New Data on the Fauna of the Late Antiquity Northern Fortification Walls of Serdica (3rd-6th century A.D.) from Building Excavations on Exarch Joseph Street (Sofia, Bulgaria)

The subfossil fauna discovered in 2019 from the northern fortification walls of Serdica (Sofia, Bulgaria) comprises a total of 36 species/taxa of wild and domestic animals, established through the analysis of 11,308 animal remains excavated from the centre of the city of Sofia. Wild carnivores were well represented by Canis lupus, Canis aureus, Vulpes vulpes, Felis silvestris, Lynx lynx, Meles meles and Ursus arctos, along with the remains of Bos primigenius and Camelus bactrianus, as well as finds of Bubalus bubalis, Dama dama and Silurus glanis. Some aquatic (Ardea cinerea, Anser erythropus, Anas platyrhynchos) and openland (Otis tarda, Grus grus) birds, and two diurnal raptors (Gyps fulvus, Buteo buteo) were also noted. Over 20% of these species have now disappeared from the Sofia Valley. Bos taurus, Equus ferus caballus, Sus scrofa domestica, Ovis aries, and Capra hircus are the most common domestic animals. The domestic cattle were of brachycerous type. The majority of domestic chickens were of the bantam size/type.