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.

This paper aims to define the dietary profile of the population of early medieval Rome (fifth-eleventh centuries CE) by carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis. This period was characterized by deep changes in the city's economic, demographic, and social patterns, probably affecting its inhabitants' nutritional habits. Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis of bone collagen was used to detect the nutritional profile of 110 humans from six communities inhabiting the city center of Rome and one from the ancient city of Gabii. Thirteen faunal remains were also analyzed to define the ecological baseline of the medieval communities. The isotopic results are consistent with a diet mainly based on the exploitation of C 3 plant resources and terrestrial fauna, while the consumption of aquatic resources was detected only among the San Pancrazio population. Animal protein intake proved to be similar both among and within the communities, supporting a qualitatively homogenous dietary landscape in medieval Rome. The comparison with isotopic data from the Imperial Age allowed us to detect a diachronic nutritional transition in ancient Rome, in which the collapse of the Empire, and in particular the crisis of economic power and the trade system, represented a tipping point for its population's nutritional habits.

This paper aims to provide a broad diet reconstruction for people buried in archaeologically defined contexts in Rome (1st-3rd 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 were 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 −19.95‰ to −14.78‰, whereas δ15N values are between 7.17‰ and 10.00‰. 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.

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