Animals, Crops and Dark Earth: An Interdisciplinary Study of Urban Development from the Late Roman Period to the Early Middle Ages in Cologne (Germany)

Abstract

Cologne constituted one of the political and economic centres of the northernmost frontier (limes) region of the Roman Empire, and was at the core of important socio-political upheavals following its collapse. Here, an interdisciplinary approach (combining zooarchaeology, archaeobotany and soil micromorphology) is applied to examine the late Roman and early medieval periods of the city. This has allowed understanding important changes that Cologne underwent in this period, including continuous urban modifications and the creation of space for new economic activities. The three different sites considered in this paper are Severinstrasse 214–218, Antoniterstrasse 14–16 and Heumarkt. The zooarchaeological analysis of these assemblages, and their comparison with other faunal assemblages, focuses on the taxonomic frequencies, kill-off-patterns, and biometrical data of the main domesticates in order to understand animal husbandry practices. In Antoniterstrasse and Heumarkt, the first documented urban Dark Earths in Cologne were analysed, evidencing ongoing settlement activity from late Roman times to the Early Middle Ages. Micromorphological studies were conducted to better understand the nature and formation processes of the archaeological layers. Archaeobotanical analyses provided additional information on subsistence strategies. The results show the change from an urban, specialised, market-oriented economy to a subsistence economy during this transitional period (third to tenth century AD).