Animals in the sanctuary. Mammal and fish bones from Areas D and C at the Sanctuary of Poseidon at Kalaureia. With an appendix by Adam Boethius

Abstract

During the excavations at the Sanctuary of Poseidon at Kalaureia an extensive archaeo-environmental programme was implemented, resulting in the collection and analysis of a wide range of animal remains. This paper presents the mammal and fish remains in detail and offers interpretations which take into account the archaeology of the site, other types of finds, as well as the discourse on animals in cult. The material is examined in terms of chronological phases and of particular features within them in an attempt, common in all types of analysis within the Kalaureia Excavation Program, to link the material remains to human actions, placing emphasis on the materiality of cult. The degree of analysis and interpretation detail varies among different occupational phases of the sanctuary, because of the greatly uneven preservation and quantity of animal remains. In certain cases of disturbed deposits and poor preservation, such as the bones from the Archaic and Classical strata, the analysis is left open-ended and the interpretation is pending, in view of subsequent studies that will include contemporary material from other locations within the sanctuary. In other instances, however, where closed or well-defined deposits are available, detailed analysis of the zooarchaeological data was possible and meaningful.