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This study presents computed tomography (CT) and osteological observations of nuchal perforations in the Middle-Late Byzantine cattle skulls, unearthed from Yenikapı Metro and Marmaray excavations (ancient Theodosius harbour), İstanbul, Türkiye. A total of 17 skulls with perforations of various size, ranging from elliptical to triangular, located in the nuchal (posterior) region of protuberantia intercornualis were examined. Rounded edges and smooth inner walls of these perforations indicated that they were formed when the animals were alive (ante mortem). The CT helped to understand the details of the caudal and dorsal part of head as well as the relationships between these perforations and other cranial structures. The osteological evidence and possible causes of the nuchal perforations were discussed. The animal age and sex were also taken under consideration. The study provided the archaeological proof that the cattle from Yenikapı Metro and Marmaray were used as draught animals; as it appears, the nuchal perforations resulted from the yoke strikes. This is, by far, the first attempt of using the CT to analyse the nuchal perforations in cattle skulls unearthed from any archaeological site in Türkiye. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this research, a total of 186 metacarpal and 275 metatarsal bones were used from the 4739 bovine bones which were collected from the Yenikapi Metro and Marmaray excavation of the port of Theodosius in Istanbul. The bovine bones were investigated by radiocarbon (14C) dating, and the cattle bones between Early Byzantine (4th-7th centuries) to Late Byzantine (15th century). A total of 16 osteometric measurements were taken from each metapodial. When the withers height was estimated according to the Matolcsi multipliers without regard to the gender differences of the metapodial bones, it was observed that they varied between 120.97 and 123.52 cm on average. The presence of individuals with withers heights ranging from 103.45 to 148.10 cm suggests the existence of improved cattle breeding to obtain larger animals as well as steer cattle. The wide interval scale of the withers heights seen in the Byzantine cattle suggests that Roman animal breeding was still an influence in this period. However, the presence of small-size cattle in the port area of Theodosius also suggests the presence of smaller, local individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, humeral and femoral midshaft circumferences were used in the weight estimation of dogs from the ancient site of theTheodosius Harbor in Istanbul. According to the calculations taken on each humerus and femur, body weight distribution of the Byzantine dogs from theTheodosius harbour was observed to be 7.953-22.385 kg. The relative ease to accommodate Terrier-size dogs in urban environments may have led to a preference for such breeds in Constantinople. It is possible that these'light- and medium-sized mesocephalic dogs' were also used as 'alarm' guards in Constantinople. We suggest that the presence of several bones in the Yenikapi excavation area may indicate that dogs were simply buried or dumped as rubbish after death in everyday life in Constantinople. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a study which focuses on maintenance, intended use and pathologies of horses from the Byzantine period. Topics discussed include role of domestication of horses in human history, estimation of basic body measurements of horses including visual morphological characters of horses, body measurements, such as withers height, thoracal (chest) circumference, and cannon bone circumference, and changes in structural aspects of horses.

This study presents the results of morphometric analysis of a total of 473 skulls ascribed to adult animals were sufficiently complete to allow the measurement of their foramen magnum; and for 472 of them the foramen magnum index could be calculated. The dorsal notch was only seen in the group of mesocephalic dogs where about 17% of all skulls exhibited this feature. The average length of the dorsal notch was found to be 2.59 mm. Not a single skull in the dolichocephalic dog group showed any sign of a dorsal notch. The results of this study show that the dorsal notch in the foramen magnum widely seen dogs of the Middle Ages, and point to a morphological variation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]