Animals in food consumption during the Byzantine period in light of the Yenikapı metro and Marmaray excavations, Istanbul

During the work carried out for the Marmaray Project which began in 2004 at Yenikapı, Istanbul, the harbour of Theodosius, one of the largest harbours of Constantinople on the shores of the Sea of Marmara, was excavated. The harbour of Theodosius has not only demonstrated its importance in ancient times by providing specific finds, but has also enabled us to recover valuable information on the history of Istanbul (Constantinople). Details concerning daily life, technology, religion, economy and trade, as well as food consumption and nutrition in the harbour city of Constantinople, have been revealed. Thousands of archaeological finds recovered in an excavated area of over 58,000 m2 have enabled us to better understand which animals were exploited and their role in nutrition. The skeletal remains recovered were evaluated and their relation to food consumption in the Byzantine period was analysed. So far 65,535 (NISP = 65,535) remains have been analysed. In the excavated area, the remains of cattle, sheep, goat and pig show that these are the most frequent species related to food consumption. Dromedaries, deer, tuna, dolphins and other species were also exploited. The majority of the animal remains found in the Theodosius harbour (66.20%) are domestic ruminants. Most of the skeletal remains present butchering traces, indicating that these animals were intended for consumption