Rachelle Martyn

16 Here we present a comparative study of stable carbon (δ 13 C) and nitrogen (δ 15 N) isotope 17 data from 81 individuals from the catastrophic death assemblage at Herculaneum (79 AD) 18 and compare these with the attritional sites of Velia (Salerno, Italy, 1 st-2 nd century AD) and 19 Isola Sacra (Rome, Italy, 1 st-2 nd century AD). The instantaneous deposition of the 20 Herculaneum assemblage highlights some interesting differences in our contextual and 21 methodological understanding of stable dietary isotopes, suggesting that isotopic variation 22 between sites may sometimes be a result of greater temporal variability rather than truly 23 comparable differences. Our results suggest that the people of Herculaneum obtained a 24 relatively small proportion (ca. 30%) of their dietary carbon from marine foods; the majority 25 originating from terrestrial foodstuffs of a similar carbon isotopic composition, most likely 26 cereals. Also observed is a generally greater dietary isotopic enrichment in male individuals 27 than females. We infer that males had greater access to fish which may be reflective, in part, 28 of the sociodemographic framework characteristic of Roman society. Finally, we highlight the 29 methodological challenges which may be faced when undertaking comparisons of δ 13 C and 30 δ 15 N data between the various age-related strata of a population, particularly due to the slow 31 and variable rate of collagen turnover. 32 33