THE VERY FIRST AGA

In September we went on a cruise. We flew into Athens and then weaved our way through the Aegean Sea, stopping at various islands before going up to Istambul by way of Gallipoli and Troy. The first island visited was Delos and there, in its museum, I saw this object which I instantly termed 'The Very First Aga' . I don't know how old it is but everything else there was very, very old - not just the hundreds of years but thousands.

The Ancient Aga stands on a terracotta base; I don't believe that this has anything to do with cooking, it is just to bring the device up to a working level. On top of this you can see the place where a charcoal fire would be. You can see that there is a sort of griddle where grilling could take place. Immediately above you can see a circular plate where what you have grilled could be kept hot. The really impressive aspect of the gadget consists of  the three pots, all of which rest on top of curved chimneys that convey the heat of the charcoal up to their bases. These pots could be used for cooking or keeping things hot. It is entirely made of terracotta (I think - the griddle might be made of metal). Isn't this awfully clever?

The picture has been taken through a protective sheet of perspex so please excuse slightly less than perfect quality.