production, formation, and interpretation, with a focus on cereal based ACOs. The experimental material assessed here was processed under lab-controlled conditions, observing the macro- and micro-morphological change the grain underwent, and if these changes were dependent on the various experiment conditions. The experiment conditions included the processing level of the grain, the charring temperature, and the charring conditions of the grain. The specific results discussed here looked at whether it is possible to determine presence or absence of liquid during the charring process from the resulting ACO via MicroCT. Determining it, can aid in identifying the intended foodstuff of the ACO. If applied to loose grains, storage, or waste this can aid in revealing the context or site conditions of a burning event.