Worked bone in Roman Baetica. A study of artefacts from the Eastern Baths of Torreparedones (Baena-Castro del Rio, Cordoba)

Despite its low relevance in the classical sources, the worked bone represents one of the most frequent findings in sites of Roman period. Between these artefacts, those used for female grooming and personal care are usually the most common. In this paper, we present a set of worked bone artefacts, found in the excavations of the Eastern Baths in the site of Torreparedones (Baena, Cordoba). This set is linked to domestic waste tossed during the dump phase the baths underwent after their abandonment in the 3rd century AD. This set includes toiletries and person-al hygiene items, sewing and furniture objects, among others, as well as preforms and faunal bone remains inter-preted as work scraps from the early stages of the chaine operatoire. These findings could indicate not only the relevance of these items in the daily life of the inhabitants of the site, but also could indicate the existence of a work-shop dedicated to bone craftsmanship. This workshop would have operated between the 3rd and 4rd centuries AD.