Animal husbandry was central to past economies, yet zooarchaeological evidence remains underexploited — a gap particularly evident in the medieval Mediterranean, where the Arab expansion represents one of the most significant phases in European agricultural history. Faunal remains reveal how animals were managed, thus offering a perspective on long-term agricultural change that written sources alone cannot provide. At the core of this project lies a key finding: sheep increased significantly in body size during the Arab period across Sicily, Spain (al-Andalus), and North Africa, suggesting more efficient farming practices. However, the mechanisms behind this change — improved feeding, increased mobility, or both — had never been investigated. AGRAS addressed these questions through an interdisciplinary approach, combining traditional zooarchaeological analysis (species identification, age-at-death profiles, biometry) with advanced techniques including protein fingerprinting (ZooMS), multi-isotope analysis (oxygen, strontium, carbon, nitrogen), and 3D microscopy of dental wear. Applied to material from eight Sicilian sites spanning the Byzantine, Arab, and Norman/Swabian periods, the project aimed to produce the first comprehensive reconstruction of sheep diet, mobility, and management across this pivotal phase. Scientifically, AGRAS aims to provide the first robust evidence of how the Arab expansion reshaped animal husbandry in Sicily, with relevance across the Mediterranean, and to feed directly into the ERC Synergy project MEEDGREENREV. At the societal level, AGRAS is aligned with two strategic objectives of Horizon Europe: climate resilience and inclusive societies, generating long-term evidence relevant to sustainable farming policy and to a more inclusive understanding of the Arab contribution to European agricultural heritage. The fellowship concluded early, when the fellow was appointed to a tenure-track researcher position at another institution. The analytical groundwork established, particularly in isotope sampling and 3D microwear cast production, will continue to underpin the fellow's independent research programme.
