The site, located on the high river Olt terrace, was archaeologically investigated during 2001 and 2008 by specialists from the National Museum of Eastern Carpathians. It delivered 450 features belonging to several epochs, including Neolithic, Eneolithic, Late Bronze Age, late Iron Age and post-Roman period. For the 3rd-4th centuries AD 7 dwellings and 59 pits were researched. From these, 2273 bone fragments were collected, which after restauration became 1825 analysable remains. Their conservation state was good allowing the identification of the species or genus for over 84% of them. This study deals only with kitchen remains and waste, not with objects made of bone. Since many whole or partial skeletons were found, especially of pigs but also goats and deer, we considered that the best order of the exploited species is given by the average percent of the NISP and MNI. Accordingly, pigs seemed to be the most important in the economy, sheep/goats on the second position and cattle on third. Also, the cattle at Olteni appear to be a little smaller by withers height than those discovered at the sites in Harghita County. On the pigs’ bones very little traces of cutting, eating or cooking were observed (under 5%). It seems that animals were deposited in large chunks in pits. Two entire piglets were found in Pit 44. One mature individual in Pit 237 even showed traces of an older, healed wound, indicating that despite of it, it was kept alive, and in the end just deposited, not processed and eaten. Almost an entire young deer was deposited in Pit 244. Two entire hens were deposited in Pit 260. Two other pits contained almost entire piglets’ skeletons (303, 325). The osteological remains from dwellings were more fragmentary and disaggregated.
Rămăşițe animale din complexe postromane de la Olteni–Cariera de Nisip (jud. Covasna)/Animal remains from the post-Roman features at Olteni–Cariera de Nisip (Covasna County)