ABSTRACT

During the excavations carried out in the Castle of Santa Severa between 2003 and 2010, the remains of an early Christian church were identified. Investigations inside the church exposed the skeleton of an adult dog (Canis familiaris) buried close to the tombs of two adult men. The radiocarbon dating of one of the human skeletons indicates that the burials occurred between 1380 and 1450. The skeletal elements of the dog were analysed from an anatomical, morphological, biometric, and taphonomic point of view. The aim of the analysis was to define which of the modern dog breeds is more similar to the Santa Severa individual and why the animal was so carefully buried. This dog was an adult with fairly pronounced withers height and slender proportions. The taphonomic analysis suggests that the animal had been skinned before the burial. The multivariate analysis of the biometric parameters of the skull compared to those of numerous modern canine breeds allowed hypothesising that the dog was probably similar to a Greyhound. The analysis of several coeval artistic representations may help to explain the reasons for the particular care with which this animal was buried in the Castle of Santa Severa.

摘要

在 2003 年至 2010 年间在圣塞维拉城堡进行的挖掘工作中，发现了一座早期基督教教堂的遗迹。教堂内的调查暴露了一只成年犬的骨架（犬类动物）) 葬在两个成年男子的坟墓附近。其中一具人类骨骼的放射性碳测年表明，这些墓葬发生在 1380 年至 1450 年之间。从解剖学、形态学、生物特征和埋藏学的角度分析了狗的骨骼元素。分析的目的是确定哪些现代犬种与圣塞维拉犬更相似，以及为什么这种动物被如此小心地埋葬。这只狗是成年犬，具有相当明显的马肩隆高度和修长的比例。埋葬学分析表明，该动物在埋葬前已被剥皮。与众多现代犬种的生物特征参数相比，头骨的生物特征参数的多变量分析允许假设该狗可能与灵缇犬相似。