The Exploitation of Animals in Roman Britain

The Baltic Crusades and ecological transformation: The zooarchaeology of conquest and cultural change in the Eastern Baltic in the second millennium AD

“…At the same time there is evidence for continuity following regional conquests, as in the case of the dominance of cattle in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland and no evident changes in husbandry regimes in Portugal, reflecting the Roman tendency to adopt and augment pre-existing production systems. In Britain, although cattle generally increased in importance, being particularly abundant on urban and military sites where the focus on provisioning these centres was paramount (Maltby 2016;2017b), caprines continued to be well represented on many rural sites (King 1999;Allen 2017). There is also evidence for the cultural transmission of food and the dominance of socio-political factors in shaping trends over ecological variables (Valenzuela-Lamas and Albarella 2017: 405-406).…”

On the hoof: exploring the supply of animals to the Roman legionary fortress at Caerleon using strontium (87Sr/86Sr) isotope analysis

“…As excavators realised the potential of animal bones, the analysis of faunal remains resulted in the correction of oft-repeated misconceptions (for example, that Roman soldiers were largely vegetarian), as well as significant new insights based on species and ageing data. The past 50 years have witnessed a surge in the study of animal bone assemblages from Roman military sites, and today, we have a far better appreciation of the army's use and consumption of animals, particularly cattle, sheep/goats and pigs (King 1999;King 2001;Stallibrass and Thomas 2008;Stallibrass 2009;Maltby 2016). Remains of the three major domesticated animal species dominate the zooarchaeological record of the army and it is widely accepted that Roman soldiers enjoyed a relatively meat-rich diet, at least when compared to the majority of the population at the time.…”