The Excavations of San Giovanni Di Ruoti : Volume III: The Faunal and Plant Remains

This third volume of+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++eries deals with the social, economic, and environmental information derived from the analysis of zooarchaeological and palaeobotanical remains found at the fourth-century AD southern Italian villa of San Giovanni di Ruoti. The excavations, which took place over a seven-year period, have revealed a series of three Roman villas, which span the period from the beginning of the first century AD to the middle of the sixth century. Volume I in the series examined the villas and their environment; Volume II examined the small artefacts found. In this third volume, MR. MacKinnon, A. Eastham, S.G. Monckton, D.S. Reese, and D.G. Steele use the large collection of organic evidence obtained from the site, including mammal and bird bones, shells, land snails, and plant remains, to provide information on late Roman diet, food preparation, economics, trade routes, taxation, local environment and climate, agricultural economy, and animal husbandry of the time. With both technical analysis and an interpretive component, the book offers various reconstructions of Roman life, often in combination with quotations from ancient literary sources, allowing this work to appeal to both the specialist and layperson alike. This thorough and detailed analysis represents an important advance in the study of faunal and botanical data in Roman archaeology in Italy, and will be an invaluable resource for all environmental and classical archaeologists.

This third volume of The Excavations of San Giovanni di Ruoti series deals with the social, economic, and environmental information derived from the analysis of zooarchaeological and palaeobotanical remains found at the fourth-century A.D. Italian villa of San Giovanni di Ruoti. The four contributors use the large collection of organic evidence obtained from the site, including mammal and bird bones, shells, land snails, and plant remains, to provide information on diet, food preparation, economics, trade routes, taxation, local environment and climate, agricultural economy, and animal husbandry. With both technical analysis and an interpretive component, the contributors offer various reconstructions of Roman life, often in combination with quotations from ancient literary sources, allowing this work to appeal to both the specialist and layperson alike. Written with a thoroughness and attention to detail not often seen in zooarchaeological work, this analysis represents an important advance in the study of faunal and botanical data in Roman archaeology in Italy, and will be an invaluable resource for all environmental and classical archaeologists.

Contents 5 Illustrations 10 Tables 11 Figures 14 Preface 17 Abbreviations 29 1. The Animal Bones 35 Appendix 1. Measurements of mammalian bones and teeth, arranged by taxon, part of skeleton, and period / phase 156 Appendix 2. M 3 measurements from domestic and wild pigs from various archaeological sites 197 Appendix 3. Scientific nomenclature of mammalian taxa listed in this report 198 Appendix 4. A human foetus from a midden of Period 3B 199 2. The Avian Remains 203 3. Marine and Freshwater Shells 221 4. Land Snails 227 5. Plant Remains 233 Bibliography 249 Illustrations 259 Indexes 283 Phoenix Supplementary Volumes 289