What Happened in That Pit? An Archaeozoological and GIS Approach to Study an Accumulation of Animal Carcasses at the Roman Villa of Vilauba (Catalonia)

Joan Frigola,Joaquim Tremoleda,Pere Castanyer,Lídia Colominas

doi:10.3390/ani11082214

Abstract

Simple SummaryWe present a methodological approach to the study of ancient accumulations of animal bones that combines archaeozoological and geographic information system (GIS) analyses. This combined approach was applied to the study of 783 cattle remains recovered in a 187 m2 pit at the Roman villa of Vilauba (Catalonia). Its detailed study allowed the nature and formation of this singular assemblage to be documented. We propose that these remains correspond to the carcasses of 14 cattle. They may have contracted some kind of disease, and it was decided to slaughter them in order to take advantage of their meat by preserving it. The study of this exceptional assemblage opens a window onto an unusual and isolated moment of the lives of the inhabitants of this villa, and shows the importance of cattle in its economy.Some of the deposits of animal remains documented throughout prehistory and history are clearly something other than ordinary waste from meat consumption. For the Roman period and based on their characteristics, these assemblages have been classified as butchery deposits, raw material deposits, deposits created for the hygienic management and disposal of animal carcasses, or ritual deposits. However, some are difficult to classify, and the parameters that define each of them are not clear. Here, we present a unique deposit from the Roman villa of Vilauba (Catalonia). A total of 783 cattle remains were found in an irregular-shaped 187 m2 pit originally dug to extract the clay used in the construction of the villa walls around the third quarter of the 1st century AD. The application of a contextual taphonomy approach, with the integration of archaeozoological variables, stratigraphy and context, and a GIS analysis, allowed us to document the nature and formation of this singular assemblage. It consisted of the carcasses of 14 cattle individuals from which the meat had been removed to take advantage of it by preserving it. Therefore, the parameters that characterise the refuse of this activity are presented here as a baseline for other studies.

Highlights

Bones from archaeological sites are the remnants of a wide range of activities. They are usually refuse from domestic meat consumption, they can be butchery deposits; waste from activities linked to hide preparation, bone and antler working, or glue manufacture; deposits created for the hygienic management and disposal of animal carcasses; or ritual deposits, to name only some of the possibilities
To understand the origin and nature of this exceptional assemblage, a methodology based on a contextual taphonomy approach was used [23], with the integration of archaeozoological variables, stratigraphy and context, and a GIS analysis
A total of 1058 faunal remains were recovered in Stratigraphic Unit 1700 (Table 1), 783 of which were from cattle

Summary

Introduction

Bones from archaeological sites are the remnants of a wide range of activities They are usually refuse from domestic meat consumption, they can be butchery deposits; waste from activities linked to hide preparation, bone and antler working, or glue manufacture; deposits created for the hygienic management and disposal of animal carcasses; or ritual deposits, to name only some of the possibilities. Other deposits contain entire animal carcasses, with no evidence of anthropic modification These have been interpreted as a deliberately symbolic acts, or as a means of disposing of dead animals whose carcasses were not processed, either because the animals were ill when they died or because their meat was not generally eaten (e.g., dogs and equids during the Roman period) [13,16]

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