Dear all,

similar - or simply the same – modifications are known from several Roman sites in Germany and Austria. Some authors interpret these finds as “roasted muzzles”, however, as the modified areas on the corpus mandibulae do not look burnt in the “normal “ manner but show a surface that sometimes look more corroded than charred, neatly and sharply demarcated from the unaltered bone surface, we suppose that these modifications have something to do with a quite specific technique of processing the meat cuts from the head, maybe a combination of pickling and heating after partial removing of the periosteum.  Astonishingly, we found very similar alterations also on camel mandibles from Late Hellenistic/Roman Palmyra.

Best, Gerhard

UERPMANN, H.-P. (1977):

Schlachterei-Technik und Fleischversorgung im römischen Militärlager von Dangstetten (Landkreis Waldshut).

Festschrift Elisabeth Schmid. Regio Basilensis 18 (1), 261-272. Basel.

FREY, S. (1991):

Bad Wimpfen I. Osteologische Untersuchungen aus Schlacht- und Siedlungsabfällen aus dem römischen Vicus Bad Wimpfen.

Forschungen u. Berichte zur Vor- und Frühgeschichte in Baden-Württemberg 39, Stuttgart.

WUSSOW, J., TEICHERT, M., MÜLLER, R. (1999):

Ausgewählte osteologische Befunde an Tierresten aus der römischen Stadt Lopodunum.

Beiträge zur Archäozoologischen u. Prähistorischen Anthropologie II, 142-149.

FORSTENPOINTNER, G., WEISSENGRUBER, G., GALIK, A. (2009):

Alles vom Rind – Kulinarische Spezialitäten aus dem römischen Salzburg im Spiegel der Tierknochenfunde vom Residenzplatz.

Fundberichte aus Österreich, Materialhefte. Reihe A, Sonderheft 10, 36-39.

Prof. Gerhard Forstenpointner

Unit on Comparative Morphology and Archaeozoology

Department opf Pathobiology/Anatomy

University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna

Veterinaerplatz 1

1210 Vienna, AUSTRIA

ph. +43 1 25077 2503

fax +43 1 25077 2590

Dear all,

Dobney et al 1996 referred to an unusual bone modification where cattle mandibles  (taken from late Roman Lincoln), have been burnt along the basal edge of the horizontal ramus limited to the area between the diastema and the first adult molar, accompanied by breakage in approximately the same area. He mentioned finding a few other examples, for example from 2^nd/3^rd century York. Recently I have turned up quite a few such mandibles from 2^nd to 4^th century deposits in the City of London and also from a 1^st century site in Northern Kent. It often follows that particular oddities become less odd when they have been pointed out, so I wonder if such modifications have been noticed by anyone else working in Britain, from other Roman sites or perhaps extending beyond or prior to the Roman era.

This subject has been mentioned once before on zooarch (back in April, 2003) but in response to a query about similar mandibles from Reims rather than from these shores.

All the best

Kevin

The publication I’m referring to is

Dobney, K M, Jaques, S D, and Irving, B G, 1996 Of butchers and breeds: Report on vertebrate remains from various sites in the city of Lincoln, Lincoln Archaeol Ser 5, Lincoln

....and the mandibles are described on pp25-26.