Asia Minor
Bone assemblages in western Turkey and the eastern Aegean have similarities with the Greek pattern, but with more emphasis on beef (Fig. 14). In part, this is skewed by the figures from Didyma (Boessneck & Driesch 1983), which account the four samples with cattle at 67% or above. This was a sanctuary site near Miletus, dedicated to Apollo, at which cattle were sacrificed. It is a reminder of the importance of sacrificial remains as an element in the meat supply. At Didyma, high cattle percentages are seen right through to the 5th/7th century AD, indicating a continuing local emphasis on beef even after the Christianization of the region.
The site with the most similarity to the Greek pattern is Pergamum (Boessneck & Driesch 1985), and the assemblages from there are also the only ones of early Imperial date from the region. Most of the others are later (4th-8th century), and it may be the case that there was a trend towards increased beef consumption in the late Roman period.