Material

""

ZooRomed applies a rigorous scientific approach to investigate changes in animal husbandry between the Late Roman period and the Early Middle Ages (roughly, from 260 to 900 AD), by comparing two different regions of the Rhine Valley: Basel Region (Switzerland) and North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany). A comparative perspective is used in order to understand the different chronological and geographical variations of possible changes in animal husbandry during these crucial times of socio-political upheavals. The two geographical areas chosen for the project were frontier regions of the Roman Empire and were later located at the core of the Carolingian Empire, and therefore constitute extremely appropriate regions to explore these topics.

 

A number of sites have been identified for inclusion in the project, both from the Basel Region and North Rhein-Westphalia, and spanning from the Late Roman period to the Early Middle Ages. The Swiss archaeozoological datasets include large assemblages from Augusta Raurica, Altenberg, Reinach, Lausen Bettenach and Pratteln. The German sites have been chosen from the area of Cologne, and include the excavations of Heumarkt and Antoniter Quartier.

The project combines “traditional” zooarchaeological methods with analysis of stable isotopes for remains of the main domestic animal species, that is, cattle, sheep and pig.