Póczy Klára: Forschungen in Aquincum 1969- 2002 (Aquincum Nostrum 2. Budapest, 2003)
6. Die Wirtschaft Aquincums im Spiegel der neuen Funde - 6.3. Animals and Roman lifeways in Aquincum (Alice M. Choyke)
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 overcoming the bull, representing dark. Bulls were regularly sacrificed in the underground shrines dedicated to this God however, it seems the practical 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, domestic goose, food remains of cattle, hare and fish. Most significant were the 16 chicken bones found together. 84 As previously mentioned, a roe deer (Capreolus capreolus L.) was possibly sacrificed at the altar of Nemesis by the amphitheater of the Civil Town. Other ritual contexts with related bone finds include three skulls from large dogs found under a threshold at the stone building excavated at Kolossy Square south of the Military Town. The building included human burials within the walls, a distinctly non-Roman custom. This and some of the finds led the excavator to suggest that this building had been occupied by Romanized Celts who still followed some of the old ways. 85 The cemetery/shrine complex located near 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 associated 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 84 Vörös I., A Tribunus Laticlaviusok háza az Aquincum 2-3. sz.-i legio-táborban - A mithraeum állatcsont-leletei [The House of the Tribunus laticlavius in the legionary fortress of 2 nd-3 rd century Aquincum - the animal bone remains from the Mithraeum]. BudRég 28 (1991) 118-132, here 132. 85 Erzsébet Márity, personal communication. Fig. 9. Find spots of debitage from antler and bone working may mark the general area of former workshops 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 cemetery parcel. Finally, as increasing numbers of graves are excavated, finds of special bones are being recovered such as the goose foot bone tucked in the swaddling of a baby buried in the late 4 th century, located on Vályog Street near the former Military Town. 86 The symbolic meaning of this bone has been lost to us. 86 Vályog Street, MADARASSY 2002.
