Methods and preservation
The animal remains from the cesspits were studied per stratigraphic layer (2B, 2C, 2D, 4B, 4C), excluding the uppermost deposits of building debris (2A, 4B1, 4A2, 4A). The fill of cesspit 2 was excavated and analysed completely, that of structure 4 was only partially excavated (approximately 50% but concentrating on dense find deposits). The total volume excavated was sieved over 4 mm mesh, a certain part additionally over 2 mm, and an even smaller part also over 1 mm. The 4 mm residue was fully analysed, the other residues partly (table 4). By recording the sample volumes, it is possible to calculate the total contents of the excavated parts of the fills as if they were sieved completely on a 1 mm mesh, and as if the residues were subsequently sorted entirely. The aim of the reconstruction of the original quantities is a comparison of relative frequencies of species per layer. It should be noted, however, that this exercise has only been undertaken for the fish remains. Finds from this group are typically divided over all sieved fractions while different ecological groups are represented by material of different dimensions (e.g. small freshwater fish versus large marine species). An inventory of the animal remains is given in tables 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9.
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Table 4 Inventory, per cesspit and layer, of the volumes sieved, using different mesh widths. From the proportion of the volumes sieved, and the percentages of the residues sorted, a standardisation factor can be calculated, enabling to transform the finds numbers per sieved unit into numbers describing the contents of the cesspits as if the whole volume would have been sieved on a 1 mm mesh width and all of the residue would have been sorted.
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The animal remains are, in general, characterised by a poor preservation condition. That the bone material is severely fragmented could be expected and will be the result of human activities related with the preparation and consumption of food, but the physico-chemical state of the remains is also poor, which should be taken into account when discussing the presence, absence and abundance of certain find groups.
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Table 5 Animal remains from the 4 mm (mesh width) fractions from the different layers within the cesspits (except fish remains) (specimen counts, except for finds indicated as ‘+’, which were present but not quantified).
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Table 6 Animal remains from the 2 and 1 mm (mesh width) fractions from the different layers within the cesspits (except fish remains) (specimen counts, except for finds indicated as ‘+’, which were present but not quantified).
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