Lectura arqueozoológica del fortín emiral del Tossal de la Vila (Castellón): primeros datos

Abstract

We are introducing a preliminary study of the faunal remains recovered during archaeological works carried out between 2012 and 2020 at the medieval Islamic hillfort of Tossal de la Vila (Serra d’en Galceran, Castellón). The site is located at the intersection between the territory of Tortosa, Valencia and the last spurs from the Iberian System. The Andalusi occupation phases on this archaeological site cover from the end of the 8th-century to the first half of the 10th-century. Most of the identified remains belong to domesticated animals, with caprines (sheep and goats) and chicken vastly dominating over a merely testimonial bovine and porcine herd. Hunting remains, despite representing an insignificant percentage of the sample, were likewise analysed and included in the study. Similar ratios of sheep and goats appear to suggest that both species would be equally represented in the local herds, contrasting with the overwhelming dominance of sheep in most Andalusi contexts. Caprine anatomical representation and estimation of culling profiles allows us to gain some knowledge on consumption patterns of the population settled in this particular space. In addition, our results provide an opportunity to preliminary investigate the livestock vector in the Šarq al-Andalus rural economy.