From traces to trades: a late Roman bone workshop in Nora (CA, Italy)

This dissertation surveys various kinds of surface modifications recognized on 12 worked bones from the building near the east side of the Roman forum of Nora (CA, Italy). These 12 bones are supposed to be representative of a manufacturing sequence recognized on an assemblage of 264 worked bones found in a room of the building, a clear sign of the presence of a bone workshop during its late antique phases. The main aim of this work is to reconstruct and define through bibliographic, archaeological, analytical and statistical techniques the manufacturing steps and the instruments used in the craftmanship. The results are then combined with the study of the socio-economic importance of the workshop in the framework of the ancient city of Nora.