Herding Ground

In the ancient world cattle were an expensive and precious commodity to any farmer, and people rarely ate them except during religious feasts. Instead, oxen were used as beasts of burden for transport and to work on farms, where their manure was also used to raise the crops. Cattle trading was big business; the size of a herd was an old measure of wealth from before coinage became standardised. Food production was one of the driving forces behind Roman expansionism. Wherever their armies went, they needed a continuous supply of animals for food to support them. It was because of this that Rome developed animal husbandry throughout its Empire in order to increase yields and feed its vast armies.