TRAC 2006 SESSION
A Zooarchaeological Approach to Romanisation:
Cross-cultural Synthesis or One-Way Traffic?
Krish Seetah (University of Cambridge) ks354@hermes.cam.ac.uk
James Morris (Bournemouth University) morrisj@bmth.ac.uk
Recently, the axiom that Romans brought civilisation to native Britons has been challenged: did 'Romanisation' dictate how trade,
economics and religion functioned, or was there a greater degree of interaction between
Romans and Britons?
Zooarchaeology holds the key to understanding certain aspects of Romanisation; recent
findings have pointed to distinct differences in the perception and utilisation of animals
across the Empire.
This session draws on all aspects of faunal research to illustrate how the economic
exploitation and perceptual importance of animals offers insight into the process of
Romanisation. By highlighting case studies and methodologies where the analysis of animal
material culture has gone beyond the purely economic this session aims to aid in our
understanding of the possible cultural, and indeed cross-cultural affects, involved in
Romanisation. We would encourage research that uses all related aspects of faunal studies,
including figurines and other iconographic representations.
Paper titles
Dr. Umberto Albarella (University of Sheffield)
"Romans on the East Frontier: animal husbandry and the acculturation of Britain"
Dr. Michael MacKinnon (University of Winnipeg)
"Zooarchaeological Indicators of 'Romanization' in the Mediterranean Context"
Dr. Mark Maltby (Bournemouth University)
"Marrow Production: a comparison of Iron Age and Romano-British Evidence"
James Morris (Bournemouth University)
"Associated bone groups; Continuation and Romanization"
David Orton (University of Cambridge)
"A local barrow for local people? Ritual deposition of cattle at Ferrybridge"
Dr. Kate Smith (University of Wales, Newport)
"Dogged Persistence - Why the domestic dog continued to be a favoured sacrificial animal offering in Roman Britain"
Abstracts
"Romans on the East Frontier: animal husbandry and the acculturation of Britain"
Dr. Umberto Albarella (University of Sheffield)
The study of the impact caused by the 1st century AD Roman invasion has discussed many different aspects of the culture
and economic life of Britain, including animal husbandry. Curiously, however, hard zooarchaeological evidence has been
little used in shaping the debate. Recent work carried out in East Anglia has, however, brought to light new
zooarchaeological evidence spanning from the late Iron Age to the early Saxon period, which is of great importance
for our understanding of the mechanisms, nature and timing of the Romanization of Britain. What emerges from the work
carried out in this area is that rural and urban centres reacted in different ways to this period of economic and
cultural change and that the Romans did indeed bring about a number of innovations in agriculture and husbandry that
cannot be traced back to the earlier Iron Age. Such changes, however, did not all take place in one event, but they
rather occurred in two or possibly more stages. The nature of the evidence, the reasons why such changes were stimulated
and our cultural perception of them are discussed in this paper. It is argued that - in contradiction to some recent
discussion on the subject - the effects on agricultural practices of the Romanization of Britain have hardly been
overestimated.
"Zooarchaeological Indicators of 'Romanization' in the Mediterranean Context"
Dr. Michael MacKinnon (University of Winnipeg)
As some of the first zones 'Romanized', the Mediterranean provinces provide valuable information about the initiation,
rates, and impact of cultural change, evidence that in turn may help us understand and model these processes elsewhere,
including Roman Britain. Using zooarchaeological data, this paper discusses the effects of 'Romanization' on aspects of
animal production and consumption in two key Mediterranean areas, Iberia and North Africa.
Zooarchaeological data from North Africa indicate a continuation of much of the pre-Roman husbandry and dietary focus on
ovicaprids, with the exception of large urbanized centers such as Carthage. Here, the demand for pork and other elite or
preferred meats (including lamb and hare) in a city with a burgeoning 'Romanized' economic and social component brought
changes to husbandry operations. Traditional pastoral herders were pushed to distant pastures to encourage more
fodder-fed, market-driven, meat production schemes in the Carthaginian hinterland. As Roman influence waned in late
antiquity, suburban pork and choice-meat farms became too expensive or impractical to maintain and the hinterland
reverted back to agricultural and pastoral land.
In Iberia, Mediterranean coastal regions such as Baetica appear to embrace 'Romanized' diets fairly early on, as
indicated in escalating values for pig bones relative to other taxa. This trend slowly filters inland during Imperial
times, but chiefly only among urban centers where a significant colonized, or at least assimilated, elite base existed.
Rural areas seem to retain more diversified diets, focusing upon whichever livestock species was best suited to local
environmental and cultural factors. Noteworthy throughout, however, is the high reliance on wild game to the traditional
pre-Roman Iberian diet, a pattern that does not seem to be followed by Roman elite in this province, even if consumption
of wild game marked higher Roman status elsewhere in the Empire, such as in Italy and North Africa.
"Marrow Production: a comparison of Iron Age and Romano-British Evidence"
Dr. Mark Maltby (Bournemouth University)
It has long been recognised that there were marked differences in carcass processing methods between the British Iron
Age and Romano-British periods. The latter period witnessed the general increase in the use of the cleaver and there
is abundant evidence, particularly from urban and military sites, for large-scale processing of cattle carcasses by
specialist butchers employing standardised methods. It has also been suggested that marrow production became more
intensive, although there have been few attempts at quantifying this, largely because of problems of differential
preservation between assemblages. This paper will review some recent analyses of Iron Age and Romano-British cattle
assemblages, to discuss whether it is possible to monitor chronological changes in the intensity of marrow production
and to assess whether there were any significant variations in this intensity in different types of settlement. The
implications of the results will be discussed in relation to the main theme of the session.
"Associated bone groups; Continuation and Romanization"
James Morris (Bournemouth University)
The phenomenon of discrete deposits of articulated animal remains, often referred to as associated bone groups
(ABGs) after Hill 1996, has been noted on many types of archaeological sites from differing chronological periods.
The majority of research into ABGs has concentrated primarily on sites from Iron Age 'Wessex' with the deposits
often being interpreted as forming part of a ritual framework. The deposition of ABGs continues into the Roman-British
period, but archaeology interpretations of these deposits change to a more functional viewpoint, although this is
starting to be challenged.
This paper is part of a larger PhD project attempting to understand the nature of ABGs and investigating the theoretical
framework utilised for their interpretation. The paper will show that multiple interpretations of ABGs are possible
and valid. To attempt to resolve this we need to look at ABGs with a new depth and range. On one level utilising the
skeletal information collected to a greater degree, as well as integrating it with detailed contextual and associated
non-faunal artefact data. Finally it will discuss the possible meanings of ABGs, do they show a continuity of 'native'
practices, or a change to a 'Romanized' mindset.
""A local barrow for local people? Ritual deposition of cattle at Ferrybridge"
David Orton (University of Cambridge)
At Ferrybridge, West Yorkshire, a spectacular assemblage of cattle bones was found in the ditch around a Middle Iron Age
chariot burial and dated directly to the first or second century AD. Originally interpreted as the results of a single
enormous social event focused on the barrow, the animal remains were suggested to present an example of the 'alteration
and intensification of pre-existing social practice' in the face of the new threats and opportunities that the Roman
period presented to individuals in the region.
Subsequent developments have rendered this interpretation untenable. New radiocarbon dates indicate that the bones
were deposited around the beginning of the 3rd century or later, suggesting that at least some of the cattle had
been curated for a considerable period of time before final deposition. Meanwhile, element representation data show
parallels with certain Romano-British 'temple' sites, and indeed a possible nearby shrine building has been identified
by the excavators. This paper considers the significance of Ferrybridge in the light of the new evidence, with particular
emphasis given to the site's implications for the maintenance and negotiation of local identities during the Roman
period. Was there a 'revitalization' movement in 3rd century Britain, as Eleanor Scott has argued? If so, why might
this have been reflected in a shift from curation to mass deposition at a putative Ferrybridge shrine? And what
can the evidence for animal sacrifice tell us about the importance of local traditions in the development of
Romano-British religion?
"Dogged Persistence -
Why the domestic dog continued to be a favoured sacrificial animal offering in Roman Britain."
Dr. Kate Smith (University of Wales, Newport)
Through extensive analysis of pit features at Iron Age sites it is now widely accepted that the deposition of groups of
animal bones exhibiting certain specific characteristics are best explained as the result of ritual practises of a
non-secular nature. Recently the possibility that, along with other types of artefacts, the ritual practice of
placing animal remains into human-made holes in the ground at settlement sites continued in to the Romano-British
period has been re-examined. It has been noted that during both periods dog burials appear in statistically high
numbers in these types of context.
For a sacrificial offering to be accessible to a supernatural entity it has to be removed from circulation in the earthly
domain. It is well known that in antiquity one of the ways in which this was accomplished within areas of constructed
sacred space was to create a shaft or pit to receive offerings. There are a number of remarkable shaft deposits from
Romano-British sacred sites, including Springhead, Kent, Folly Lane, St Albans and Ridgeons Gardens, Cambridge that were
undoubtedly used in this way. During my research I noticed that these shafts have yielded a number of homogeneous
features, including domestic dogs. Furthermore, the nature of these finds from sites purposely constructed for spiritual
activity is remarkably similar to the archaeology recovered from human-made holes in the ground at a considerable number
Romano-British domestic sites, supporting the idea that in a secular arena pits were still considered to be valid
receptacles for sacrificial offerings.
In this paper I hope to illuminate my findings, particularly in relation to domestic dogs, and to discuss why this species
might have continued to be a favoured offering during the Romano-British period.
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Last updated 9th February 2006 R.M.B.