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)

mutton in the town. (Fig. 3) The percentages of pig in the Firemen's Headquarters appear small because cattle is so dominant. This dominance is not entirely related to gastronomic activities in this building as we shall see later. The bias toward cattle distorts the percentages. The animals butchered in the shops were generally young animals although bones from new born or suckling pigs have not yet been recovered, perhaps because of sampling problems. All parts of pig were eaten as can be seen by the distribution of body parts from the Civil Town shrine site. As noted previously Apicius' recipe book is dominated by pork dishes. Pork was generally a favored Roman meat. However, it can be said that one encounters pig bone in Aquincum assemblages less often than would be expected based on other provincial Roman sites.

71 It is very tempting to suggest that this was a reflection of the dietary preferences or prohibitions of the Syrian soldiers and merchants who came to Aquincum in the AD 3

rd and 4

th centuries. The people living in the Civil Town ate chicken regularly. Probably the number of bones from this species would be found more often with screening. (Tab. 2 and Fig. 3) Their bones are slightly more common in the refuse from the Victorinus house. Bones from goose were also found there. The diet of the Romanized native population Unfortunately, not very much of the large bone material from settlements

72 of the Romanized native population has been analyzed although some of it has been identified.

73 Beef certainly dominated in the diet but species proportions compared to sites in the towns are not available. One thing is clear. The people living in villages outside Aquincum in 71 For example, Augusta Raurica in Switzerland where pig percentages can reach 35% as opposed to 20% at Aquincum. Schibier- Furger 1988, 175. 72 44_4

6 Bécsi Road BERTIN 1998, BERTIN 1999. 73 This is largely because the stratigraphie situation has not been clarified because of the tragic death of the excavator, Erzsébet Márity. 74 Excavation of E. Márity, 1990 Budaújlak, Lajos Street and Budaújlak Csemete Street, Plan 7, Nr. 4. its territórium brought animals into the habitation area to slaughter them. All parts of skeleton appear but even more significant, the bones rarely display any trace of the chopping marks typical of the town material. Furthermore, the long bones at these village sites have been broken in the old traditional manner which produces a spiral fracture on the diaphysis. A series of huts dating from the first period of the military occupation

74 was discovered in an area just south of what was to be the canabae and the area of the future Military amphitheater. The faunal material from these huts was striking in its similarity to that found in the villages of the native population which was later moved into this area. The soldiers at this point in the process of Romanization seem not to be relying on military supplies but depended on the local Celtic population for their meat. Not strictly related to food is the find here of a wolf crania from one of these huts. It is tempting to think that the skin and cranium of this wolf ultimately decorated the uniform of the Roman living in this hut. The Military Diet There are two military forts south of Aquincum, Albertfalva and Campona, for which faunal analyses exist (BÖKÖNYI 1974, 351; CHOYKE Fig. 4. Chopped bones and bones with marks of filleting