Animal use and consumption in Roman times: preliminary results from Pompeii-Porta Capua (Campania)

In AD 79, the well-known eruption of Vesuvius affected the landscape of Campania (Italy) and destroyed the Roman towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum, leaving the archaeological artefacts and settlements sealed and conserved in the same state they had been in before the disaster. The excavation of the “ Porta Capua” of Pompeii by the Paleological Istitute of Japan in 1993-2006 provided an excellent opportunity to understand various aspects of life in Roman Pompeii. More than eight thousand recorded animal remains show a variety of species, providing significant information not only about diet but also about diverse exploitation of animals. The remains of the main domestic animals exploited as a food source are predominant, but the occurrence of particular species such as sea animals and dormice confirm the portrait provided by ancient texts in which Romans consumed a certain variety of animal foods. Other significant remains clearly derive from the bone working waste of one or more workshops located in Pompeii. Finally, the remains of animals that were not exploited for food, such as dogs, cats, horses, and exotic species, attest to the development of intentional and selective forms of breeding and an increase in mobility of people and animals that was the consequence of Roman trade expansion.