How did people find food to eat when they lived in a fort or castle that was under a siege lasting months or years? How good was food preservation in pre-modern times and once that ran out would they completely dependent on smuggling or would there be any ways to make food from within the walls?

by johhny-turbo

caustic_banana

WHEN are you asking about? This is an incredibly broad question that changes very significantly with the time period you are asking about.

WW2 Leningrad is a very different answer than 1422 Constantinople.

Please clarify.

lolitburo

Are you looking for a specific answer? The levels of agricultural ability, output, methods of obtaining foodstuffs, and the abilities of preservation depend entirely upon which time period we speak. For example, the prehistoric methods of obtaining food and preserving it were radically different from that of the feudalistic orders, and that system is radically different from the methods employed during times of revolutionary upheaval in certain countries.

I'll be able to answer adequately for a time period spanning through either the Roman Empire, medieval Europe, or 20th century Russia, if that's of any help.

mangleopolis

For a more specific follow up, what would the answer to this question be if we were discussing, say, 1200 CE?