Session organisers / Chairpersons:
Sonja Vuković-Bogdanović, Laboratory for bioarchaeology, Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade (E-mail: sonja.vukovic
Sue Stallibrass, Historic England and University of Liverpool (E-mail: Sue.Stallibrass@historicengland.org.uk)
(ancient texts, bioarchaeology (animal and human bones), iconography, social status, hunting and fishing techniques and equipment, etc.)
Hunting of wild animals in a well-developed agricultural society – the Roman world, is usually considered solely as a sport or entertainment activity of the Roman elite. However, this phenomenon is connected to different aspects of life of the Romans, from heroic to symbolic, from economic to entertaining, etc. Numerous depictions of hunts on monuments, and the mention of hunts in ancient texts point to a meaningful role of hunting in the Roman world. With rapid development of different archaeological disciplines, such as archaeozoology, it is possible to give more answers on human-game interrelations in the past. The session includes a wide range of evidence: ancient texts, iconographic data (mosaics, tombstones, frescoes, etc.), artefacts, burial assemblages, archaeozoological evidence (wild mammal remains, wild birds, fish and molluscs) in order to give answers to a wide range of topics regarding the role of wild animals within the Roman frontiers, such as:
- Who hunted at frontiers? Was hunting limited to persons and soldiers of high status? What was the attitude of Roman society to wild animals?
- At what level was the concept of “wildness” present in Roman culture?
- Economic vs. symbolic role of game in the Roman world. Which animals were hunted for food and which animals were hunted for pleasure (vivaria and Roman games)? How can we tell the difference?
- To what extent was game present on the menu? Are there any differences between contributions of wild species within faunal assemblages between urban/rural/military settlements?
- Were the hunted animals from other parts of the Empire traded for food and pleasure along the frontiers? Is there any evidence of exotic game within frontiers? Were the animals transported from frontiers to Rome and Italy for big spectacles?
- What did hunting strategies and hunting equipment look like? Are there any similarities between ancient texts, depictions on monuments and direct archaeological evidence (artefacts, injuries on animal/human bones, etc.)?
- Were wild animals used as material for military costumes at the frontiers? How did the army acquire feathers and furs?
- Did wild animals play a role in ritual activities? Were they sacrificed, buried or associated with human burials?
- What was the role of fishing at frontiers? Where and where from were fish products transported along the frontiers?
- Were wild (migratory) birds also hunted and what for?
We strongly encourage scientists from different disciplines, historians, art historians, Roman archaeologists, archaeozoologists, ichthyoarchaeologists and others to contribute to this session.
Call for Pappers – Session 10 – Going Wild
Confirmed participants for this session:
- Sue Stallibrass: Wild animals in the frontier zone: food, fun or fantasy?
- Sonja Vuković-Bogdanović: Venison, spectacles and furs: Remains of wild beasts from Viminacium (Upper Moesia, Serbia)
- Monika Mraz: Taking the bear by the tooth!
- Ivan Radman-Livaja and Ozren Domiter: Roman fishing implements from Sisicia
- Dimitrije Marković, Milan Savić: Case of the wounded beast: Red deer tibia with projectile trauma from Viminacium (Serbia)
- Teodora Radišić: Hunting on the other side of the Roman frontier: case of the Late La Téne site Židovar
- Miroslav Vujović: Elephant in the Room
- Mirjana Sanader, Joško Zaninović, Mirna Vukov: A new attempt at interpreting arrowheads from the Roman legionary fortresses Burnum and Tilurium in Dalmatia
Posters related to this session:
- Ivana Živaljević, Sonja Vuković – Bogdanović, Ivan Bogdanović: Fishing at the Upper Moesian frontier: Remains of freshwater and migratory fish from Viminacium (Upper Moesia, Serbia)
- Gordana Jeremić, Selena Vitezović, Exploitation of wild animal resources on the Limes in Upper Moesia