Changes in animal husbandry and butchery practices during the Roman period have long been recognised in the north-western provinces. In many regions, butchery became standardised and more reliant on heavy tools, particularly in the treatment of cattle carcasses. Consequently, the frequency of chop marks increased. Evidence appears for cured cattle scapulae and so-called ‘soup-kitchen’ deposits. These practices are widely accepted as evidence of ‘Romanisation’, but their geographical and temporal origins and dissemination are not fully understood.
This thesis investigates the origins of the practices, their distribution, differences between site types, periods, and regions, and how they disseminated. This is achieved through analysis of faunal assemblages from differing site types covering a wide geographic area of the central and north-western provinces, sites contemporary to Roman occupation but outside of the limes, and Iron Age sites. Datasets from other zooarchaeological researchers and evidence from the literature are also incorporated in the analyses and interpretations.
The results show cured cattle scapulae, soup-kitchen deposits, and an increase in chop mark frequencies were widespread across the northwestern provinces, largely corroborating previous research. The results also reveal evidence of cured cattle scapulae in Roman Italy, Iberia, and France, and both cured scapulae and soup-kitchen deposits were more commonplace than previously thought in Alpine regions. Evidence suggests the practice of cured beef shoulder was already a culinary tradition in both Alpine regions and present-day Netherlands prior to Roman occupation, originating from these areas in the Iron Age or earlier, and was adopted and disseminated by the Roman military, and that soup-kitchen deposits originated within the military in the early Roman period.
The butchery practices are less evident in sites with minimal Roman influence, and in the Netherlands a continuation of Late Iron Age practices, including the consumption of equids, is common in all but military sites.
