This paper aims to provide a broad diet reconstruction for people buried in archaeologically defined contexts in Rome (first to third centuries CE), in order to combine archaeological and biological evidence focusing on dietary preferences in Imperial Rome. A sample of 214 human bones recovered from 6 funerary contexts was selected for carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis. The baseline for the terrestrial protein component of the diet was set using 17 coeval faunal remains recovered from excavations at Rome supplemented by previously published data for the same geographic and chronological frames. δ¹³C ranges from − 19.9 to − 14.8‰, whereas δ¹⁵N values are between 7.2 and 10.0‰. The values are consistent with an overall diet mainly based on terrestrial resources. All the human samples rely on a higher trophic level than the primary consumer faunal samples. Certainly, C₃ plants played a pivotal role in the dietary habits. However, C₄ plants also seem to have been consumed, albeit they were not as widespread and were not always used for human consumption. The environment played a critical role also for Romans of lower social classes. The topographical location determined the preferential consumption of food that people could obtain from their neighborhood.

本文旨在为埋葬在罗马（公元前一世纪至第三世纪）考古定义环境中的人们提供广泛的饮食重建，以结合针对罗马帝国饮食偏好的考古和生物学证据。从6个葬礼环境中回收的214块人体骨骼样本被选择用于碳和氮稳定同位素分析。饮食中的陆生蛋白质成分的基准是使用从罗马的发掘中回收的17批同龄动物区系设定的，并补充了先前发布的相同地理和年代顺序数据。δ ^13个Ç范围从-到19.9 - 14.8‰，而δ ¹⁵N值在7.2和10.0‰之间。该值与主要基于陆地资源的总体饮食相一致。所有人类样本比主要的消费动物样本依赖更高的营养水平。当然，C ₃植物在饮食习惯中起着举足轻重的作用。但是，C ₄植物似乎也已被消耗，尽管它们不那么广泛并且并不总是用于人类消费。环境对于下层社会的罗马人也起着至关重要的作用。地形位置决定了人们可以从附近地区获得的食物优先消费。