Exploring Roman Army Supply Networks on the British frontiers: A Multi-isotope Approach

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Integrating Isotope Analyses: The State of Play and Future Directions" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

How did the Roman Empire supply its very large frontier garrisons? Maintaining provision was key to the success of Roman imperialism, but we still know remarkably little about how Romans soldiers on the frontiers were supplied and the impact this had on the provincial countryside and its population. This paper presents results from the project “Feeding the Roman Army in Britain,” funded by the Leverhulme Trust. A multi-isotope approach is applied to domestic fauna from 16 sites in three frontier regions of Britannia: South Wales, Hadrian’s Wall and the Antonine Wall, to explore the networks of supply and husbandry strategies that supported the army. Almost 500 animals have been analyzed for strontium, carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur isotopes. Preliminary results show species-specific landscape use and husbandry practices and suggest that, in some instances, resources were mobilized from a wide network. These results are embedded in the archaeological, historical, and environmental context to enrich our understanding of Roman supply strategies.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)   •
• Integrating Isotope Analyses: The State of Play and Future Directions

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 39323.0