Feasts

Feasts are among the few meals history bothered to record — a coronation, a temple offering, a royal wedding earned a scribe’s attention in a way an ordinary supper never did. Those accounts are where each scene here begins: the dress, the pottery, the vessels and the room are reconstructed from archaeology and the written record, so what you see is as close to the evening as the evidence can carry us.

Explore by period

The First Farmers (10)

Göbekli Tepe’s Monument-Builders’ Feasts, Kfar HaHoresh Mortuary Feast, Çayönü Communal Building Feast, Aşıklı Höyük Communal Meat Feast, Çatalhöyük Cattle-Horn Feast, Domuztepe Death-Pit Feast, Makriyalos Neolithic Communal Feast, Grotta Scaloria Cave Ritual Feast

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Villages Become Civilizations (13)

Durrington Walls Midwinter Feast, Ness of Brodgar Monumental Feast, Stonehenge Avenue Gathering Feast, Shimao Ritual Beer Feast, Hierakonpolis Elite Cattle Feast, Abydos First-Dynasty Funerary Feast, Uruk Temple Festival Feast, Varna Elite Mortuary Feast

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Bronze Age Networks (20)

The Beautiful Feast of the Valley, The Hittite AN.TAH.ŠUM Spring Festival, The Hittite KI.LAM Festival Banquet, Ramesses II’s Opet Festival Feast, Amenhotep III’s Sed-Festival Banquet, Akhenaten’s Great Aten Offering Feast, Pylos Palace State Feast, Mycenae Palace Festival Feast

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Iron Age Kingdoms (20)

Ashurnasirpal II’s Kalhu Inauguration Banquet, Ashurbanipal’s Garden Victory Banquet, Babylon’s Akitu New Year Feast, Josiah’s Passover at Jerusalem, Achaemenid Royal New-Year Banquet at Persepolis, The Persian King’s Table, The Hochdorf Chieftain’s Funerary Feast, The Vix Princess’s Wine Feast

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The Classical World (33)

Alexander’s Susa Wedding Feast, Ptolemy II’s Grand Procession Banquet, The Last Supper, Julius Caesar’s Triumph Banquet, Cleopatra and Antony’s Alexandrian Banquet, Augustus’ Secular Games Sacrificial Feasts, Nero’s Golden House Banquet, Trajan’s Dacian Triumph Feast

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The Medieval Food Worlds (47)

The Imperial Mongol Pastoral Food System, Karakorum: Foods of a Eurasian Capital, The Yam Postal Network and Mobile Provisioning, Ilkhanid Persian Court Cuisine, The Yuan Imperial Table, Chuño: The Inca Freeze-Dried Potato Network, Qullqas: The Inca State Storehouse System, Chicha Brewing for Inca Labor and State Feasts

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The Columbian Exchange (34)

The Field of Cloth of Gold, Anne Boleyn’s Coronation Feast, Henry VIII Receives Charles V, François I’s Fontainebleau Court Feast, Moctezuma II Hosts Cortés, Süleyman’s 1530 Circumcision Festival, Murad III’s 1582 Circumcision Festival, Oda Nobunaga’s Banquet for Tokugawa Ieyasu

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The Early Industrial Food Age (28)

Cook at Tonga’s ʻInasi Festival, Cook’s Arrival During the Hawaiian Makahiki, Qianlong’s Thousand-Elders Banquet, Lady Hyegyeong’s 60th-Birthday Banquet, George IV’s Coronation Banquet, The Prince Regent’s Brighton Pavilion Feast, Napoleon’s Coronation Banquet, The Congress of Vienna Court Banquets

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The Industrial Diet (25)

The Banquet of the Mayors of France, The First Nobel Banquet, Theodore Roosevelt Dines with Booker T. Washington, Roosevelt’s Dinner for Prince Henry of Prussia, The Romanovs’ 1903 Winter Palace Ball Supper, Edward VII’s Coronation State Banquet, The 1911 Delhi Durbar Banquet, Emperor Taishō’s Enthronement Banquet

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The Ultra-Processed Age (25)

Elizabeth II’s Coronation Luncheon, Kennedy’s Mount Vernon State Dinner, Kennedy’s Versailles-Inspired White House Dinner, The Persepolis 2,500-Year Celebration Banquet, Nixon’s Beijing State Banquet, Nixon’s Shanghai Banquet, Carter Hosts Deng Xiaoping, Reagan Hosts Queen Elizabeth II

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All 255 results

Enkomi Cypriot Elite FeastEnkomi Cypriot Elite FeastEthiopian Solomonid Court Feast under Amda SeyonEthiopian Solomonid Court Feast under Amda SeyonEtruscan Banquet at TarquiniaEtruscan Banquet at TarquiniaFrançois I’s Fontainebleau Court FeastFrançois I’s Fontainebleau Court FeastFu Hao’s Ancestral BanquetFu Hao’s Ancestral BanquetGeorge IV’s Coronation BanquetGeorge IV’s Coronation BanquetGeorge V’s Silver Jubilee BanquetGeorge V’s Silver Jubilee BanquetGeorge VI’s Coronation BanquetGeorge VI’s Coronation BanquetGhana Empire Court Feast at Kumbi SalehGhana Empire Court Feast at Kumbi SalehGöbekli Tepe’s Monument-Builders’ FeastsGöbekli Tepe’s Monument-Builders’ FeastsGoryeo Royal Palgwanhoe FeastGoryeo Royal Palgwanhoe FeastGreat Benin Court Feast for the ObaGreat Benin Court Feast for the ObaGreat Zimbabwe Elite Cattle FeastGreat Zimbabwe Elite Cattle FeastGrotta Scaloria Cave Ritual FeastGrotta Scaloria Cave Ritual FeastGunditjmara Kooyang Aquaculture at Budj BimGunditjmara Kooyang Aquaculture at Budj BimGüyük Khan’s Enthronement FeastGüyük Khan’s Enthronement FeastHadrian’s Imperial Banquet at TivoliHadrian’s Imperial Banquet at TivoliHaile Selassie’s Coronation BanquetHaile Selassie’s Coronation BanquetHallstatt Salt-Elite FeastHallstatt Salt-Elite FeastHan Court New-Year BanquetHan Court New-Year BanquetHawaiian Kapu-System Royal 'Aha'aina FeastHawaiian Kapu-System Royal 'Aha'aina FeastHeian Daijōsai Imperial FeastHeian Daijōsai Imperial FeastHenry VIII Receives Charles VHenry VIII Receives Charles VHerodias, Salome and the Platter at Herod's Birthday BanquetHerodias, Salome and the Platter at Herod's Birthday BanquetHeuneburg Elite Mediterranean-Style FeastHeuneburg Elite Mediterranean-Style FeastHideyoshi’s Great Kitano Tea GatheringHideyoshi’s Great Kitano Tea GatheringHierakonpolis Elite Cattle FeastHierakonpolis Elite Cattle FeastHong Kong Handover BanquetHong Kong Handover BanquetIlkhanid Persian Court CuisineIlkhanid Persian Court CuisineInca Inti Raymi at CuscoInca Inti Raymi at CuscoIndia’s Independence State BanquetIndia’s Independence State BanquetIvan the Terrible's Oprichnina Feast at Aleksandrovskaya SlobodaIvan the Terrible's Oprichnina Feast at Aleksandrovskaya SlobodaJahangir’s Nowruz BanquetJahangir’s Nowruz BanquetJames I’s Hampton Court Christmas FeastJames I’s Hampton Court Christmas FeastJefferson’s White House Diplomatic DinnerJefferson’s White House Diplomatic DinnerJiahu Fermented-Drink GatheringJiahu Fermented-Drink GatheringJoseon Royal Banquet for Chinese EnvoysJoseon Royal Banquet for Chinese EnvoysJoseon Royal Founding BanquetJoseon Royal Founding BanquetJosiah’s Passover at JerusalemJosiah’s Passover at JerusalemJulius Caesar’s Triumph BanquetJulius Caesar’s Triumph BanquetJustinian's Hagia Sophia Dedication FeastJustinian's Hagia Sophia Dedication FeastKamakura Shogunal New-Year FeastKamakura Shogunal New-Year FeastKamehameha I’s Royal LuauKamehameha I’s Royal LuauKamehameha II Breaks the Kapu at a FeastKamehameha II Breaks the Kapu at a FeastKandake Amanitore's Temple Feast at MeroeKandake Amanitore's Temple Feast at MeroeKanem-Bornu Court Feast at Njimi, ChadKanem-Bornu Court Feast at Njimi, ChadKarakorum: Foods of a Eurasian CapitalKarakorum: Foods of a Eurasian CapitalKennedy’s Mount Vernon State DinnerKennedy’s Mount Vernon State DinnerKennedy’s Versailles-Inspired White House DinnerKennedy’s Versailles-Inspired White House DinnerKerma Royal Cattle Funeral FeastKerma Royal Cattle Funeral FeastKfar HaHoresh Mortuary FeastKfar HaHoresh Mortuary FeastKing Charles III’s Coronation ReceptionKing Charles III’s Coronation ReceptionKing Ezana's Victory Feast at AksumKing Ezana's Victory Feast at AksumKing Guntram's Easter Court Feast at Chalon-sur-SaôneKing Guntram's Easter Court Feast at Chalon-sur-SaôneKing Sigibert's Wedding Feast at MetzKing Sigibert's Wedding Feast at MetzKnossos Palace Ritual BanquetKnossos Palace Ritual BanquetKongo Kingdom Enthronement Feast at Mbanza KongoKongo Kingdom Enthronement Feast at Mbanza KongoKublai Khan’s New-Year BanquetKublai Khan’s New-Year BanquetLa Venta Ceremonial FeastLa Venta Ceremonial FeastLady Hyegyeong’s 60th-Birthday BanquetLady Hyegyeong’s 60th-Birthday Banquet