Growing pears in a cool, temperate climate dates back to ancient times and there is evidence of their use as food from prehistoric times. Many traces of them have been found in Switzerland - Lake Constance. The word "pear" or its equivalent occurs in all Celtic languages, while in other Slavic dialects and different names it is not, but still referring to the same thing. Variety and many nomenclatures have been found, which led Alphonse de Candol to conclude that there was a very ancient cultivation of the tree on the shores of the Caspian Sea to those of the Atlantic Ocean. Pears were also cultivated by the Romans, they did not eat them raw - they made compotes from pears and honey. The ancient kingdom, Dardania, was named after the pear, which means "Land of the Pears".