6.3.
ANIMALS AND ROMAN
LIFEWAYS IN AQUINCUM
Introduction
Archaeozoology is the study of animal bones
from archaeological sites. Although an accepted
sub-field of archaeology now, there has not always
been such enthusiasm for these old bones.
Indeed, while the earliest excavation reports from
the Roman Civil Town of Aquincum tantalizingly
mention butcher shops in the Civil Town market,
no bones were actually studied or even saved
from these structures.1 The first research efforts
concerned with faunal analysis as a separate field
is generally attributed to two Swiss researchers,
Ludwig Rtimeyer2 and Jan Ulrich Duerst.3 The
first decades of the new century saw a number of
1
Kuzsinszky, B., Az aquincumi satsok 18821884 s 1889 ated practically in his own backyard (BKNYI
[Excavations in Aquincum between 18821884 and in
1889]. BudRg 2 (1890) 77160. The erstwhile butcher
shop is also touched on in KUZSINSZKY 1934. The only
except is K. Torma, Az aquincumi Amphiteatrum szaki fele.
(Jelents az ottani satsokrl) [ The northern half of the societies and their lifeways. Indeed, such data
Aquincum amphitheater (Report on the excavations there).
Budapest, 1881, 100102.
2
Rtimeyer, L., Die Fauna der Pfahlbauten der Schweiz.
Neue Denkschr. D. Allg. Schweiz. Ges. D. ges. Natwiss. 19,
1861. Rtimeyer was the first to recognize that there were
differences between the bones of domestic animals and the
bones of their wild ancestors.
3
Duerst, J. U., Animal remains from the excavations at Anau
and the horse of Anau in relation to the races of domestic
horses. In: (R. Pumpelly ed.) Explorations in Turkestan 2.
Smithsonian Institution, Washington, 1908, 339442. Duerst
spent three years studying a huge bone assemblage from
Anau in Russian Turkestan where he claimed to perceive
a reduction in the size and texture of bones during the
transition from hunting to domestcation.
210
turing behaviors can also provide insight into the
limited attempts to use data from animal bones but
archaeological excavation and analysis was not yet
focused on the sort of economic and subsistence
questions to which this kind of find material is
more suited. The years following World War II
saw the rise of a few important scholars working
in particular on problems of Neolithic domestica-
tion and production.4 In Hungary, Sndor Bknyi
began work in the early 1950s both on questions
surrounding the Neolithic development in the Near
East and Central Europe as well as on other
periods including the first scientific work on the
animals of Roman Pannonia (BKNYI 1974).5
Despite the huge volume of his opus, he actu-
ally did very little work on bone material from
Aquincum itself, despite the fact that it was situ-
agents, ancient human behavior as well as exca-
1969).
In the past twenty years archaeozoology has
undergone a minor boom as researchers began to
pose crucial socio-economic questions about past
studied together with supporting traditional types
of information on material culture can provide
strong proof of the presence of certain kinds of
agricultural, commercial, dietary and manufactur-
ing activities. Variability in dietary and manufac-
4
For example Frederik Zeuners basic work on domestica-
tion, Charles Reed in the United States who worked on
the question of domestication in the ancient Near East, J.
Boessneck who established the so-called Munich School
again to study domestication processes in the Near East.
He also developed some of the basic methods used by
archaeozoologists today.
5
Bknyi, S., Animal Husbandry and Hunting in Tc-Gor-
sium. Budapest, 1984.
kind of ever-changing pluralistic society we know
to have been characteristic in provincial Roman
territories. Indeed, while it is convenient to speak
of Romans in the sense of political and social
organization, the ethnic composition of ancient
provincial capitals such as Aquincum must have
been complex indeed.6
Archaeozoology has gradually increased in
importance until today there are few archaeologists
who would consider excavating without gathering
the faunal material as well as ceramics and other
conventional artifacts. Screening soil is a regu-
lar phenomenon at excavations insuring a more
well-rounded picture of what animals were actu-
ally consumed. This has especially impacted the
recovery of the bones of smaller animals such as
hare, rabbit, dove, chicken and particularly fish as
well as the bones of immature animals, including
those of piglets which are significantly less likely
to be found. Areas of interest have expanded to
cover research into changing and variable prefer-
ences in draught, diet and butchery. Researchers
are also conscious of problems of interpretation
related to taphonomic loss resulting from natural
craft activities such as the preparation of hide,
vation techniques. The laundry lists of species
of fifty years ago are now considered somewhat
nave starting points and not the goal of research.
In order to produce stronger arguments, greater
6
Fitz, J., The Population. In: (A. Lengyel and G.T.B. Radan
eds.) The Archaeology of Roman Pannonia, Budapest, 1980,
141; Mcsy, A., Lakosg s trsadalom [Population and
society]. In: (A. Mcsy and J. Fitz eds.) Pannonia:rgszeti
kziknyve [Archaeological Handbook of Pannonia], Buda-
pest 1990, 237242. Aside from the various aboriginal
Celtic tribes, there was a continuous influx of foreign sol-
diers and their families/followers from Italia, Gaul, Britannia,
Africa and the East into Pannonia. Small groups of so-called
Barbarians also found their way into the region. All these
groups must have had impact on agricultural tradition, tastes
and preferences in food, cults and rituals and designs on
bone objects. At the same time, the picture is confused by
the need to maintain the symbols and tastes of Imperial
Rome itself as the superior, sought after, culture.
attempts are made to coordinate the archaeologi-
cal results with those deriving from the analysis
of bone materials. The situation at Aquincum is
particularly lucky in this regard. With a special
bone and plant macro-rest room having been
made available students are now abole to come
to study bones from individual sites, speeding the
analysis of the enormous material.
The excavations which have been conducted
at Aquincum have all been carried out under
the aegis of the Aquincum Museum since its
founding well over one hundred years ago as the
first Municipal museum in Budapest (PCZY K.
1998/2, 219). Bones have been regularly col-
lected during excavations since the 1970s even if
the techniques used may not have been as fine
tuned as could be desired. As the sites are slowly
analyzed, the opportunity for real collaboration
increases since the faunal analyst and the archae-
ologists find themselves under one roof.
Areas of immediate concern for the spe-
cialists studying find materials from Aquincum
include farming practices, distribution networks
for meat products, dietary practices within social
and ethnic groups, supplying the military and
horn, glue and manufacture of bone/antler/ivory
objects. The proportion of the species present
at a given town, village or fort, kill-off patterns
related to age, butchery patterns reflected by body
part distributions and butchery marks, estimations
of size and marks of manufacture and use wear
on bone ornaments all contribute to the general
understanding of Roman Period human-animal
relationships. We know about the Roman farming
and dietary ideals in Italy, but it is useful some-
times to look away from the center when trying
to understand the nitty-gritty necessities of life in
the provinces, including the region surrounding
the capital of Pannonia.
A warning is due, however. The bones found
during archaeological excavations usually directly
reflect consumption behavior at settlements of
most types rather than production related to
farming, butchery or even craft activities. Any
conclusions concerning farming practices based
211
entirely on bone material from urban settlements
or cemeteries must be treated with caution. The
most secure picture emerges when faunal data can
be combined with other kinds of corroborating
archaeological evidence. The converse is true of
course true of conclusions based on archaeologi-
cal material where burdens of proof also include
a look at the archaeozoological picture. The great
advantage of working in the Roman period is
that there is a wealth of epigraphic and pictorial
(Fig. 1) information available about animal hus-
bandry practices in the empire.7
Taphonomy of complex sites
While there are numerous advantages to studying
the bones from well documented complex societies,
there are also disadvantages. Material coming from
archaeological sites can be modified by contempo-
rary cultural behavior such as preferential selection
of which animals should be slaughtered, butcher-
ing traditions, cooking customs, garbage disposal
and clearing work8. Sites in Aquincum range
from dwellings of native farmers to upper class
Romans and legionary officers to public housing,
to villa-farms to ditches near workshops to military
forts and their surrounding villages. The different
customs of people and the various ways the sites
functioned all ultimately affect which bones from
which species are present and how different butch-
ering traditions affect the form of bones.
Since the soils around Aquincum are condu-
cive to preservation being largely alkaline, another
main source of bias is related to the continual
7
Varro T., Rerum rusticarum libri tres. Budapest, 1971.
Also, there are numerous stone reliefs depicting animals
pulling wagons as well as simple depictions of animals. At
Aquincum there are honeycake molds (crustullum) showing
Bacchus with a donkey, Hermes with a ram and various
triumphal marches with elegant horses.
8
Sciffer, M., Toward the Identification of Formation Pro-
cesses. In: Behavioral Archaeology. University of Utah Press,
Salt Lake City, 1995, 177182. Schiffer discusses the gen-
eral processes, both natural and cultural which may affect
all artifacts.
212
Fig. 1. Lithograph from Trajens column in
Romes Forum showing a cattle, sheep and pig
being taken away as war bouty. These three
domesticates were the basis of animal keeping in
Pannonia province.
remodeling which took place at these settlements
and the shifting of refuse out of its temporal con-
texts. Further, the exigencies of rescue archaeol-
ogy and a lack of training have meant that until
recently few archaeologists hade the time and
energy to learn how to integrate finer excavation
techniques, especially screening, into their excava-
tion schedules. This is changing now at many of
our excavations.
Roman animal keeping in Pannonia
In general, it can be said that provincial
Romans depended largely on domestic animals for
a variety of purposes in contrast to the preceding
Celtic period during which meat from wild ani-
mals such as red deer and wild boar, was much
more important in the diet.
In Pannonia, cattle is overwhelmingly dominant
in faunal assemblages, especially from military
establishments. Cattle will always be slightly over-
represented because their larger bones are rela-
tively weaker than compact bones from smaller
animals and tend to fragment into more pieces.9
9
Binford, L. Bertram, J. B., Bone frequencies and attritional
processes. In (L. R. Binford ed.) For Theory Building in
Caprines and pig proportions vary depending
on the kind of settlement involved, with more
Romanized towns having fewer sheep remains.10
A number of Roman period researchers have
concluded that cattle (Bos taurus L.) were used
mostly for haulage, milk and manure in the same
way as was customary in the Mediterranean area.11
Beef was particularly important in providing meat
supplies for the military.12 Large breeds of cattle
appear with the Romans although there has been
discussion (BKNYI 1974, 46) as to whether
this is a result of better keeping techniques or
improved breeding13. It seems clear that these
larger breeds are usually found on the large estates
of rural Pannonia province where their superior
strength would have been important in plowing
large fields and hauling over greater distances.
Cattle were usually slaughtered at a mature age
once they were too worn out for work or their
milk production had dropped. Beef, posssibly in
a form processed for preservation, was a small
but important part of provisioning at military
forts and fortresses in the province.14 Manure for
Archaeology. New York, 1977, 77152. Bartosiewicz, L.,
Faunal material from two Hallstatt Period settlements in Slo-
venia. Arheoloski Vestnik 42 (1991) 199205; Bartosiewicz,
L., Interim report on the Bronze Age animal bones from
Arslatepe (Malatya, Anatolia). In: (Buitenhuis, H. Bartosie-
wicz L. A. M. Choyke eds.) Archaeozoology of the Near
East III. ARC Publication 18, Groningen, 1998, 221232.
10
King, A., A Comparative Survey of Bone Assemblages from
Roman Sites in Britain. Bulletin of the Institute of Archaeol-
ogy 15 (1978) 207232. King showed that in Roman Britain
there was a progressive decrease of caprine remains relatve
to those of pig and that more Romanized settlements tend
to have more pig bones. In Pannonia, comparison of material
from a wide variety of sites showed similar trends. However,
there also tend to be more wild animals at military sites. See:
Bartosiewicz, L., Animal bones as indicators of continuity at
Roman Provincial sites. Antaeus (199091) 103124.
11
Maltby, M., The animal bones from Exeter 19711975.
Exeter Archaeological Reports 2, Sheffield University,
Department of Prehistory and Archaeology 31, Sheffield
(1976); Davis, S., The Archaeology of Animals. B.T. Bats-
ford Ltd, London, 1987, 183.
fertilizer must have been a particularly important
by-product of this species. Other important prod-
ucts derived from cattle included hide,15 glue from
hooves, horn and worked bone objects.
Sheep (Ovis aries L.) were much more common
than goat at settlements in Pannonia. Sheep seem
to have been primarily exploited for their wool.16
They were exported from various parts of Pan-
nonia to Siscia although sometimes lambs were
slaughtered for a better class of meals. The Roman
sheep are generally larger than the native Celtic
ones in Pannonia (BKNYI 1974, 178179)
and it is likely they produced a medium fine wool
similar to modern day Cotswald sheep. Goats
(Capra hircus L.) seem to have been much less
important than sheep in the diet although their
sizes also increase compared to the native Celtic
varieties suggesting that improved forms were
introduced into the province as well. The first
hornless goats appear during the Roman Imperial
period in Pannonia, probably as imports.
In Italy, newborn and juvenile pigs (Sus domes-
ticus Erxl.) were considered a delicacy with a large
number of recipes devoted to pork prepared in
12
KING op. cit. 15.
13
DAVIS op. cit. 1988, 183. Bknyi early on in his career
also identified a large number of wild cattle bones (Bos
primigenius Boj.) at the Albertfalva castrum which was
probably inflated. Not as much was known about the large
Roman breeds of cattle then so that some of the bones may
have been misidentified. Never the less, bones of aurochs
are more common at military forts and rural settlements
than in urban centers. There is only one bone from this
wild species in the bone assemblages from Aquincum a
distal femur from an immature animal.
14
For example at the limes forts of cs-Vaspuszta, Campona
and Albertfalva.
15
Fitz, J., Economic Life, In: (A. Lengyel and G.T.B. Radan
eds.) The Archaeology of Roman Pannonia, Budapest,
1980, 325. Round wood-lined pits from Aquincum have
been interpreted as the remains of tanneries.
16
FITZ J. op. cit. 325. One of the centers of wool process-
ing was in Siscia where wool from the Karst region was
brought in and processed. Mcsy A., lom rucimkk Sis-
cibl [Lead labels from Siscia] FolArch 8 (1956) 587.
213
many and varied ways.17 This too seems to have
been the case in Pannonia. At one great villa farm
at Nemesvmos Balcapuszta a cellar has been
preserved with over 4000 bones from young suck-
ling piglets. It is clear that the animals carcasses
were being prepared in this cellar before it was
suddenly abandoned.18 The high regard for pork
as a commodity (BKNYI 1974, 219220) is
perhaps also reflected in the fact that pig bones
may be found associated with ritual offerings in
cemetery materials. It seems likely that pigs were
kept as live animals at military centers in Pan-
nonia and slaughtered according to need.19
Horse (Equus caballus L.) and other equids
such as ass and donkey (Equus asinus L.) are
more commonly found in settlements where haul-
ing was important. Since equids were not eaten,
except possibly in moments of great food stress,
it is hardly surprising that their remains are only
rarely encountered in civilian urban centers. Hors-
es were kept by the Celts. Their goddess of fertil-
ity, Epona, later taken onboard by the Romans, is
customarily shown on horseback or surrounded by
17
Apicius, Cookery and dining in Imperial Rome. Dover Pub-
lications Inc., New York, 1977. Apicius may have lived in
the time of Tiberius [42 BC.37 A.D.] although there are
two other individuals known for their culinary dedication
who may have set down the recipes found in this book.
Apicius chapter on Sumptuous dishes (Lib.VII. Polyteles),
including delicacies such as spayed sows womb (vulvae ster-
iles), cracklings, pork skin, tenderloin, tails and feet (callum,
lumbelli, coticulae, ungellae), fig-fed pork with wine sauce
(in ficato oenogarum), pork cutlets, hunter style (offellae
aprugneo more), suckling pig paunnch (ventrem porcinum)
and ham (pernam). Of the meat dishes in that chapter two
thirds are made from various parts of the pig carcass.
18
Vrs, I., llatcsontok [Animal bones]. In: (ed. Brn
Sey K. et. al.) A balcai villagazdasg fpletnek pincje.
[The cellar of the Balca villa-farm main building] Balcai
Kzlemnyek II, Veszprm, 1992, 270272. BKNYI
1974 says that various kinds of hams and sausages were
known to have been produced by the Romans.
19
Lauwerier, R., Animals in Roman Times in the Dutch
Eastern River Area. Nederlandse Oudheden, 12, Groningen,
1988.
214
mares with foals. Despite their small size, Celtic
horses were apparently looked upon with favor
by the Romans for their sturdiness. Germanicus
received a supply of them in A.D. 15 while he
was campaigning against the Germans.20 Romans
also imported and bred larger horses21. From
depictions on gravestones from some of the tombs
lining the main roads in Aquincum it can be seen
that these animals had a higher status than other
equids, always occurring as the mounts of officers
and cavalrymen. A bio-metric study was carried
out on three almost complete adult horse skel-
etons (A.D. 2nd3rd century) from the edge of a
field outside the limes calvalry fort at Albertfalva.22
Lyublyanovics determined that all three horses
were stallions although the large size suggest they
may have been geldings. Wither height estimations
based on metapodial bones suggest that these
horses belong to the large military of horse and
that the phenotypic variability results from mixing
of large Italian horses with a local horse stock.
The horses can be described as heavily built.
The average wither height for Roman military
horses has been estimated (BKNYI 1974) at
142.9 cm although the 144 horses studied from
Tc-Gorsium had an average withers height of
139.07 cm.23
Mules and asses were important animals for
the military in hauling equipment and supplies
and in draught in general. Asses definitely can
be considered imports from the Mediterranean
area since they cannot be found (and by defini-
tion neither can mules) in this region before the
Roman conquest. They were traditionally used to
20
Tacitus, Annales II, 5, Budapest, 1970.
21
According to BKNYI 1974 Varro and Columella were
the two Antique writers who discussed the questions of
horse breeding most thoroughly, including questions of
feeding, testing of stallions, selection of mares and the
various diseases afflicting these animals.
22
Lyublyanovics, K, Size variability in three Roman period
horses from Aquincum. In: (ed. D. Ruscillo) Aging and
Sexing, Oxbow Books, Oxford (in press).
23
Bknyi, S., Animal Husbandry and Hunting in Tc-Gor-
sium. Budapest, 1984, 61.
run reaping machines and mills.24 Asses milk was
held to have purgative value and was also used
as a beauty treatment for high society women.
Dogs (Canis familiaris L.) present a very
variable picture during this period in Pannonia
depending on whether one considers the animals
kept by the native Celtic populations or the vari-
ous breeds of dogs used by the Romans them-
selves. These latter dogs ranged in size from small
lapdogs with thin legs, probably household pets in
wealthy families, to strong German shepherd-size
animals. It is thought, for example, that up to
six breeds of dog may have lived in the town of
Tc.25 Most dogs however, were small to medium
size and probably looked much like the pariah
dogs of Eurasia. Larger dogs were probably used
as herding or watch dogs. Many of the larger
dogs were certainly used by the upper classes in
hunting (in spite of the fact that so few bones
from game appear on Pannonian sites). There are
indications that the Emperor Hadrian, during his
tenure as governor of Pannonian province, hunted
boar there26 using hunting dogs. Dogs were also
used from time to time in cultic rituals27 and
appeared as symbols of death and healing.28
Cats (along with domestic rabbit) are also found
for the first time in this region on Roman sites.
They were probably used as much for killing ver-
min in the close quarters of towns as pets. There
were exceptionally large numbers of cat bones
recovered during the excavations at the town of
Tc-Gorsium.29 Their bones are small and, aside
24
Toynbee, J. M.C., Animals in Roman Life and Art, Ithaca,
New York, 1973, 15, 196, 295. Also see: White, K. D.,
Roman Farming, Thames and Hudson, London, 1970.
25
BKNYI op. cit. 18, 23, 66.
26
FITZ, J. op. cit. 324.
27
Vrs, I., A Ritual Red Deer Burial from the Celtic-Roman
Settlement at Szakly in Transdanubia. ActaArch Hung 38
(1986) 3140.
28
Toynbee op. cit., 122124., descibes the votive offerings
with depictions of dogs on them left by pilgrins at the
cult center for healing of the Roman-Celtic God Nodens
in Gloucestershire in Britain.
29
BKNYI op. cit. 65.
from the fact that they may not have been par-
ticularly common animals in the province, rough
excavation techniques mean that they are rarely
encountered in faunal materials from this time.
Three domestic bird species were exploited by
the Romans in Pannonia: domestic hen (Gallus
domesticus L.), goose (Anser domesticus L.) and
domestic pigeon (Columba domesticus L.). Chick-
ens were brought by the Scythians to the Car-
pathian Basin and taken up by the Celts. Roman
chicken breeds were larger than aboriginal ones
which may have weighed between one and one
and half kilo. Today, a breed of black chicken
found in Romania with a live weight of around
1.5 kilos are thought to be the descendents of
Roman chickens.30 The Roman birds could weigh
as much as two kilo.31 Varro and Columella wrote
down accurate instructions for their keeping, for-
age and the construction of hen houses although
traces of these are not preserved in the archaeo-
logical material. Goose bones are much less
common in the faunal assemblages of Pannonian
sites than those of chicken. Again, we hear of
goose from Varro and Columella and indeed this
bird species is mentioned quite often by Antique
authors. Romans may have introduced force feed-
ing of geese to produce enlarged livers. Goose fat
was used in many medicines. Finally, although we
know that Romans kept domestic pigeons, their
relatively small bones are exceedingly rare on sites
in the province. This may be because they were
actually rare, their bones were somehow destroyed
during food processing or they are not being
recovered in the absence of screening. Domestic
pigeon remains have been found elsewhere in the
empire, however,32 especially where care has been
taken to screen.33
30
Dr. Mikls Mzes (Szent Istvn Agricultural University,
Gdll), personal communication. This breed of chickens,
in addition to its small size, is genetically distinct from all
other modern chicken breeds in the region.
31
BKNYI op. cit. 94.
32
Schibler, J. Furger, A., Die Tierknochenfunde aus Augus-
ta Raurica (Grabungen 19551974). Forschungen in Augst,
Band 9, Augst,1988, 22.
215
 The most common wild animal species found
at provincial sites is Red deer (Cervus elaphus
L.). It is likely that a combination of climatic
changes and shrinking environments relative to
expanding agricultural territories reduced the
deer population. The Celts hunted this animal
widely and it appeared to have had some place
in Celtic mythology. Sacrifices of red deer have
been found buried in pits on Celtic-Roman sites
in the province.34 In Roman times, it ceased to
be an important meat animal in the province and
was hunted by the upper classes for sport. Many
of the remains from this species occurs in the
form of fragments of the antler rack which stags
shed in the Spring. A number of workshops with
half-finished objects made from antler,35 as well as
microscopic analysis of carved bone objects from
Aquincum have shown that antler was quite an
important raw material for artisans in Pannonia
as elsewhere in the Empire36. Organized gather-
ing trips, possibly controlled by the producers of
33
LAUWERIER op. cit. 22. A sieving experiment was car-
ried out by this Dutch researcher on soil from five pits at
the Roman perod site of Nijmegen. Various bird species
were recovered along with fish remains that belonged to
five species.
34
Vrs op. cit. 31, 40.
35
Choyke, A. M., Modified animal bone. In: (D. Gabler
ed.) The Roman fort of cs-Vaspuszta (Hungary) on the
Danubian limes. Part II. BAR 531, Oxford, 1989, 624632.
Vrs, I., Campona-Nagyttny rmai tbor llatcsontmard- the north of Tc-Gorsium. Fish were considered
vnyai [The Animal Bone Remains from the Roman Fort at
Campona-Nagyttny]. FolArch 40 (1989) 75118 here 85. certainty that wild fish were also caught. Due to
Campona is one of the auxilary forts on the Danube river.
It was established by the ala I Tungrorum Frontoniana in
the 2nd century, destroyed during the Markomannic Wars
in the end of the 2nd century and rebuilt afterwards. The
workshop comes from this second period and contains
several antler roses and rectangles of antler waiting to be
worked into various tools.
36
Deschler-Erb, S., Rmische Beinartefakte aus Augusta
Raurica. Forschungen in Augst 27/1, Augst, 1998, 5960.
This is the first serious attempt to try and distinguish
between the raw materials used to make bone, antler and
ivory artifacts.
216
worked bone and antler objects, were probably
arranged each Spring to collect antler from partic-
ular territories where the red deer stags regularly
shed their antler racks. Individual workshops may
have had rights to particular gathering territories
to insure supplies of this valuable raw material.
Another wild species which occurs on Pannoni-
an sites is the European brown hare (Lepus euro-
paeus Pall.). Hunting this species became quite
popular during the Period of the Roman Empire
and its meat was considered tasty. There is evi-
dence from Augusta Raurica that young hares
were kept in enclosures called leporaria and hare
bone is found from time to time in the mate-
rial of Pannonian excavations.37 So far, however,
there is no evidence for organized hare keeping
in Pannonia. Again, there would be a bias against
finding the small bones of this species in the
absence of fine excavation techniques. Bones from
domestic rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus L.), which
the Romans certainly brought into the provinces
for the first time, have not yet been recognized
in Pannonian Roman faunal assemblages. The
Romans themselves did not distinguish between
hare and rabbit as separate species.
Finally, it is known that larger farm estates in
the province had fishponds. Varro describes such
freshwater ponds (dulces) on latifundia in Italy.
There is a well- preserved dam at Kikerit in
western Hungary which was used to block off
a small valley. Another pond bed was found to
delicacies and a staple of Roman cuisine. It is a
rough recovery methods, the only bones usually
found come from mature specimens of the larger
fish species for example, pike (Esox lucius L.),
37
TOYNBEE op. cit. 200. Varro describes these enclosures
on the country estates of late republican times as being
carefully fenced in and carefully planted in grass and shrub
in which the hares could hide. Organized hunts with bow
and arrow sometimes took place. Hare meat was considered
a delicacy and they were sometimes made into pets. Hares
are occasionally depicted on Pannonian Samian ware and
on stucco molds.
carp (Cyprius carpio L.) catfish (Silurus glanis
L.) and even sturgeon (Acipenseridae)38 There are
many Roman fish recipes, and given the proxim-
ity of marshland and rivers to settlements it does
seem likely that with the introduction of screening
and flotation techniques a clearer picture of fish
exploitation ponds as well as freshwater fishing
customs in Pannonia will emerge.
Luxury foods such as oysters, and song birds
would also have bee consumed by the Roman
elite in Pannonia as elsewhere. However, the latter
have not yet been found anywhere in Pannonia
and will not be until dry and wet screening and
even some flotation is seriously and regularly
employed on excavations. However, there is an
example from Augusta Raurica in Switzerland Fig. 2. a. Bone broken in traditional manner
where the archaeozoologist carefully sampled soil resulting in spiral fracture compared to b. a bone
from a elegant house in the town center. Among chopped by a Roman butcher
the bones of the usual meat animals appeared
remains from tiny song birds whose tongues were
supposedly eaten by the discerning39
inhabitiants of suburban villages slaughtered their
Aquincum the town and its territorium own animals and butchered them in a way that
would have been familiar to their Celtic ancestors.
Aquincum can be thought of as having existed The bones from these village sites represent all
in three parts: The Legionary Fortress around body parts of the slaughtered animals indicating
with the Military Town, the Civil Town and the that they were butchered on the spot. The bones
surrounding territorium.40 Examination of the ani- themselves display the spiral fracturing character-
mal bones from a variety of locations indicate that isic of prehistoric fractured animal bone. (Fig 2a)
animal consumption customs differed according to In the Military Town, meat was procured from a
social status and ethnic affiliation. For example centralized butcher. Thus, body parts are selected
and the bones display regular chopping marks
38
Bartosiewicz, L., Animal remains from the fort. In: (D. (Fig. 2b) The presence of half-finished worked
Gabler ed.) The Roman fort of cs-Vaspuszta (Hungary) bone products shows that there were bone manu-
on the Danubian limes. Part II. BAR 531, Oxford, 1989, facturing workshops scattered in the more indus-
600623, here 614615. Fish species found at this castrum trial sections of the town. (Fig. 9)
located near the Danube river include the common carp The faunal remains found in the Civil Town
(Cyprinus carpio L.), pike (Esox lucius L.), pikeperch (Sti- come mainly from older animals who must have
zostedion lucioperca L.) and great sturgeon (Huso huso L.). been brought to the edge of town to be slaugh-
Although, this latter fish species is now found only in the tered once they were too old to be useful. Cattle
lowermost reaches of the Danube it is known to have been predominates. After being slaughtered, skinned and
fished extensively in medieval times in Hungary, prior to the roughly divided they were brought to centralized
construction of mid 20th century hydroelectric dams. butchers in the town to be chopped and filleted
39
SCHIBLER FURGER op. cit. 225. into the parts and sizes which fit the traditional
40
Detailed information on the layout of Aquincum can be pots employed in Roman cuisine, as exemplified
found in this volume in the Topography chapter (5.) by Epicius. Only the house of Marcus Antonius
217
Victorinus41 contained the remains of piglets and
lambs, reflecting his wealth and a more refined
taste. Bones have also been studied from the
area of the southern townwall where the so-called
Firemans collegium headquarters42 was located.
A small amphitheater north from the Civil Town
was built during the AD 2nd century to hold theater
performances, gladiator fights and political gather-
ings. Serious excavations there in the 19th century43
by Kroly Torma44 recovered a large number of
remains from animals, mostly outside the walls of
the arena. While bones from upper layers probably
post dated the Roman occupation, three groups of
bones found clustered together are worth mention-
ing: dog bones by the 3rd supporting pillar, horse
and oxen bones by the 7th supporting pillar and
autopoia bones from cow, mule, roe deer, wolf
and wild boar together with scattered bones from
horse, domestic pig and dog. The presence of wild
animals in exactly this spot is surely of some sig-
nificance since such finds are virtually non-existent
elsewhere in Aquincum. The author also suggests
that some of the bones may be from European
bison which could not be indentified because of
the lack of comparative specimens in the University
comparative collections. The bones themselves have
long since disappeared. The area stretching from
the eastern edge of the Civil Town to the port on
the Danube was an industrial area where activities
such as pottery manufacturing and blacksmithing,
crafts employing fire and therefore dangerous in the
close confines of the own itself, were carried out.
There is a little evidence of local bone or antler
working in the form of half-finished pieces. It may
be presumed that glue and hide processing were
also important crafts although again, little direct
evidence has been preserved.
A series of middle-sized (between 1 and 10 km2)
villa-farms and villa-manufacturing locals were situ-
41
Unpublished excavation O. Madarassy 19891991, Plan ?
42
ZSIDI 1997/4.
43
The analysis of the material was carried out by Mr. Jzsef
Szukts and the identification of the bones by dr. Tivadar
Marg
44
TORMA op. cit. 100102.
218
ated on the floodplain of the Danube stretching
towards the Buda hills. With the exception of areas
south of Gellrt hill and north of Arany hill from
the Buda hills to the Danube there was only a
limited amount of land truly suitable for agriculture
(PCZY 1970/2, 85,91).45 At some of these villas
it appears that whatever meat was being eaten
came from the centralized butchers of the town
rather than being slaughtered on location.
These villas are not to be confused with the
luxury buildings located in the Buda hills which
were places of relaxation for the Roman elite. One
notable example is the villa of the aforementioned
Marcus Antonius Victorinus which was found by
chance during earth-moving work in the hills in
a suburb of Budapest some 12 km from the Civil
Town46 where he also had a house. While one
would expect a variety of luxury foods to come
from the kitchen middens of such a villa given
what was found at his house in the Civil Town
mentioned above, however, the site was excavated
at a time when animal remains were not being
carefully saved so that we can only imagine the
kinds of foods which would have been consumed
at this wealthy, powerful mans table.
Forts near Aquincum along the limes
Aquincum with its legionary fortress occupied
an important position along the Danubian limes
or border of the Roman Empire for 400 years.
In addition to the protection offered by the forces
of the legion there were a series of forts spaced
out along the banks of the Danube which played
an instrumental role in the Romanization of the
45
On the basis of finds of inscriptions and villa remains it
would seem that the estates were from 5 to 8 km2. After
the Markomann wars many of the inscriptions from villa-
farms are oriental.
46
Pczy, K., Aquincum: The Roman Town in Budapest, 2nd
edition of the guide to the permanent exhibition, Budapest
History Museum, 36. He and his wife Ulpia Spectata raised
an altar to Terra Mater, a fertility goddess. A hoard of
some 2236 silver coins was also found buried here, almost
certainly the family fortune.
local population. The soldiers stationed at them
would have brought some of the culinary tastes
and traditions from their own native lands.
Each of these forts was surrounded by its own
settlement or vicus. Two of these are worth par-
ticular mention because they have been extensively
excavated and the faunal materials analyzed. Both
provide an interesting counterpoint to dietary hab-
its at civilian settlements in and around Aquincum
itself.
The fort at Albertfalva (the original Latin
name is not known) held one thousand eques-
trian troops Remains of meat provisions and an
increased number of wild animals were found
here (BKNYI 1974, 351). Domestic equids
were also relatively common in the faunal assem-
blege from the vicus. The remains of a number
of horses were found buried around what would
have been an open field near the fort. A metric
analysis has been carried out on these skeletons.47
There was a civilian settlement which spread out
around the fort from which we also have faunal
material. Excavation has been carried out in areas
northwest, southwest and west of the fort.48
The Roman fort at Campona was also located
on the west bank of the Danube several km
upstream from the Albertfalva encampment. The
fort itself measured 178 by 200 meters and was
also surrounded by a vicus. A similar situation in
terms of meat consumption practices was found
here as at the neighboring Albertfalva fort. The
remains of a small antler tool workshop represents
an outstanding find from this site.
Recent excavation work and the faunal
material
Faunal material from the spate of rescue exca-
vation either awaits analysis or is currently under
analysis but the simple mass of finds means that
inevitably backlogs will buildup. However, the poten-
tial for comparing the faunas exploited at contempo-
47
LYUBLYANOVICS op. cit.
48
See in this volume the chepter Castellum and Vicus at
Albertfalva (5.2.2.1.)
rary sites of different kinds has perhaps never before
existed. Furthermore, sudents have begun to take on
individual site materials for their diploma work in
the newly established bone laboratory which should
eventually help alleviate some of these problems.
At the same time, as a result of the pressures
of rapid excavation, a separate trend may be
observed. On the one hand, it is sometimes neces-
sary to work in the mud and cold no chance
here for the niceties of excavation techniques.
On the other hand, archaeologists are adopting
new recording techniques49 and screening as a
response to the need to producing reports quickly.
There is reason here for a great deal of optimism
for the more efficient processing of the animal
bone material as well.
Animal keeping in the territorium around
Aquincum
It cannot be sufficiently emphasized that saying
anything about animal keeping around Aquin-
cum and the role of animals in the economy of
the surrounding middle sized villa-farms is very
problematic if the only source of information is
faunal remains. Faunal remains directly reflect
modes of consumption and only very indirectly
tell us something about production traditions.
Before they arrive on the archaeozoologists table,
bones pass through numerous filtering processes:
primary and secondary butchering, re-distribution
to indiviual households and workshops, natural
destruction and excavation methods. All of these
may bias any attempt to extapolate back to the
original live animal in a herd.
The faunal assemblages which have been ana-
lyzed to date, originate from sites in the Civil
Town, a Mithraeum in the Legionary Fortress50,
a cemetery51, a south of the Military Town52, the
49
For example, the Harris matrix recording technique. Regu-
lar examination of macro remains of plants adds a new
dimension to our understanding of the dietary customs of
different peoples.
50
House of the tribunus laticlavius KOCSIS 1991.
51
Budapest, Ladik street: ZSIDI 1997[1998].
219
 the overwhelming major- Period and Age Greatest Proximal Nobis Withers Withers
ity of the cattle bones Size category length, mm Breadth, mm index, % Height 1, mm height 2, mm
recovered here come Period 1
from mature animals, Small Adult 210.0 46.0 21.90 1121.4 1182.3
Medium size Mature 240.3 47.5 19.77 1283.2 1352.9
as is the case in gen- Period 3
eral on Pannonian sites. Small Mature 215.4 43.6 20.24 1150.2 1212.7
Furthermore, where sex Small Adult 203.6 42.0 20.63 1087.2 1146.3
could be determined (on Small Adult 201.5 41.8 20.74 1076.0 1134.4
Small Adult 212.2 45.0 21.21 1133.1 1194.7
horncores and complete Small Adult 210.0 44.5 21.19 1121.4 1182.3
metapodials) most of Period 4
the animals brought to Medium size Mature 244.2 51.7 21.17 1304.0 1374.8
Aquincum were cows. Small Mature 211.1 39.0 18.47 1127.3 1188.5
Period 5
Eleven complete Medium size Mature 227.0 48.6 21.41 1212.2 1278.0
metatarsals, preserved Small Adult 204.5 41.3 20.20 1092.0 1151.3
in full length,55 could Mean value, mm 1155.3 1218.0
be used in estimating Standard deviation, mm 77.6 81.8
the stature of Roman Coefcient of variation 0.067 0.067
Period cattle from this
site. According to the Tab. 1. Distribution of the size, age and withers height calculations based on the basis of the grea-
Fig. 3. The percentile contribution of domesticates at three different types small values of rela- test length of complete bones from the Firemans headquarters site in the Civil Town. Withers heights
of sites tive proximal breadth were estimated using coefficients developed by Calkin,59 Matolcsi (withers height 1)60 and Boessneck
(expressed as the % of (withers height 2)61 respectively. The Nobis index reflects the sex.
greatest length, Nobis
area of a 1st century fort and stone building locat- index), all metatarsals originate from cows56
ed north of the Military Town53 and two nearby which were of small and medium size respec-
military forts on the limes.54 Some of these mate- tively. Only two of the horncores found at the from this same trench came from oxen which in rural settlements related to large estates.58 The
rials have been published others not. Differences Firemens Headquarters site came from bulls. would have been valuable in hauling heavy loads floodplain between the city and the Buda hills was
between different kinds of sites may be seen in None were from oxen. as well. large enough to support small farms but perhaps
the graph. (Fig. 3) Quite a number of the bones These proportions as well as the dearth of juve- The withers heights of the animals from the the smaller Celtic breeds would have been, by and
have been identified but not analyzed so many of nile individuals strongly suggest that cattle were Firemens Headquarters show that, with the large, strong enough to do the work on them as
the remarks must rely on impressions of special not raised exclusively for meat. That cows were exception of three animals, these animals were well as to ultimately provide a supply of meat and
features gathered during identification work. also used in draught is shown by two horncores small, falling below the minimum withers height milk to the town. This would explain the generally
What little information can be gleaned con- from cows which came from a trench running calculated for Roman breeds in Pannonia (between small size of cattle from refuse deposits in the
cerning animal keeping practices around and in along the southern wall of the Civil Town. These 120140 cm)57 but well within the range of Celtic Civil Town. (Tab. 1)
Aquincum. A hint about cattle keeping at any rate cores had indentations on their bases resulting cattle. These measurements suggest a scenario Small numbers of sheep and goat were also
comes from the bones found at the Firemens from intensive yoking. A relatively few horncores in which local peasants brought their old dairy kept in the territorium around Aquincum. The
Headquarters in the Civil Town. In the first place, cows (these animals would also have been used former were certainly kept for their wools and
55
Measurements after Driesch, A., A guide to the measure- for hauling) to the edge of the town where they
52
Budajlak 6 Kolossy Square Unpublished excavation from ment of animal bones from archaeological sites. Peabody were slaughtered, a messy job not suitable for 58
Vrs, I., Animal bone finds from the Imperial settle-
E. Mrity, 1993 Museum, Bulletin 1, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1976. the densely inhabited town. The roughly sectioned ment of Balatonaliga (in Hungarian). A Veszprm Megyei
53
Budapest, Filatorigt ZSIDI 2002/2. 56
Nobis, G., Ur- und frhgeschichtlicher Rinder Nord- und carcass could then be brought into a butcher- Mzeumok Kzlemnyei. 1920 (19931994) 195214. He
54
Albertfalva SZIRMAI 2002/2, 2003/1., Campona, excava- Mitteldeutschlands. Zeitschr. f. Tierzchtg. u.nd Zchtungs- shop where it could be further processed. The found that juvenile cattle had a withers height of between
tion of Ferenc Flep, 19491957, 1960, Flep F., Panno- biol. 63 (1954) 155194. The value of the Nobis index is picture differs somewhat from the medium and 120.01300 cm, adult cows had a withers height between
nia Research in Hungary, Aquincum. In: (A. Lengyel and greater than 24% for bulls and should be at least 21% for large Roman cattle breeds more typically found 125.4127.0 cm, the single bull had a withers height of
G.T.B. Radan eds.) The Archaeology of Roman Pannonia, oxen, the presence of these latter, however, could not be 137.7 and their was an oxen with a withers height of
57
Budapest, 1980, 3356. identified on a morphological basis. BKNYI op. cit. 128, 136.7 cm. These were stong boned animals of medium to

220 221
both species for their meat. These animals had a
certain economic importance as meat animals for
the elite since bones from more elegant dwellings
in the Civil Town show that lamb meat was also
purchased. The practical Romans undoubtedly
skinned these after they were slaughtered. These
hides (and bones for tools) would then have
been processed for leather. There is no evidence
that this was a regular activity in the same way
as for cattle. The relative lack of skull elements
from sheep or goat also shows that the animals
may even have been slaughtered at the farm and
the butchered carcasses brought into the town
for sale. The meat from sheep seems to have
been prefered among certain ethnic enclaves in
Aquincum as seen from food offerings left at a
cemetery for people from Northern Italy which
will be discussed in detail later.
large size chiefly used in plowing and transport. Interest-
ingly enough an actual iron plow blade was found in the
excavations. It was badly worn with a shovel shape typical
for heavy plows of this period.
59
Calkin, V., Izmenchivost metapodii i eo znachenie dla
izuchenia krupnogo rogatogo skota. (Metapodial varia-
tion and its significance for the study of ancient cattle).
Biull. Mock. Obshch. Ispit. Prirodi, Otdel. biol. 65 (1960)
109126.
60
Matolcsi, J., Historische Erforschung der Krpergrsse
des Rindes auf Grund von ungarischem Knochenmate-
rial. Zeitschrift fr Tierzchtung und Zchtungsbiologie 63 carcass low in meat quality. The bones of cattle
(1970) 155194.
61
Boesseck, J., Ein Beitrag zur Errechnung der Widerristhhe
nach Metapodienmasse bei Rindern. Zeitschrift fr Tier-
zchtung und Zchtungsbiologie 68/I (1956) 7590. These cattle bones were mostly from small local animals.
works have been summarized Bartosiewicz, L., Sexual
dimorphism of long bone growth in cattle. Acta Veternaria
Hungaricae 32/34 (1984) 135146. The coefficients devel-
oped by the first two authors for Kalmuk and Hungar-
ian Grey respectively result in somewhat smaller estimates
than the values recommended by Boessneck. This is due
to the fact that while Calkin and Matolcsi used series of
unimproved cows, Boessneck worked with the mixed group
of reference animals that also included modern animals
whose distal extremity segments are relatively shorter even
in cows.
222
Pig is exclusively exploited for its meat. Typi-
cally, pigs are kept and fattened as household
animals although the pigs may be gathered and
taken out to for age rather than being penned.
Pork was considered an important element of the
diet, especially the meat from young animals. The
large litter sizes of pig made it easier to procure
this latter delicacy.
An interesting aspect related to animal keeping
on villa-farms concerns a small but very sugges-
tive bone material from the Kaszsdl Csiks
street site.62 (Fig. 3) This site was discovered
during ground leveling work by bulldozers lying
about 1/2 km from the Aquincum Civil Town. It
belongs to the category of small industrial villa-
farms from the AD 3rd and 4th centuries. These
more industrial type villas produced goods with
slave labor such as metal objects, bricks and
ceramics for the markets of Aquincum. In this
case, a metal workshop or smithy was discovered
adjacent to the main building. The sparse animal
bones come from outside the walls of this build-
ing.
Considering that this villa complex was occu-
pied for at least 150 years there are remarkably
few bones from this part of the site. The speed
and intensity of deposition was very low63. Most
interesting as far as the question of animal keep-
ing is concerned is the fact that the majority of
the bones from food refuse were from parts of
show the unmistakable chopping marks character-
istic of carcasses prepared in the butcher shops
of the town. As far as it is possible to tell the
While sheep, goat and pig may have been kept
at the farm in small numbers it is clear that
someone else other than the people working the
smithy were getting the higher quality meat cuts.
Common people in any case were probably more
dependent on plant foods such as grains, legumes,
fruits and vegetables in their daily diet.
62
The material from this site has been analyzed but not pub-
lished by the author. All the information in the following
section come from these notes.
Suprisingly, only a single dog bone was found
in the refuse bone of the villa. At the same time,
there is other bone material from the stone build-
ing located near a roman cross-road, on the mod-
ern Kolossy square, 1/2 km south of the Military
town amphitheater, where a good number of dog
bones was recovered. These were Airdale terrier-
size animals who must have been used as guard
dogs. Dog bones are encountered from time to
town at sites in the Civil Town. Most of these are
small-medium size dogs with thin legs. Since there come from whole carcasses, that is, bones from
is no evidence for dogs gnawing bones in the
faunal assemblages from the towns, it is clear that
dogs did not run free in Aquincums streets. There
is one bone from a large dog, German shepherd
size, and a few from lap dog size animals. Only
one cat bone, an extremity bone, has been recov-
ered from all the Aquincum faunal assemblages.
However, as can be seen on the compara-
tive graph (Fig. 3) there were large numbers of
horse bones present in the Kaszsdl-Csiks form of fish keeping in ponds from Aquincum.
street villa. While none of the bone was from ass
it is not possible to say with absolute certainty
whether the elements present come from horse or
mule.64 These animals were certainly used to carry
or haul goods around and to and from the villa.
They were not eaten and the fact that they died
at the villa is shown by the presence of bones
from all parts of the skeleton.
During the course of the analysis of animal bones
from a small Avar settlement65 faunal material from
a small 2nd3rd c. bath building from settlement
north of the Military Town were also identified.
63
This is expressed by the restricted area where bones were
found and their weahered surfaces showing they were not
bur ied immediately as was typical within the town of
Aquincm.
64
WHITE op. cit. 295. Larger measurments must surely
have come from horses but the bones in the smaller range
may have come from mules produced by crossings between
mares and jack-donkeys. Crossings between jennies and
stallions result in smaller hinnies.
65
Darczy-Szab L., Psztorhagyomnyok a Filtorigti
teleplsen. Rgszeti szakdolgozat, Etvs Lornd Egy- basis of the meat diet. (Fig. 1) The informa-
etem, Budapest (2002), personal communication.
Material from the nearby 1st c. timber fort has not
been selected and awaits identification and analysis.
Interestingly, the proportion of domestic animals
is remarkably similar to what was found at the
Kaszsdl-Csiks utca villa with the meat coming
from the centralized butcher shops of the town and
relatively more equids, perhaps mules.
Finally, a few general words should be said
about bird keeping and fish exploitation around
and in Aquincum. Bird bone seems to have to
all parts of the carcass may be found on sites
where finer excavations techniques were employed.
However, there is no way of telling whether birds
were kept around the town and smaller settle-
ments since they represent easily movable goods.
There have been no finds of eggs, even from
burials as grave offerings, although we know that
eggs were a part of the diet.
There is no evidence for carp farming or other
Altogether, a grand total of two pike bones have
come to light from a Celtic-Roman settlement
west of the Civil Town and a settlement (as well
as one sturgeon bone from this same area) just
south of the Military Town respectively. However,
numerous Cyprinidae (carp family) remains were
recovered from a site along Bcsi Street where
screening was regularly carried out by the excavat-
ing archaeologist. The lesson is clear. These were
all most likely fished directly out of the nearby
Danube river by this Romanized native population
to supplement the meat diet from domesticates.
Animals in the diet
One of the aspects of the faunal material from
the more recent excavations at Aquincum is the
wide variety of sites it derives from. Because
assemblages exist from such variable sources, in
principal it should be possible to say quite a bit
about differences in the meat diet between differ-
ent social groups.
Cattle, sheep/goat, pig and chicken provide the
tion available to date makes it clear that in the
223
Aquincum towns, remarkably Pit Shrine down the diaphyses of long bones of cattle legs,
little game was consumed. cattle cattle sheep goat sheep/goat pig dog hen human particularly humerus and femur. (Fig. 6)
Fish may have been impor- horn core 3 3 1 1 One of the most common bones from cattle
tant for certain dishes or as a skull fragment 4 5 1 1 1 are ribs which have cut off from the vertebrae.
supplement to the diet for all Mandibula 8 4 1 3 (Tab. 2) Sometimes these ribs even have long
but that is still unclear. Horse Vertebrae 1 4 1 1 striations where diners scraped the last bits of
Rib 10 12 2
and dog were not eaten at Scapula 1 2 tasty meat from them. Finally, a total of three
Aquincum. In addition to the Humerus 1 2 1 1 1 complete scapulae from cattle have been recovered
fact that bones from these two Radius 4 from the Civil Town. All have a hole through the
species bones are very rare Ulna 1 2 1 blade where the shoulders were hung, probably
Metacarpus 2
they are usually unbroken and Pelvis 3 1 1 for smoking. (Fig. 7) Curiously enough there is
show no sign of butchering Femur 2 2 no evidence of such smoked meat being eaten
although horse bone may have Tibia 5 4 1 in the Military forts studied here. This latter is
skinning marks on the extrem- short bone 3 1 Fig. 4. Roman iron axe of the kind that might strange because such bones are relatively common
Metatarsus 10 1
ity bones. Differences seem to Phalanges 4 1 have been used to chop through bones by but- at Roman military sites in England and Holland.70
exist between the various parts chers in the town Smoked meat exports from Pannonia and Gaul
NISP total 28 64 4 2 3 21 1 1 1
of Aquincum, the villa-farms were well known in the Roman Empire and these
and the close by military forts specimens show it was consumed locally as well.
of Albertfalva and Campona, Tab. 2. Skeletal Part distribution at the Civil Town Shrine and Most of the bone remains from cattle come
although a great more work Adjacent Refuse Pit from adult or mature animals which must mean
needs to be done to clarify that Romans, even the better off ones, tolerated
why these difference exist. rather chewy meat.
At all three sites cattle was most important, The bones from sheep are not particularly
The Civil Town comprising up to 70% of the everyday diet, common at these three sites in the Civil Town,
as for example, at the Firemens Headquarters. amounting to between 10 and 15% of the total
Three sites from the Civil Town serve to illus- (Fig. 8) The same picture is also shown by a bones. (Fig. 3) Goat bones are even rarer. At the
trate the eating habits of better off people who small material from the canabae of the Military Firemens Headquarters there even seems to be a
lived there in the end of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Town (BKNYI 1974, 351) where cattle domi- slight decline in their numbers which mirrors the
centuries.66 Table 2, which shows the skeletal nates.68 Although there are bones from every part situation in the province. With the exception of
part distribution from the Civil Town shrine site of the skeleton, they tend to be chopped up with the faunal material from Victorinus dwelling, not
provides a typical example of refuse bone in the heavy metal tools. (Fig. 4) These large bones can Fig. 5. Chopped bones and bones quantified here, the bones are from adult indi-
town.67 (Tab. 2) be chopped lengthwise and even the dense short with marks of filleting viduals. Over half the sheep or goat bone from
bones are chopped across. (Fig. 5) The butchers this house however, did not have fused epiphyses.
66
The Civil Town shrine was excavated in the early 1990s working in the meat shops of the Civil Town pot-size cuts of meat for stews and to allow the In other words they came from lambs, a much
but has not been published due to the death of the exca- must have been immensely strong. The idea is to rich tasty nutrient marrow to get into the food.69 greater delicacy and therefore more expensive.
vator, Erzsbet Marity, Plan The dwelling of Victorinus Sometimes the butchers chopped the meat from The bone parts found in the Civil Town shrine
was excavated slightly earlier (see note 41.). While the in the pit next to the shrine and over 1/3 of the bones was the leg bones to produce fillets. The evidence for come from meaty regions, the pelvis and ribs.
archaeological and faunal material has been identified actual made up by rib fragments. While cattle also dominated in the this are overlapping shallow chop marks running (Tab. 2 and Fig. 3)
analysis has been put off until the stratigraphic clarifica- assemblage from the shrine, bones from this animal were only Pig in the Civil Town shows a more variable
tion of the faunal material is complete. Both excavations twice as many as from pigs. Anatomically, the cattle remains 68
While the numbers here are truly very small and the mate- picture. It is dangerous to draw conclusions on
were carried out prior to planned reconstruction of the not only included remains of high meat value: numerous short rial was not screened the trends in species proportions are
2nd3rd century structures. The analysis of bones from the bones, metatarsals and phalanges of the metapodium belong repeated. 70
LAUWERIER op, cit, 195. Also see: Izard, K., 1997, 369.
69
Firemens Headquarters (ZSIDI 1997/4) is complete. to the commercially less important of the animals. Once the BARTOSIEWICZ op. cit. 630632. also see: Grant, A., At the military fort at Birdoswald on Hadrians Wall 17 of
67
Because this end of the first beginning of the 2nd century shrine ceased to function the area was leveled and filled in Some Observations on Butchery in England from the Iron the 65 cattle scapulae had such holes in them. Izard also
material has not been published before, skeletal part distribu- with debris from the nearby shrine complex. The bones here Age to the Medieval Period. Anthropozoologica Premier interprets this as a sign of smoking and further that the
tions are also provided here. Only cattle remains were found may very well represent the remains of food offerings. Numro Special, Paris, 1987, 5358. shoulders were smoked at the fort.

224 225
 this was a reflection of the dietary preferences or cess of Romanization seem not to be relying on
prohibitions of the Syrian soldiers and merchants military supplies but depended on the local Celtic
who came to Aquincum in the AD 3rd and 4th population for their meat. Not strictly related to
centuries. food is the find here of a wolf crania from one
The people living in the Civil Town ate chicken of these huts. It is tempting to think that the skin
regularly. Probably the number of bones from this and cranium of this wolf ultimately decorated the
species would be found more often with screen- uniform of the Roman living in this hut.
Fig. 6. A cattle bone bone with scalloped marks ing. (Tab. 2 and Fig. 3) Their bones are slightly
of filleting more common in the refuse from the Victorinus The Military Diet
house. Bones from goose were also found there.
There are two Military forts south of Aquin-
The diet of the Romanized native population cum, Albertfalva and Campona, for which faunal
analyses exist (BKNYI 1974, 351; CHOYKE
Unfortunately, not very much of the large bone 1993, 133135; CHOYKE 19941995, 5160).75
material from settlements72 of the Romanized native The forts themselves mirror the situation found
population has been analyzed although some of it elsewhere in the province. Cattle bones at both Fig. 8. Lithograph of a panel from Trajens
has been identified.73 Beef certainly dominated in sites seem to have been brought into the castrum column in the Forum in Rome showing mules
the diet but species proportions compared to sites area in a processed form. Sheep or goat and pig being used for military transport.
in the towns are not available. One thing is clear. seem to occur in roughly equal numbers within
The people living in villages outside Aquincum in the fort however pig bone was
its territorium brought animals into the habita- much more frequently encountered Periods Period Period Period Modern
Fig. 7. Cattle shoulder-bone with hole where the tion area to slaughter them. All parts of skeleton in the vicus surrounding Albertfal- 1 and 2 2 3 1 to 5 or
shoulder was suspended during smoking. appear but even more significant, the bones rarely va. (Tab. 3) Soldiers at both forts mixed mixed mixed
display any trace of the chopping marks typical seem to have supplemented their Cattle 78 18 3 45 17
of the town material. Furthermore, the long bones meat diet with game including wild Caprine 52 11 5 20 8
Sheep 2 2 1 3 2
at these village sites have been broken in the old cattle (Bos primigenius Boj.), red
Goat 4 1
the basis of such small numbers but it is safe to traditional manner which produces a spiral frac- deer (Cervus elephus L.), roe deer Pig 56 18 25 11
say that pig was eaten slightly more often than ture on the diaphysis. (Capreolus capreolus L), hare, wild Horse 26 1 4 11
mutton in the town. (Fig. 3) The percentages of A series of huts dating from the first period birds and fish. Dog 5 1
Domestic hen 3 1 2
pig in the Firemens Headquarters appear small of the military occupation74 was discovered in an
because cattle is so dominant. This dominance area just south of what was to be the canabae Animals and Draught work NISP domestic 226 51 9 101 49
is not entirely related to gastronomic activities and the area of the future Military amphitheater. Red deer 1 1 1
in this building as we shall see later. The bias The faunal material from these huts was striking Cattle were used in plowing and Roe deer 1 1
Wild pig 1
toward cattle distorts the percentages. The animals in its similarity to that found in the villages of hauling work. At Aquincum there
Sturgeon 1
butchered in the shops were generally young ani- the native population which was later moved into are cow horncores from the Civil Sturgeon 1
mals although bones from new born or suckling this area. The soldiers at this point in the pro- town mentioned above which are
NISP wild 4 1 2 1
pigs have not yet been recovered, perhaps because direct proof of yoking with inden-
of sampling problems. All parts of pig were eaten 71
For example, Augusta Raurica in Switzerland where pig tations at their bases caused by NISP total 230 53 9 103 50
as can be seen by the distribution of body parts percentages can reach 35% as opposed to 20% at Aquin- long term contact with the yoke.
Human 2
from the Civil Town shrine site. As noted previ- cum. Schibler Furger 1988, 175. The horncores from oxen also Rodent 1
ously Apicius recipe book is dominated by pork 72
4446 Bcsi Road BERTIN 1998, BERTIN 1999 show that this domestic species Fish 2
dishes. Pork was generally a favored Roman meat. 73
This is largely because the stratigraphic situation has not would have been used in plow- Unio 1 1
Non-ident. 19 5 2 6 3
However, it can be said that one encounters pig been clarified because of the tragic death of the excavator, ing and hauling heavy loads where
bone in Aquincum assemblages less often than Erzsbet Mrity. speed was not needed.
would be expected based on other provincial 74
Excavation of E. Mrity, 1990 Budajlak, Lajos Street and Tab. 3. The Species Distribution from the Albertfalva Vicus. all
Roman sites.71 It is very tempting to suggest that Budajlak Csemete Street, Plan 75
VRS op. cit. wild animal NISP is smaller than 10%

226 227
 Those settlements discussed bones as well as skulls with attached horn cores
above where draught and move- which is associated with hides. In fact, one of
ment of men and goods would the means of fire fighting (SZILGYI 1984, 51,
have been important include 68) included raw hides soaked in water or vin-
the Kaszsdl-Csiks utca villa egar and raw animal hides filled with chaff and
where an extraordinarily high soaked. These skin bags were called cento. It is
proportion of the bones came very likely that the extremity bones would have
from smallish equids, probably been left in the legs of these skins for easier
mules. This picture is mirrored handling. As the skins would have gotten burned
at another unpublished indus- or worn out they would have been discarded
trial villa at Mocsrosdl 2 perhaps into the very trench previously thought
km from the Kaszsdl Csiks to be part of a hide processing operation. The
utca villa site.76 This villa seems bones from the Firemens Headquarters itself
to have produced bricks. The would be from the last phase of each building
yard of this second villa was stage. (Fig. 9)
strewn with the complete bones Another type product regularly manufactured in
of horse and mule. Complete Roman towns are objects made from bones and
equid bones were also relatively antlers. By the Roman period, bone was carved
common in the faunal materi- by hand or on a lathe into ornaments, fittings,
als of both of the Military forts bits of inlay and parts of complex objects in
discussed above, Albertfalva and Fig. 9. The percentile contribution of animals at the Firemens centralized workshops which were undoubtedly Fig. 10. Find spots of debitage from antler and
Campona. These animals were Headquarters. tied in to the butchershops which provided them bone working may mark the general area of for-
not eaten but the skins were with the appropriate raw material. 78 While the mer workshops
probably removed and so the concrete location location of these workshops is
carcasses remained close to the settlements. Mules animals, mostly cattle. Typically for some kind unknown, remains of debitage or half-finished
and mule breed are known to be important in of hide processing area are the accumulations pieces indicates their general locations. (Fig. 10)
the Roman military system (Fig. 8) in the forum of horncores and metapodials which is what was Horse and cattle autopodial long bones were tools81. There were few ornaments and the tools
in Rome showing mules drawing a wagon in a found here, mixed with some other food debris.77 most often worked in addition to red deer ant- retained many of the features of the bone such
military setting). Horses were ridden by officers There has been some speculation that this was ler. A brief review of the Roman objects from as the epiphyses.
and calvalrymen. They may be seen on numerous a hide processing area which was in use during Aquincum79 and the Roman period objects in the Although these objects from Aquincum are often
gravestones of soldiers with proudly arched necks one of two periods after the Civil Town had been National Museum of Hungary80 show that they so heavily worked that all identifying features of
compared to the more plebeian look of mules attacked and before the town had really recovered. range from the very elaborate to crudely carved the raw material are removed from the bone, new
shown pulling wagons on family gravestones from At the same time, there is suggestive and similar imitations made at home from available bones. research has shown that some of the microscopic
around Aquincum. material coming from the Firemens Headquarters This stands in interesting contrast to the bones features related to the structure of the particular
which is located by the southern wall. from the Roman fort of cs-Vaspuszta which material are retained.82 On this basis it has been
Goods from animals The building functioned as a collegium for more closely resembled prehistoric or Sarmatian determine that at least 30% of the objects are
almost 400 years and the faunal material in it made from red deer antler. Red deer was appar-
There are three by-products made from slaugh- is quite separate in terms of its composition 78
Maltby, M., Urban Rural Variations in the Butchering of ently not hunted at Aquincum but, as mentioned
tered animals whose traces can actually found in from that in the trench. Aside from the food Cattle in Romano-British Hampshire. In: (D. Serjeantson
Aquincum. These include hide and hide process- refuse bone already discussed in this paper, there and T. Waldron eds.) Diet and Crafts in Towns., BAR 81
Choyke, A., Worked animal bone at the Sarmatian site of
ing as well as bone, antler and ivory carving. are numbers of metapodia and connected foot British Series 199, Oxford, 1989, 75106, here 89. Gyoma 133. In: (ed. by A. Vaday) Culture and Landscape
A large ditch excavated by the southern wall 79
This research into the Aquincum bone tools is ongoing by Changes in South-East Hungary, Budapest, 1996, 307322.
of the Civil Town contained the bones of many 77 Serjeantson, D., Animal Remains and the Tanning Trade. the author and Mria Br. As well as Choyke op. cit. 1989, 624632.
80 82
In: Diet and Crafts in Towns: D. Serjeantson and T. Br, M., The Bone Objects of the Roman Collection. DESCHLER-ERB op. cit. 3347. A microscope with mag-
76
Mocsrosdl: E. Mrity excavation, Plan ?, ; Kaszsdl- Waldron eds., BAR British Series 199; Oxford (1989) Catalogi Musei Nationalis Hungarici Series Archaeologicica nification of up to 80 X should be sufficent to make these
Csiks utca: ZSIDI 1991. 129146, here 136. II, Budapest, 1994. identifications.

228 229
previously, there must have been organized gath-
erings of its antler each Spring. Interestingly, half
finished pieces made from antler do appear scat-
tered throughout Aquincum but no concentrations
of workshop debris have yet come to light here
except for the antler workshop discovered in the
military fort at Campona (VRS, 1989, 85).83
It contained antler burrs with the beam sawn off
as well as plaques carved from the beam and
ready for further working, possibly into comb
sections.
Animals in rituals
Animals played their own part in religion and
ritual at Aquincum. From time to time a site
is excavated where the bone material is clearly
related to this type of activity. In the 1980s the
house of the Tribunus Laticlavius was excavated
in the Military Town. Attached to this luxury
house was a mithreum. The cult of Mithras was
brought from Persia originally by the influx of
eastern people mentioned previously. One of the
scenarios of this cult was the image of Mithras,
representing light, killing and therefore over-
coming the bull, representing dark. Bulls were
regularly sacrificed in the underground shrines
dedicated to this God however, it seems the prac-
tical Romans ate the animals afterwards because
accumulations of cattle bones are never found
near these Mithraeum. However, a number of
extremely interesting animal bone remains were
recovered from a sealed-off context the altars
by the northern wall and in particular the snake
altar within this particular cult place. The animals
found here included domestic hen, pig, domes-
tic goose, food remains of cattle, hare and fish.
Most significant were the 16 chicken bones found
together.84 As previously mentioned, a roe deer
83
Vrs I., Campona-Nagyttny rmai tbor llatcsontma-
radvnyai [The Animal Bone Remains from the Roman
Fort at Campona-Nagyttny] FolArch 40 (1989) 75118,
here 85.
84
Vrs I., A Tribunus Laticlaviusok hza az Aquincum 23.
sz.-i legio-tborban A mithraeum llatcsont-leletei [The
230
(Capreolus capreolus L.) was possibly sacrificed at Conclusions to discrete parts of the town and the settlements
the altar of Nemesis by the amphitheater of the surrounding it.
Civil Town. The work on the many sided relationship Altogether, animals were an integral part of
Other ritual contexts with related bone finds between the human population and their animals Roman life. A better understanding of the way
include three skulls from large dogs found under is ongoing. As more and more material is studied, they were exploited and viewed at this particular
a threshold at the stone building excavated at it is expected that the picture of how animals site will help us to escape the ideal and nor-
Kolossy Square south of the Military Town. The were used in the town and on the villa-farms mative picture offered by antique authors and
building included human burials within the walls, in the surrounding territory. The various social develop a three-dimensional view of how Romans
a distinctly non-Roman custom. This and some classes and the different ethnic groups that made and the people they conquered adapted, lived
of the finds led the excavator to suggest that this up the pluralistic society of most Roman towns together and thrived for almost 400 years in the
building had been occupied by Romanized Celts also left their mark on dietary traditions and, with Pannonian environment.87
who still followed some of the old ways.85 luck, patterns in species proportions and body
The cemetery/shrine complex located near part distribution will emerge which can be related Alice M. Choyke
the northern edge of the Military Town was
first excavated in 1984 (ZSIDI 1997[1998]).
The small sample of bones from food offerings
placed in the graves and offered at the associ-
ated shrine indicated that this area was used by
people from northern Italy. The offerings seem
to be the remains of stew-like meals. As opposed
to elsewhere in Aquincum the remains of sheep
or goat dominate over pig. This patterning is
probably related to some kind of food preference.
Since other grave offerings (CHOYKE 1998/2,
150) clearly point to northern Italy it is safe to
say that people taking part in the graveside rituals
brought foods which would have been eaten by
the deceased in life The analysis of the bones and
archaeological material offers a rare but happy
example of the use of faunal and material culture
data to strengthen the interpretations concerning
the ethnicity of of the people buried in this cem-
etery parcel.
Finally, as increasing numbers of graves are
excavated, finds of special bones are being recov-
ered such as the goose foot bone tucked in the
swaddling of a baby buried in the late 4th century,
located on Vlyog Street near the former Military
Town.86 The symbolic meaning of this bone has
been lost to us.
87
The author would like to gratefully express her thanks to
House of the Tribunus laticlavius in the legionary fortress of Dr. Lszl Bartosiewicz for his truely untiring efforts to weed
2nd3rd century Aquincum the animal bone remains from out inconsistencies and other errors in the text. Thanks as
the Mithraeum]. BudRg 28 (1991) 118132, here 132. well to my colleagues in the Aquincum museum who have
85
Erzsbet Mrity, personal communication. provided me with material and explanations. To all of you,
86
Vlyog Street, MADARASSY 2002 many thanks.
231
7. KUNSTDENKMLER AUS DEN
JNGEREN FORSCHUNGEN