A Nyíregyházi Jósa András Múzeum évkönyve 33-35. - 1990-1992 (Nyíregyháza, 1993)

István Vörös: Animal Bones from the Roman Imperial Period Settlement at Apagy in Barbaricum (fordította: Kulcsár Valéria)

Animal Bones from the Roman Imperial Period Settlement at Apagy in Barbaricum In 1936-37 archaeological finds and animal bones were collected from a settlement of Roman Imperial Period in Apagy, Peckes rét (Szabolcs-SzatmárBereg County, NE-Hungary). In the selected bone material there were remains of six domestic animals: cattle, sheep, goat, pig, horse, dog; five wild animals: aurochs, red deer, roe deer, wild boar and brown bear; and remains of a marsh tortoise (Table 1.). On the basis of Osteometrie examination of cattle bones we can assume that ethnic groups of the Barbaricum in the II-V cc. A.D. kept several types of cattle. Roman Age large cattle and oxen found outside the great Sarmatian entrenchment in N-NE-Hungary - among them the ones from Apagy - are not of Pannonian origin. Roman large cattle appears in Pannónia in the Und c. A.D. Sarmatian livestock trade was directed not from Pannónia towards Barbaricum as S. BOKONYI has suggested (1972. 130., 1976. 46-72.), but on the contrary: cattle livestock must had been driven from the Great Hungarian Plain — brightly suitable for extensive animal husbandry -to the market places of the Danube limes. Besides small and short slim bodied Sarmatian horses (about 1200-1360 mm withers height) there were also middle height horses in the territory between the Danube and Tisza. We have no information about big bodied „Roman military horse" from the Barbaricum (wrong data - BOKONYI 1976. 50.). The big dog scull írom Apagy belonged to a sheep dog. The most important domestic animal was cattle, next ones were pigs and sheep/goats. The most important meat stock was cattle, but primarily it was used in many ways as livestock animal. Drought strength of bulls and oxen was used besides the agriculture in transportation of goods. Remains of pigs represent their meat stock character. Sheep and goats gave milk, wool, meat, fur and skin. Saddle backed and riding horse was the most important animal of the army. Also its meat was used for eating regularly. Sheep dog supplied the safety and directing of cattle herd. In Apagy we meet all the four large wild animals of the Carpathian basin: aurochs, red deer, roe deer and wild boar. Brown bear lives in woods, in the mountains. Big games were hunted for their meat, trophy and skin/fur. Bone-processing activity of the settlement is proved by carved and polished cattle and horse metapodia. Red deer antlers were also cut to pieces. It is interesting to examine the composition of species and relative proportions of animal bone remains from the settlements of Roman Imperial Period in the Barbaricum (Table 5, 6.): the frequency order of domestic animals in the 64