Bioarcheological Indicators Related to Human–Environmental Interactions in a Roman–Byzantine Settlement in Southeast Romania: Ibida Fortress

Abstract

The Roman–Byzantine fortress of (L)Ibida (Slava Rusă, Tulcea County, Romania) has preserved archeozoological and archeobotanical remains (i.e., phytoliths) that allowed an evaluation of the human–environmental interactions in that period. Bringing together bioarcheological data, this study contributes to understand the subsistence economy during a period of sociopolitical changes in the region. The stratigraphical sequences and the preliminary observations made on the archeological materials (ceramics, metal artifacts, coins) indicate a relative chronology beginning with the second to third centuries AD and lasting until the sixth century AD. Phytolith analysis highlights the clear domination of the grasses (Poaceae) and indicates the presence of cereals within the fortress. In the surroundings of the fortress, it appears to have existed an open environment. Although modest, the percentage of the Spheroid phytoliths suggests the presence of woody dicots, indicating the fact that the wooded surfaces existed near the fortress. The archeozoological data confirm the fact that the fortress was placed in an open environment, where people bred especially cattle ( Bos taurus ) and sheep/goat flocks ( Ovis aries/Capra hircus ), and they hunted species such as hare ( Lepus europaeus ); also, the forest existed nearby, as indicate the remains of hunted species, among which we found the red deer ( Cervus elaphus ) and the wild boar ( Sus scrofa ).