Birds for Isis

The evidence from Pompeii

Bibliographic Data

ID4626541
AuthorsChiara Assunta Corbino (0000-0002-1015-5773, Applied Science Laboratory Pompeii Archaeological Park Pompeii Italy, corresponding author), Beatrice Demarchi (0000-0003-2938-9681, Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology University of Turin Turin Italy)
Year2023
Volume33
Issue4
Pages762-770
Publication date2023-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Journal of Osteoarchaeology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1047-482X • E-ISSN: 1099-1212
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/oa.3224
OpenAlexW4367181227
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited18

People have always been fascinated by birds. In the Roman period, birds (particularly chicken) were still largely employed in several rituals. Although Roman writers, such as Cicero, Livy, Pliny the Elder, and Aelian, inform us about the use of birds in a number of rituals, the archaeological evidence rarely allows us to associate the collected zooarchaeological remains with a single deity.In 2017, a well-preserved archaeological context located in the vicinity of the temple of Isis in Pompeii and related to a single ritual event (dated to the mid-1st century CE), revealed a number of faunal remains as well as ceramic and archaeobotanical finds. Chicken dominates the assemblage, followed by goose, pigeon, and turtle dove. A few remains of pig and a marine bivalve, the truncate donax, were also recovered. Skeletally young chickens were largely employed in the ritual, whereas the other bird taxa are only represented by mature bones. Chicken eggshell, taxonomically identified using ancient protein analysis, was also found. Taphonomic evidence indicates that bird bones were still covered with meat when exposed to the ritual fire. The results obtained have been linked to relevant written and iconographic sources dated to the Roman period. This work confirms that bird sacrifice was an important part of the Isis rituals. Among the birds involved, goose could be considered a possible marker of that goddess. The evidence from Pompeii adds new insights into our knowledge of the animals in the Isis cult during the 1st century CE

Ancient history · Archaeological evidence · Archaeology · Art · Biology · Cult · Dove · Geography · Goose · Osteology · Sacrifice · Taphonomy · Zooarchaeology · Ancient Near East History · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · History · Yersinia bacterium, plague, ectoparasites research · Ecology