Animal husbandry and hunting in the Roman vicus maritimus of Cerro da Vila (Southern Portugal): insights into the coastal economy of Lusitania

This study presents a zooarchaeological analysis of the vertebrate faunal assemblage from the Roman vicus maritimus of Cerro da Vila, southern Lusitania (modern Algarve, Portugal), with occupation spanning the 1st to 5th centuries CE. The site functioned as a diversified coastal hub integrating intensive fish-processing, agricultural production, and maritime trade, yet the role of animal exploitation in sustaining this economy has hitherto remained poorly understood. Given the limited stratigraphic resolution of the excavation records, the assemblage was treated as a whole, and the patterns discussed reflect long-term, diachronic trends rather than discrete sub-period practices. The analysis reveals an assemblage dominated by domestic mammals, particularly swine and caprines (sheep and goats), whose age-at-death profiles and skeletal element distributions may be consistent with structured husbandry strategies oriented towards both primary meat production and the procurement of secondary products, notably wool and milk. The presence of chicken, red deer, and rabbit points to dietary diversity and to the complementary role of hunting within local subsistence practices, while biometric data fall within ranges documented for Roman-period assemblages elsewhere in southern Lusitania. The recovery of remains of Egyptian mongoose suggests the introduction of a non-native species, pointing to interprovincial exchange of biological material under Roman rule. Taken together, the faunal evidence indicates that Cerro da Vila combined livestock husbandry and marine resource exploitation while also participating in broader Mediterranean trade networks, thus shedding light on the economic organisation and interprovincial connectivity that characterised Roman coastal settlements in Lusitania.