Daily Food Consumption in a Rural Roman Villa

these sites is frequently overlooked. Here we present archaeobotanical, zooarchaeological and pottery
evidence to explore aspects of daily consumption patterns within the rural villa of Lički Ribnik, Croatia.
The remains date from the second half of the 2nd to the first half of the 3rd century AD and provide the
first evidence of villa consumption in the Lika region. The discovery of broomcorn millet (Panicum
miliaceum) grains, domestic cattle (Bos taurus) and sheep (Ovis aries) bones suggest that they were
consumed at the site. Different pottery types and fabrics also suggest a range of dishes were cooked,
including the Roman dish patina. Although these conclusions are based on very limited data, the study
shows the importance of looking at environmental evidence in conjunction with other archaeological
material in order to explore local diet and economy in the Roman period.