Researchers examining animal remains from Iron Age villages in Bulgaria have discovered clear proof that people ate dogs between the fifth and first centuries BCE. You can see signs of slicing, scorching, and standard slaughtering methods on canine bones found at various locations. The findings suggest that dog meat was a regular, though small, part of the menu rather than something people only ate when they were starving.
Stella Nikolova, an expert in zooarchaeology, studied materials from ten different sites across the country and looked back at older records from five major settlements. Depending on where they looked, dogs make up anywhere from 2 to 10 percent of the recognized animal bones. The most significant collection came from Emporion Pistiros, a key trading hub where Greek vendors connected with Thracian locals. Digs in that area unearthed more than 80,000 animal specimens. Roughly 2 percent of that entire group turned out to be dogs.
Signs of Dog being a Meat Staple in their Ancient Menu
A careful look at the dog bones from Pistiros showed that almost 20 percent had scratches made by metal tools. A lot of these incisions are found on the upper back legs, which is where the thickest meat is located. You can find the same kinds of marks on the front legs and rib cages. The way the bones were broken up looks just like what they did with cows and sheep, implying they prepared the meat the same way. There are scorched teeth visible on two of the jawbones. It seems probable that they used fire to singe off the hair before cutting up the animal.
From Guardians to Sustenance (nothing went to waste)
The majority of the dogs eaten at Pistiros were fully grown adults. That stands in contrast to how farm animals are usually handled, since livestock are typically killed while they are still young and tender. Experts believe these dogs probably worked as watchdogs in towns that managed big groups of farm animals. Their snout shape and overall size—ranging from medium to large—are similar to working dogs we see today, like German Shepherds.
A Ritual Choice, Not Desperation
The surroundings give us more hints. Archaeological diggers at the site uncovered chopped-up dog bones mingled with scraps from big group feasts and regular trash. Finding them in that spot implies starvation wasn’t the cause. Plenty of other meat options showed up at these locations, too, like cows, sheep, pigs, birds, fish, and hunted animals. Since they had steady access to all those creatures, it is hard to argue they ate dogs because they ran out of food.
A Regional Tradition
We see the same kind of proof at other villages in Bulgaria, as well as at spots in Greece and Romania. Texts written by ancient authors also talk about people eating dog in certain areas of the Mediterranean. Putting the physical finds together with the history suggests this was a widespread habit across the region, not just a weird local quirk.
We see the same slaughtering methods used over and over at different sites, although Pistiros shows much more thorough cutting. Scientists connect eating these animals to social habits, likely related to banquets. Bones from later time periods at Pistiros paint a different picture, however. You can find whole dog skeletons in newer ground layers that haven’t been touched by a knife. This difference implies that the way people looked at dogs changed over the years.
Work continuing under the Corpus Animalium Thracicorum project is going to match up how dogs were eaten against how they were buried at more locations. Future studies hope to explain the social significance of these actions and map out cultural shifts during the Thracian Iron Age.