Diets and Crafts in Towns: The evidence of animal remains from the Roman to the Post-Medieval periods 9780860545989, 9781407318196

Table of contents :
Front Cover
Copyright
Table of Contents
ADDRESSES OF CONTRIBUTORS
INTRODUCTION
WHAT SHALL WE HAVE FOR DINNER? FOOD REMAINS FROM URBAN SITES
THE PROVISION OF FOWLS AND FISH FOR TOWNS
SOCIAL DIFFERENTIATION FROM ANIMAL BONE STUDIES
THE EFFECTS OF URBANISATION ON HUMAN HEALTH: THE EVIDENCE FROM SKELETAL REMAINS
URBAN-RURAL VARIATIONS IN THE BUTCHERING OF CATTLE IN ROMANO-BRITISH HAMPSHIRE
BONE, ANTLER, AND HORN INDUSTRIES IN THE URBAN CONTEXT
ANIMAL REMAINS AND THE TANNING TRADE
THE USE OF ANIMAL BONES AS BUILDING MATERIAL IN POST-MEDIEVAL BRITAIN
BONE ANALYSIS AND URBAN ECONOMY: EXAMPLES OF SELECTIVITY AND A CASE FOR COMPARISON
DECIDING PRIORITES WITH URBAN BONES: YORK AS A CASE STUDY
GAZETEER OF SITES WITH ANIMAL BONES USED AS BUILDING MATERIAL

Citation preview

Diet and Crafts in Towns The evidence of animal remains from the Roman to the Post-Medieval periods

edited by

Dale Serjeantson and T. Waldron

BAR Britis h Series .199 1989

B.A.R.

5, Centremead, Osney Mead, Oxford OX2 ODQ, England.

GENERAL EDITORS A.R.. Hands, B.Sc., M.A., D.Phil. D.R. Walker, M.A.

BAR 199, 1989: 'Diet and Crafts in Towns' © The Individual Authors, 1989

The authors’ moral rights under the 1988 UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act are hereby expressly asserted. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be copied, reproduced, stored, sold, distributed, scanned, saved in any form of digital format or transmitted in any form digitally, without the written permission of the Publisher. ISBN 9780860545989 paperback ISBN 9781407318196 e-book DOI https://doi.org/10.30861/9780860545989 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library This book is available at www.barpublishing.com

C ONTENTS P age I NTRODUCTION W HAT S HALL W E H AVE FOR D INNER? b y T erry O 'Connor

1 F OOD R EMAINS F ROM U RBAN S ITES 1 3

T HE P ROVISIONOF F OWLS A ND F ISH F OR T OWNS 2 5

b y J ennie C oy S OCIAL D IFFERENTIATIONF ROM A NIMAL B ONE S TUDIES

4 1

b y F . G erard I jzereef T HE E FFECTS O F H UMANISATIONO N H EALTH : T HE E VIDENCE F ROM S KELETAL R EMAINS

5 5

b y T ony W aldron U RBAN R URAL V ARIATIONS I N T HE B UTCHERING O F C ATTLE I N R OMANO-BRITISH H AMPSHIRE b y M ark M altby

75

B ONE, A NTLER A ND H ORN I NDUSTRIES I N T HE U RBAN C ONTEXT b y A rthur M acGregor

107

A NIMAL R EMAINS A ND T HE T ANNING T RADE b y D ale S erjeantson

129

T HE U SE O F A NIMAL B ONES A S B UILDING M ATERIAL I N P OST-MEDIEVAL B RITAIN b y P hilip L . A rmitage

147

F S ELECTIVITY B ONE A NALYSIS A ND U RBAN E CONOMY : E XAMPLES O A ND A C ASE F OR C OMPARISON 1 61

b y B ruce L evitan D ECIDING P RIORITIES W ITH U RBAN B ONES:

Y ORK A S A C ASE S TUDY

b y T erry O 'Connor

189

F S ITES W ITHA NIMAL B ONES U SED A S B UILDING G AZETTEER O M ATERIAL b y P hilip L . A rmitage

2 01

A DDRESSES O F C ONTRIBUTORS D r . P hilip L . A rmitage 1 972 R oseate L ane S anibel I sland F LORIDA 3 3957 U .S.A . J ennie C oy F aunal R emains U nit D epartment o f A rchaeology U niversity o f S outhampton S outhampton S O9 5 NH D r . F . G erard I jiereef Z ooarchaeologist o f t he D utch S tate S ervice f or A rchaeology R ijkdienst v oor h et O udheidkundig B odemonderzoek K erkstraat 1 3 811 C V A mersfoor N etherlands B ruce L evitan U niversity M useum P arks R oad O xford O X1 3 PW D r . A rthur M acGregor D epartment o f A ntiquities A shmolean M useum O xford O X1 2 PH M ark M altby F aunal R emains U nit D epartment o f A rchaeology U niversity o f S outhampton S outhampton S O9 5 NH D r . T erry P . O 'Connor E nvironmental A rchaeology U nit D epartment o f B iology U niversity o f Y ork Y ork Y O1 5 DD D ale S erjeantson B irkbeck C ollege C entre f or E xtra-Mural S tudies U niversity o f L ondon 2 6 R ussell S quare L ondon W C1B 5 DQ D r . T ony W aldron I nstitute o f A rchaeology 3 1-34 G ordon S quare L ondon W C1H O PV

I NTRODUCTION D ale S erjeantson

A IMS D uring t he p ast t wenty y ears t he i nvestigation o f a rchaeological a nimal b ones h as

b een c ommon ,

y et

c omparatively

l ittle ,

a part

f rom a s urvey b y

A rmitage ( 1982), h as c oncerned t he m ethods o f s tudy o f b ones f rom u rban s ites. C onsequently

e xcavators

o f

s uch s ites h ave h ad f ew o pportunities

t o

l earn h ow a nimal r emains c an c ontribute t o t he u nderstanding o f t he a rchaeology o f t he t own o r s ite u nder i nvestigation . I n t his b ook w e h ave a imed t o g o s ome w ay t o f illing t his g ap . I ts o rigin w as a c onference h eld a t t he D epartment o f E xtra-Mural S tudies o f t he U niversity o f L ondon i n D ecember 1 986 . H ere s tudents h ad w orked i n c lass o n a nimal r emains f rom a v ariety o f t ypes o f s ites , a nd i t h ad b ecome c lear t hat m ost o f t he w ork o n t heoretical a spect o f a nalysis o f a nimal b ones h as b een d irected a t c ollections f rom p rehistoric s ites i n ar ural s etting . T he

c onference o rganisers

t herefore

s ought

c ontributions

w hich w ould

c over a w ide r ange o f t he p roblems r elating t o t he a ims a nd m ethods o f t he s tudy o f a nimal r emains f rom u rban s ites . T he a rchaeological r emains f rom t owns h ave t wo p articular c haracteristics: t here i s s pecialisation i n c rafts a nd i ndustries , a nd e xcavations a re u sually o f m ulti-period d eposits . T hough m ost

o f

o ur

c ontributors

a re

f rom B ritain a nd

t heir

e xamples a re

m ainly f rom E urope , t he m aterial a nd m ethods d iscussed s hould b e r elevant t o t owns e verywhere . I n t he m ain b ones w ere m ost o ften t hrown a way a fter f ood p reparation a nd c onsumption , a nd f rom t hese m uch c an b e l earned a bout t he d iet a nd a lso t he s ocial c omposition o f t he u rban p opulation . H owever , e specially i n t owns , b ones w ere a lso d iscarded a s b y-products o f c raft p rocesses . I n s ome c ircumstances t he m ost i mportant c ontribution w hich t he b one a nalyst c an m ake i s t o a ssist i n t he i nterpretation o f t he c ontext w hich i s b eing s tudied a nd t he a ctivities w hich l ed t o t he f ormation o f t he e xcavated d eposit . A nimal r emains f rom u rban e xcavations d emand d ifferent m ethods o f r ecovery a nd a nalysis f rom t hose i n a r ural c ontext . T here a re p apers o n a ll t hese a spects . A dditionally , i ncreasing n umbers o f e arly c emeteries a re t hreatened b y u rban r e-development , a nd w e t hought i t a ppropriate a lso t o i nclude a p aper o n t he i nformation w hich t he e xcavation a nd s tudy o f h uman s keletons c ould p rovide .

T HE S TUDY O F D IET A ND S OCIAL S TATUS A n umber o f c ontributors h ave w ritten a bout t he r elationship b etween a nimal b ones a nd d iet i n t owns . O 'Connor ( pp . 1 3-23) s hows t hat f rom t he M iddle A ges o nward m ost o f t he m eat c onsumed w as f rom c attle a nd s heep . T he c hanges c harted i n t he r elative n umbers o f t he t wo s pecies a t L incoln a nd Y ork s how h ow s heep i ncreased a t t he e xpense o f c attle , a nd i t w ill b e i mportant t o s ee i f t his t rend i s f ound t hroughout t he c ountry o r o nly i n t he N orth . I n Y ork a nd L incoln t he s ample w as t he w hole t own , a nd t his

1

u nit o f s tudy i s a ppropriate w here s amples a re l arge e nough a nd f rom a r ange o f c ontexts w ithin t he t own .

I n h is

p aper o n t wo a reas o f A msterdam

I jzereef ( pp . 4 1-54) i dentifies c hanges a t ah ousehold l evel ; h e w as a ble t o d istinguish n ot o nly J ewish a nd n on-Jewish h ouseholds , b ut a lso t heir r elative w ealth . T wo c ontributors c onsider h ow f ood f rom a nimal s ources w as b rought i n t o

t owns .

O 'Connor m akes

t he

u seful

d istinction

b etween

t he

c attle

a nd

s heep , w hich w ere r aised o utside t he t owns a nd d riven i n t o t he m arkets , a nd p igs , w hich a t l east i n t he M iddle A ges w ere o ften r aised b y i ndividual h ouseholds i n t he t own i tself . H erds a nd f locks w ere d riven o ften v ery l ong d istances t o t own m arkets . F rom t he s eventeenth c entury o nwards c attle r aised a s f ar a s t he W est o f S cotland a nd I reland w ere d riven t o s outhern B ritain . T he i mplications o f t his t rade f or t he s tudy o f c attle a nd s heep b ones h as n ot b een e xplored i n t his b ook , b ut h as b een i nvestigated e lsewhere b y A rmitage ( 1980 ) . C oy p oints o ut t hat , u nlike c attle a nd s heep , d omestic f owls w ere k ept i n t owns , a nd t he n umbers o f c hicken b ones a re o ften h igh a mong u rban f ood r emains .

O ther d omestic b irds a re

l ess o ften f ound ;

i n t he M iddle A ges

t hose a ssociated w ith h igh s tatus h ouseholds s uch a s p eafowl ( P i 3V0 c ristatus ) , s wan ( the M ute S wan , C ygnus o lor ) a nd t urkey ( Meleagris g allopavo ) a re a s l ikely t o b e f ound i n c astles a nd m onasteries a s i n t owns . E xcept f or t hose w ho l ived b y t he c oast , f ish o nly b ecome i mportant i n t he E uropean d iet f rom t he e arly M iddle A ges o nwards . T he h erring f isheries i n t he B altic a nd t he N orth S ea d eveloped f rom t hat t ime , a nd t he A tlantic a nd o ffshore f ishing f or c od a nd r elated s pecies b ecame i ncreasingly i mportant i n t he e conomy o f t he n orth E uropean c ountries w ith t he d evelopment o f s eagoing b oats . I t i s d ifficult t o s ee h ow t he r estrictions o n m eat e ating w hich o riginated w ith S t B enedict i n t he s ixth c entury c ould h ave b een o bserved i f h erring a nd o ther f ish h as n ot b een a vailable t o t ake t he p lace o f t he ' flesh o f q uadrupeds ' . S ea f ish w ere t raded o ver l ong d istances : t he S outhampton p ort r ecords , d iscussed h ere b y C oy a re a g ood i llustration o f t his . T hough h erring a nd c od w ere t he m ain s pecies t raded a nd e aten , C oy s hows t hat t he r ange o f s pecies l anded a t S outhampton a nd t raded t hrough h er p orts w as v ery g reat . I n t hese d ays o f r apid t ransport m ethods a nd r efrigeration i t i s e asy t o u nderestimate t he r ange o f f ish w hich w ere p reserved b y s uch m eans a s s alting , s alting a nd d rying ( "stockfish" ), a nd p ickling . W hen b ones o f c od , l ing a nd h erring a re r ecovered i n e xcavation i n t owns m any m iles f rom t he c oast t hey a re r eadily i nterpreted a s b eing f rom p reserved f ish , b ut i t i s a lso c ommonplace ( provided s ieving i s c arried o ut , c f p p . 2 5-27 ) f or b ones o f s ea f ish s uch a s t he f latfish t o b e f ound , a nd d ocumentary e vidence s uggests t hat t hese t oo a re l ikely t o b e f rom p reserved r ather t han f resh f ish ( Cutting 1 955 ) . F rom A nglo-Saxon t imes t he s ystematic c apture o f e els i s r ecorded i n t he c harters, a nd s ome e xamples f rom a rchaeological c ontexts s uggest t hat t hey c ontinued t o b e t aken i n q uantity . I n m edieval S outhampton e el b ones w ere s econd m ost n umerous a fter h erring b ones , a nd t he s ame r elative a bundance h as b een f ound i n a f ourteenth c entury c ontext a t S t A lbans ( Serjeantson f orthcoming) . T he i mportance o f f ish i n t he d iet i s s hown i n A msterdam , w here f ish b ones a re 1 0% b y w eight ( Ijzereef , t able 1 ) i n t he s eventeenth a nd e ighteenth c enturies p its . A s O 'Connor i ndicates , w ild f oods o ther t han f ish a re r are . V enison w as n ot a c ommodity b ought a nd s old b ut , a s R ackham 's d ocumentary s tudy ( 1986) s hows , w as p art o f t he g ift e xchange n etwork b etween f amilies

2

o f h igh r ank . T his i s c onfirmed b y f inds o f d eer b ones : t hey a re f ound i n g reatest n umbers n ot i n t owns b ut i n c astles , s uch a s B arnard C astle ( Jones & S ly , N .D .), w here t hey w ere a lmost a s n umerous a s c attle b ones, a nd A bbeys .

D ietary d eficiency ,

w hich i s

o ften a ssociated w ith u rbanisation ,

c annot b e d etected f rom f ood r emains a lone , a s t hose w hich s urvive a re o nly a p artial r ecord o f w hat w as c onsumed ; b ut , a s W aldron ( pp . 5 5-73 ) m akes c lear , m ay i n s ome c ases b e d etected i n t he h uman s keleton .

R ecognition o f r emains o f b ones f rom f ood c onsumption H ow m ay f ood r emains b e d istinguished f rom d eposits f rom b utchery o r o ther a ctivities, o r f rom a m ixture o f o rigins? F our c riteria a re s uggested h ere b y w hich d eposits o f f ood r emains m ay b e r ecognised . I t i s i n f act r are f or a ll t o b e f ulfilled , b ecause g roups o f b ones f rom t own s ites a re r arely f rom t ruly p rimary c ontexts , b ut so me a t l east s hould . T he f our a re : 1 .

T he c ontext i s ar esidential b uilding .

2 .

T he b ones a re e xclusively o r m ainly o f f ood a nimals.

3 .

T here i s e vidence o f b utchery .

4 .

T he p arts o f t he s keleton w hich h ave t he m ost m eat p redominate.

T o c onsider e ach c riterion i n d etail : 1 . T he A msterdam c ess-pits s tudied b y I jzereef a re a g ood e xample o f b ones i n a d omestic c ontext . H owever , m any b uildings w hich w ere n ot d omestic h ouseholds , s uch a s a bbeys , w ere a lso l ived i n , a nd o ften p rovide g ood e xamples o f a ssemblages o f f ood r emains . F or i nstance t he a ssemblage f rom W hitefriars , C oventry , ( Holmes 1 981) w hich i s d iscussed b elow , w as a s chool . W here r ubbish w as d isposed o f o n t he p eriphery o f t he t own , d umps c an o ften c ontain m aterial f rom a s ingle s ource , e ither d omestic o r c raft r ubbish . 2 .

A h igh p roportion o f

f ish a nd d omestic f owl b ones i s

l ikely t o

i ndicate f ood r emains . C onversely b ones o f d ogs , c ats , r ats a nd m ice d o n ot . H orse b ones t oo i n m ost c ontexts a re u nlikely t o b e f ood r emains, t hough t hey m ay b e , p articularly o n R oman s ites . I n t his c ase e vidence o f b utchery m ay c onfirm w hether o r n ot t hey w ere e aten . 3 . D isarticulation o f t he c arcase a nd f ood c onsumption l eaves s ome i ndividual b ones u nmarked , b ut t here w ill b e ap roportion i n t he g roup w hich h as b een c hopped . W hole b ones i n a rticulation a re l ikely t o b e f rom a nimals w hich h ave d ied a nd w ere n ot e aten . 4 .

A h igh p roportion o f t he m ain m eat b earing b ones i s t he c riterion

u sed o ften t o d istinguish w aste f rom m eat c onsumption f rom b utchery w aste . W ith t he p roviso t hat s ome a re a ssociated w ith c rafts , i n g eneral t he h ead a nd f eet h ave l east m eat a nd t he r est o f t he s keleton h as m ost . H owever , t here a re s ome f actors w hich m ay c omplicate t he a nalysis. F irstly , t he i nterpretation m ay b e a ffected w here d eposits w ere n ot s ieved . T he e ffect t his h as o n e stimating t he c ontribution t o t he d iet o f

3

f ish h as

a lready b een d iscussed .

i nterpretation o f s heep r emains .

B ut

i t

c an a lso

T he s carcity o f

s eriously d istort

t eeth a nd p halanges

t he i s a

c riterion t hat b ones a re m ainly f rom f ood c onsumption . H owever , t his l ack i n t he b ody p arts p resent o f s heep c an b e a c onsequence o f p oor r etrieval, u sually w hen d eposits a re n ot s ieved ( Payne 1 972) . S econdly , w here b ones h ave b een h eavily g nawed , a ssemblage i s n ot u niformly a ffected . p referentially

t o

t he m ore d ense

t he c omposition o f t he

D ogs c onsume t he m ore f ragile b ones s hafts

a nd

a rticulations .

R ibs,

v ertebrae , a nd t he f emur a nd p roximal t ibia a re m ore l ikely t o b e d estroyed t han t he d istal h umerus a nd d istal t ibia . D ogs a re l east l ikely t o d estroy m andibles a nd t eeth ( Brain 1 976 ,

B inford a nd B ertram 1 977) .

d ogs o n a n a ssemblage i s t o d epress

T he e ffect o f

t he r elative n umbers o f s keletal

e lements f rom r egions w hich w ere o riginally c hoice c uts,

s uch a s t he

v ertebrae , a nd l eave a s puriously h igh p roportion o f j aws a nd t eeth . A g ood e xample o f a d eposit o f f ood r emains i s t he a ssemblage f rom t he R esonance C hamber o f W hitefriars d ozen b ones e aten ,

f rom a t otal

o f

S chool,

1 880 a re

i ncluding m ouse a nd c at

C oventry .

P ossibly a s

f rom s pecies u nlikely

( Holmes ,

t able

1 ) ,

w hereas

f ew a s a

t o h ave b een

r abbit a nd b ird

b ones a re n umerous . S kull a nd f oot b ones o f t he m ain f ood a n imals a re s carce a nd 9 3 .7% o f s heep b ones a re f rom t he m ain m eat b earing b ones . T he m aterial i s n ot i n ap rimary p osition , b ut i t i s r elatively u nmixed . i s n o r ecord o f

s ieving t aking p lace ,

w hich i s

T here

l ikely t o a ccount

f or

t he

s mall n umber o f f ish r emains.

T HE D EBRIS F ROM C RAFTS T he

e arliest r ecord o f a s pecialised a rchaeological

d eposit o f b ones

m ust b e t he c ollection o f " a h undred o x s kulls" r eputedly f ound i n t he e arly f ourteenth c entury w hen o ld S t P auls w as r ebuilt ( Clark 1 980) .

I t i s

i nteresting t o s peculate w hether t he b uilders h ad c ome u pon a r itual d eposit o r r ubbish i n aR oman d itch ( et M altby p . 7 5). B utchery B utchery w as c ountry . d ifferent

o ften m ore

M altby ( pp . b utchery

c ountryside :

s pecialised

i n t owns

t han i t w as i n t he

7 5106) s hows t hat i n t he c enturies o f R oman c ontrol t echniques

w ere

e mployed

i n

t he

t own

a nd

i n

t he

t own b utchers e mployed c rude c hops w ith h eavy a xes t o s plit

t he c arcass , w hereas i n t he v illages t he a ncient t radition u sing k nives w as m ore o ften u sed t o d isjoint t he a nimals f or c onsumption . t o b e d one w ith h eavy m etal i nnovation a fter t hat

i s

i n t he

I dentifying a s

t he

waste

i n t he

T he m ain

l ater M iddle A ges w hen b utchers b egan t o

s plit t he c arcase d own t he m idline ( Grant 1 987 ,

s traightforward

B utchery c ontinued

c leavers i n t he e arly M iddle A ges .

f rom

e xample

p rimary

f rom E xeter

M altby 1 979 ) . b utchery ( Maltby

i s

1 979 ,

r arely , 1)

a s

w here a

d ump i n o ne o f t he d efensive d itches o f t he l egionary f ortress c onsisted p redominantly ( 87% ) o f c attle s kulls m inus t he h orn c ores , a nd m etapodials m inus t he f oot b ones . M ore o ften t he d istinction i s l ess c lear ; t his i s n ot j ust b ecause d iscarded w aste o ften c ontains m aterial f rom m ore t han o ne s ource , b ut b ecause a ll p arts o f t he c arcase ( except t he h orn a nd h orn c ore ) m ay b e c ooked a nd e aten , a nd s o m ay b e f ound i n t he w aste f rom f ood c onsumption .

4

T he t rades w hich m ade u se o f a nimal p roducts i n t he C ity o f L ondon i n t he e ighteenth c entury ( table 1 ) s hows t hat a g reater v ariety d ealt i n a nimal p roducts t han i n f oodstuffs . T he l ist h as b een c ompiled f rom a s ample o f 1 4% o f t he e ntries i n t he U niversal B ritish D irectory ( 179 1) . C raft w ith w hich c haracteristic b one r emains a re a ssociated a re h ornw orking , b one a nd a ntler w orking , a nd t anning . E xtraction o f o il a nd g rease f rom b ones m ay a lso b elong i n t his c ategory .

A ntler , b one a nd h orn-working R emains f rom a ntler w orking a nd b one w orking a re n ot v ery c ommon b ut a re e asily r ecognised , b y t he c haracteristic m arks o f s awing . S ome o ffcuts f rom b ead m aking a nd b utton m aking h ave b een i llustrated v ol" f igure 3 ; 1 985 , f igure 5 8 ) .

( MacGregor t his

M uch m ore c ommon a nd a lso e asily r ecognised a re c ollections o f h orn c ores . A s M acGregor ( pp . 17-119 ) p oints o ut , t he o bvious i nterpretation i s t hat t hese a re w aste f rom h ornworking , d iscarded a fter t he h orn i tself h ad b een t aken o ff t he c ore .

T his i s t hought t o b e t he o rigin o f a l arge

g roup f rom E xe B ridge , E xeter , ( Levitan p . 1 64) . P ositive e vidence t hat t he h orn w as r emoved f rom t he c ore b efore i t w as b uried i s p rovided b y c ut m arks r ound t he b ase o f t he h orn c ore o r as urface s awn t hrough , ( eg . S chmid 1 972 , A rmitage & C lutton-Brock 1 976) . H owever , s uch m arks a re r are , a s s eparation o f t he h orn f rom t he c ore w as u sually a chieved b y r otting o r s oaking, w hich l eaves n o t race ( MacGregor p . 1 17) . I t h as a lso b een s uggested t hat t anners w ere r esponsible f or d iscarding h orns , a s d iscussed b y S erjeantson ( pp . 1 36139 ) . H orn c ores a nd o ther p arts o f t he s keleton w ere u sed a s b uilding m aterial i n t he e ighteenth c entury , a s A rmitage s hows i n h is d iscussion ( pp .

1 47-160 ) a nd g azetteer ( pp .

2 09-220 ) .

L eather W orking C ollections o f m etapodials a nd/or p halanges a re o ften l ikely t o h ave b een d iscarded f rom s kins ;

t he b est e xample o f a f ind a t a k nown t annery

s ite i s t he s heep f oot b ones f rom W almgate , Y ork , b ut s everal o thers h ave b een r ecorded ( Serjeantson p p . 1 36139 ) . W here f oot b ones a re f ound w ith n o e vidence f or t he r est o f t he s keleton t he p ossibility t hat t hey a re f rom a s kin a lways n eeds t o b e c onsidered . F inally t he p ossibility t hat a s pecialised t ype o f b utchery f ound o n s ome R oman s ites r epresents n ot f ood p reparation b ut e xtraction o f b one g rease

s hould

b e

c onsidered h ere .

Maltby

( p .

9 0)

d escribes h ow a t

W inchester a nd T ower S treet , C irencester , t he f our m ain l imb b ones o f c attle a nd h orses , t he h umerus , r adius , f emur a nd t ibia , w ere c hopped a xially a nd s plit .

T his

b utchery

t echnique ,

a lso

s een a t

Z wammerdam ,

H olland

( van

M ensch 1 974 ) , B alkern S treet , C olchester , 2 4-30 T anners R ow , Y ork , ( O 'Connor p . 1 95), a nd G reat C hesterford ( Serjeantson , i n p ress) . T he d egree o f f ragmentation i s g reater t han t hat n eeded t o e xtract t he m arrow . T hough c onfirmatory e vidence h as n ot b een f ound , i t s eems l ikely t hat t he b ones w ere c hopped t o f acilitate t he e xtraction o f g rease . T he t echnique a ppears t o b e r estricted t o s ites o f t he R oman p eriod a nd t o c ertain l ocations o nly , a nd M altby s uggests c onvincingly t hat i t i s a t echnique o f t he R oman a rmy a nd t he l arger t owns . I f t his c hopping w as p rior t o e xtracting g rease f rom t he b ones , t hen t he d ebris f rom t he c rafts w hich e xtracted a nimal f ats , o ils , a nd g rease , s uch a s t allow c handlers a nd s oapmakers ( table 1 ) h as y et

5

F OOD

S KINS A ND F URS

B utcher D rysalter P ortab le s oup-maker C heesemonger B utter f actor .

S kinner F urr ier T anner L eather d resser V e llum b inder L eatherse ller

O IL A ND G REASE

H AIR A ND F EATHERS

T a llow c hand ler S permaceti r ef iner

H orsehair m anufactury H air m erchant E iderdown w arehouse W ho lesale q uill d ealer

H ORN A ND B ONES H orn m anufacture c utter

-W ha lebone

T able 1 .

T rades w hich u sed a nd s old a nimal p roducts .

T he l ist i s f rom t he

L ondon D irectory o f t he U niversal B ritish D irectory o f 1 791. L ondon

i s

n ot

t ypical

a s

t he

n umber

o f

t radesmen i nvolved

i n

p reparing a nd s elling f ood w ere o utnumbered b y t hose m aking a nd s elling c raft a nd i ndustrial p roducts .

6

t o b e i dentified i n l ater c enturies . S ome s pecies w hich a re o therwise r are a mong t he r emains f rom t owns m ay b e r epresented a mong w aste p roducts w ere

t he m ost

w ere

i mportant

a fter t he

i mportant f or

f rom c rafts .

f ood a nimals

t ransport

o f

T hough c attle

i n R oman a nd M edieval

p eople

a nd

g oods ,

t he

a nd

t owns ,

l atter

s heep h orses

e specially

i nvention o f t he h orse c ollar i n t he t welfth c entury w hich m ade

h orses m ore e fficient t han o xen f or p ulling c arts ( Langdon 1 984), a nd h orse b ones a re o ften f ound o n u rban s ites .

T he b utchery r eferred t o a bove s hows

t hat i n R oman t imes h orse b ones w ere t reated i n a s imilar f ashion t o t hose o f c attle , w hich s uggests t hat t hey w ere e aten . I n t he e ighth c entury t he e ating o f h orseflesh w as f orbidden t o C hristians b y P ope G regory I II , a nd f rom t hat t ime i t h as b een c ulturally u nacceptable i n B ritain a nd e lsewhere i n E urope ( Barclay 1 980) . B ones a re o ften f ound u nbutchered a nd i n a rticulation . T hough h orseflesh w as a pparently n ot e aten , t he h ide a nd t he h air w ere u sed ( table

1 ) .

I n t he t owns w here g oat h orn c ores h ave b een f ound ,

s uch a s E xeter ( Exe

B ridge , L evitan p . 1 63) S keldergate , Y ork , ( O 'Connor 1 984),

a nd M iddle S axon

I pswich ( Jones & S erjeantson N .D . ), t he n umber o f g oats r epresented b y t he h orn c ores i s h igher t han t he n umber w hich t he o ther p arts o f t he s keleton s uggest, a nd i t i s a pparent t hat g oat h orns c ertainly, p robably , a re b eing b rought i nto t he t owns f or p rocessing .

a nd g oat s kins

A f urther e xample o f a s pecies w hose r emains i n t owns a re f ound a s c raft d ebris b ut

r arely a s

f ood i s

r ed d eer .

A ntler w orking a s M acGregor

s hows w as b ased o n t he a cquisition o f s hed a ntlers , s ystematically c ollected 1 07110 , 13) .

f rom f orests a nd p arks ( pp .

M ETHODS O F A NALYSIS O ne o f t he p roblems w hich f aces e xcavators o f t own s ites i s h ow c oste ffective i t i s t o s tudy t he a n imal b ones .

S o l ong a s s oil c onditions a re

r easonable , e xcavations i n t owns p roduce l arge q uantities o f b ones , a nd t he r esources w hich w ould a llow a ll t he b one t o b e r ecorded a nd s tudied h ave n ever b een a vailable .

N or i s i t n ecessarily d esirable t hat t hey s hould b e .

O 'Connor w as t herefore i nvited t o c ontribute a p aper o n ' Priorities i n u rban b one s tudies ' b ased o n t he e xperience o f t he a nimal b one w ork o f t he E nvironmental A rchaeology U nit a t Y ork . T he

c entral

t heme

m aterial i s n ecessary . c onsiders m aterial,

t hat t hat

o f

t he p aper

i s t hat s ome f orm o f s ampling o f t he

P rovided s urvival i s g ood a nd r etrieval a dequate , h e

t he f irst c riterion f or s election i s c ontexts w ith p rimary i s c losely d ated d eposits a nd d eposits w ith m aterial w hich

c an b e r elated t o as ingle a ctivity . G roups o f b ones f rom t owns h ave r arely b een f ound i n w hat w ould b e c onsidered a s trictly p rimary c ontext a s d efined

b y

S chiffer

( 1987 ,

9 8 ) ;

u se ' : c ontexts w ith b ones i nformative s amples . T he

c ontexts

l east

t hat

i s

' discarded a t

t heir

l ocation o f

f rom a s ingle s ource a re i n t his c ase m ost

w orth

s tudy

a re

t hose

w hich

c ontain

a h igh

p roportion o f r esidual m aterial . T hough p ottery a nd o ther a rtefacts f rom s uch c ontexts m ay b e o f i nterest i n t hemselves , t he o ccasions w here t hat i s t rue f or a nimal b ones a re s o r are a s t o b e c onsidered n on-existent f or a ll p ractical p urposes.

7

A nother m ethod

o f

s ampling

t o m ake

s tudy m ore

c ost

e ffective

i s

t o

r estrict t he s tudy t o c ertain a natomical e lements . T his i s o ften d one , i mplicitly o r e xplicitly , a nd i s a dvocated i n a r ecent g eneral b ook o n a rchaeozoology ( Davis 1 986 ) . I t w orks w ell i f t he d esired i nformation i s t he i dentification , a ge, s ex a nd t ype o f t he a nimal, a nd i s a n a dequate b asis f or t he s tudy o f r elative n umbers o f t he s pecies . I t i s l ess s uitable w here t he a im o f t he s tudy i s t he n ature a nd i nterpretation o f t he c ontext , f or i n t his c ase t he c haracter o f t he f ragments w hich a re l ess d iagnostic z oologically m ay b e s ignificant t o t he a rchaeologal i nterpretation .

M ETHOD O F S TUDY A p rovocative s uggestion m ade b y O 'Connor i s t hat a n i ndividual r ecord o f e ach b one i s u nnecessary ,

a nd c an b e a bandoned

i n f avour o f a s ummary

r ecord f or e ach c ontext . T his i s ar adical d eparture f rom c ommon p ractice , a nd t he l arge a ssemblages f rom t owns a re c learly a s uitable s ample o n w hich i t c an b e t ried o ut . O ne a nalytical t ool u sed w idely i n b one s tudies i s t he c alculation o f M inimum N umber o f I ndividuals . A s O 'Connor p oints o ut, t his i s n early a lways i nappropriate f or t he i nterpretation o f b ones f rom t owns , w here w e a re n ot d ealing w ith f locks a nd h erds o r w hole a nimals b ut w ith b utchered c uts o f m eat ,

s o t hat a m ore a ppropriate u nit o f m easurement i s t he j oint o f

m eat . F or e xample , L yman ( 1987) r e-analysed m aterial f rom n ineteenth c entury S acramento i n t erms o f am inimum n umber o f b eef c uts ( MNBC) a nd c oncluded t hat t here w as a p ositive r elationship b etween c hoice o f c ut a nd s ocial s tanding . W eighing b ones t o e stablish t he r elative p roportions o f t he m ain s pecies h as b een u sed s ince 1 956 ( Uerpmann 1 973) . I t h as b een u sed e ffectively a s am ethod o f c omparison b y I jzereef ( pp . 4 1-54) i n h is w ork i n A msterdam . H aving b oth c ounted a nd w eighed a s ample o f t he b ones s tudied , h e b ased t he c alculations h e u sed i n h is s tudy o n w eight o f i dentified b ones a lone . A s b one s urvival v aries a ccording t o b urial c onditions , b ones w ith t he s ame d imensions h ave d ifferent w eights a ccording t o w hether t hey h ave b een i n , f or i nstance , a cid s oil w here b one m ineral i s l ost o r a lkaline s oil w here i t i s p reserved . T he m ethod c an t herefore o nly b e u sed t o m ake c omparisons w ithin s ites o r b etween s ites w here s oil c onditions a re u niform .

R ecovery I t i s n ow r outine t o s ieve i n r esearch e xcavations , b ut t he d ecision t o s ieve a c ontext i s n ot t aken l ightly b y e xcavators w orking i n r escue c onditions . H owever , t here a re c ontexts w here s ieving m ust b e d one i f t he b one e vidence i s t o b e c orrectly i nterpreted . T here i s n o r oom f or d iscussion o n t his p oint w here t he f ish b ones a re t o b e s tudied ( Coy p p . 2 52 7) . H ow b ody p art a nalysis o f s heep b ones i s d istorted w hen d eposits a re n ot s ieved i s n oted a bove . A c omparison b etween t he s heep f oot b ones f rom W almgate , Y ork , w here o ne p it ( context 1 097) w as s ieved ( O 'Connor 1 984), a nd t hose f rom K napp D rewett , K ingston , w hich w as n ot ( Serjeantson e t a l . 1 986), s hows w hat i nformation i s

l ost w hen s ieving i s n ot d one .

I n t able 2 t he n umbers

o f

m etapodials a nd p halanges f rom t he t wo s ites a re c ompared . W hen a llowance i s m ade f or t he d ifferent n umbers o f b ones i n t he f oot , i t c an b e s een t hat

8

W almgate, Y ork

K napp D rewett, K ingston

( n)

. (%)

( n)

( %)

rox M etacarpa l p ist M etacarpal d

4 7.5 5 0.5

1 8 1 9.2

M etacarpal d iaphysis

2 9

M etatarsal p rox ist M etatarsal d

1 7 3 0

6 .4 1.4

M etatarsal d iaphysis

2 7.5

9 4.8

M etapodia l

2 1.4

7 3.7

P halanx 1 e piphysis P halanx 1 d iaphysis

1 5 2.75

5 1.7 7 8.4

e piphysis

1 00

P halanx 1

' 2 63.5

P halanx 2

2 52

9 5.9

P halanx 2 e piphysis P halanx 2 d iaphysis

8 .6 1 5.25

2 9.7 5 2.6

P halanx 3

2 33

8.4 8

P halanx 3

1 6 .6

5 2.6

T able

1 00

( n)

N umber o f b ones a fter t aking i nto a ccount t he e xpected n umber i n t he s ke leton.

( %)

T he m ost f requent b one i s t aken a s 1 00% a nd t he r est e xpressed a s a p ercentage o f t hat f igure.

2 .

N umbers a nd p ercentages o f f oot b ones a t W almgate, Y ork, K napp D rewett ,

K ingston ,

c ompared ,

a nd

t o s how t he e ffect o f s ieving .

T he W almgate a ssemblage g ives t he t rue p icture o f w hat b ones w ere d iscarded ; t he p ercentages o f r elative s ize o f t he b ones. S erjeantson e t a l

1 986 .)

9

t he K ingston b ones r eflect t he ( Data f rom O 'Connor 1 984 a nd

a t W almgate ( column 1 ) p halanges a re m ost n umerous , s o .

F rom t his O 'Connor w as a ble

w ith m etapodials

l ess

t o d educe t hat t he s kins w ere b rought t o

t he t annery w ith t he f oot b ones o n , b ut o nly a p roportion a lso h ad t he m etapodials a ttached . T he r elative p roportions o f c alf f oot b ones f rom K ingston ( column 2 ) a re d ifferent . H ere t he e piphyses a re u nfused , s o t he n umber o f b one e lement n umbers i s h igher . T he m etapodial s hafts a re m ost c ommon , f ollowed b y t he s haft o f t he f irst p halanx , a nd t he e piphyses o f t he m etapodials . L east n umerous w ere t he e piphyses o f t he p halanges . T he c orrelation i s w ith t he s ize o f t he b one e lement, a nd t he l ikely i nterpretation i s t hat t he s maller b ones w ere n ot s een i n t he d ound a nd w ere n ot r ecovered . H ere t he e vidence o f t he b ones t hemselves c ould n ot b e u sed t o d educe w hether a ll t he t oes h ad o riginally b een a ttached . T he m ethods o f b ulk s ieving n ow b eing u sed a t Y ork w hich p ermit l arge q uantities o f e ven h eavy s oils t o b e s ieved r apidly s hould m ake i t e asier f or t he d ecision t o b e t aken t o s ieve c ontexts w here t he b ones a re l ikely t o b e i mportant.

C ONCLUSION T he q uantity o f b ones f rom t own s ites w ill c ontinue t o b e p rodigious a nd w ill c ontinue t o o utstrip t he r esources a vailable e ven t o c atalogue t hem . T hroughout t his b ook c ontributors h ave a rgued t hat i t i s i mportant t o d evelop s trategies w hich w ill e xtract t he m aximum i nformation f rom t he b ones . T he b ook h ighlights s ome o f t he m ore i mportant a spects o f t own l ife w hich t he s tudy o f a nimal b ones c an i lluminate.

A cknowledgements W e w ould l ike t o t hank T ony L egge f or a rranging f or t he c onference o n w hich t his b ook i s b ased t o b e h eld a t t he D epartment o f E xtra-Mural S tudies ( now t he

B irkbeck

C ollege

C entre

f or E xtra-Mural

S tudies ,

U niversity o f

L ondon ) . W e a re a lso g rateful t o H arvey S heldon f or r eading a nd c ommenting o n t he p apers .

R EFERENCES A RMITAGE P .L .

( 1980)

A p reliminary d escription o f B ritish c attle f rom

t he l ate t welfth t o t he e arly s ixteenth c entury A RMITAGE ,

P .L .

( 1982)

S tudies

o n

t he

A rk ,

r emains

f rom R oman , M edieval , a nd e arly m odern L ondon :

o f

7( 12) , 4 05-15 . d omestic

l ivestock

o bjectives a nd m ethods

I n

( eds) A .R . H all & H .K . K enward , E nvironmental A rchaeology i n t he U rban C ontext . C .B .A . R es . R ep . 4 3 . L ondon : C ouncil f or B ritish A rchaeology . A RMITAGE P .L .

& C LUTTON-BROCK J .

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c lassification

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3 ,

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T he R ole o f t he H orse i n M an 's C ulture

1 0

L ondon :

B INFORD L .R . p rocesses

& B ERTRAM J .B .

I n L .R . B inford ,

( 19 77)

B one

f requencies a nd a ttritional

F or T heory B uilding i n A rchaeology A cademic

P ress. B RAIN C .K .

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S ome p rinciples

a ccumulations I n ( eds) G . W .A .

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L l .

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M cCown ,

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1 , 3 -7 .

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L eonard H ill.

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S ome o bservations o n b utchery i n E ngland f rom t he I ron

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o n t he a nimal b ones f rom t he R esonance

C hambers o f t he W hitefriars C hurch , C oventry I n C . W oodfield , ' Finds f rom t he F ree Grammar S chool a t t he Whitefriars, C oventry ' Postm edieval A rchaeology 1 5 , 126-153 . J ONES

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b ones f rom f ive s ites a t

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1 2

W HAT S HALL W E H AVE F OR D INNER?

F OOD R EMAINS F ROM U RBAN S ITES

T erry O 'Connor

T he p urpose o f t his p aper i s t o c onsider t he m eans b y w hich t owns o btained t heir a nimal-based f ood s upply d uring t he p ast, a nd, t o s ome e xtent , t oday . T he i mplications o f t his p roduction a nd t rading s ystem f or t he

i nterpretation o f

a nimal

r emains

f rom u rban s ites w ill

b e

u sing e xamples d rawn f rom w ork o n m aterial f rom Y ork a nd L incoln . a rchaeology,

e ven i n t owns a nd c ities,

d iscussed , B ecause

t ends t o b e o rientated t owards

i ndividual s ites , t here i s a t endency t o f orget t he s cale a nd c omplexity o f p ast a nd p resent u rban t rading s ystems a nd t o m ake a s imple e quation b etween t he b ones a nd s hells r ecovered f rom a s ite a nd t he d iet o f t he p opulation . T he a im h ere i s t o s how t he e xtent t o w hich t he q uestion ' What s hall w e h ave f or d inner? ' w as c onstrained b y f actors n ot p rimarily c oncerned w ith t he p roduction o f a nimal-based f oods .

T OWNS A S M ARKETS M odern t owns f unction o n a s ophisticated c ash-based m arket e conomy , a nd i t s eems

l ikely t hat a s imilar c ash e conomy h as

t ypified t owns

i n B ritain

s ince t he R oman p eriod . T he d evelopment o f t rade s pecialisations w ithin a t own l eads t o t he c reation o f a s ector o f t he u rban p opulation w ho a re n ot p roducers o f f ood , a nd w ho t hus r equire a m echanism b y w hich t o t rade t heir s ervices f or a s hare o f t he f ood w hich o thers w ill h ave p roduced .

T axation

m ust a lso h ave t ended t o a ct a s a s pur t o t he d evelopment o f c ash e conomies , f or a lthough a t ax c an b e

l evied

i n

t he

f orm o f

a t ithe

o f

g rain o r

l ivestock , c oins a re m ore c onvenient , o f m ore r eadily a greed v alue , a nd m ore e asily s tored i n q uantity . A lthough c oins w ere c ertainly m inted a nd c irculated i n p re-Roman B ritain , i t s eems l ikely t hat c ash m arketing r eally b egan w ith t he e stablishment o f

t owns

i n t he ' Romanised ' d istricts

o f

B ritain . R ivet ( 1969 , 2 00) p roposed a m odel i n w hich m ilitary p ressure o n l ocal f ood m arkets c reated a c ash t rade i n f arm p roduce , a nd H opkins ( 1980) h as c ogently a rgued t hat

t he i mposition o f t axes w ould h ave e xtended c ash

t rading b eyond t he i mmediate s phere o f i nfluence o f t he R oman m ilitary . T hus f rom t he 2 nd c entury o nwards , t owns i n B ritain h ave l argely b een f reed o f t he n ecessity o f p roducing

f ood p rovided t hat s ufficient c ash c ould

b e

g enerated t o b uy i t. S ome

c onnection m ay

b e

s een b etween

t he

t heoretical

e mergence

o f

a

m arket e conomy a s o utlined a bove a nd t he b one d ebris f rom R oman u rban s ites . M altby

( 1984)

h as

s uggested

t hat

d eposits

i ndicative

o f

l arge-scale b eef

c arcass p rocessing r epresent t rading i n c attle o n a s cale w hich w ould o nly b e c onsistent w ith a m arket e conomy , a nd g ives e xamples o f s uch d eposits f rom m ilitary a nd c ivilian R oman c ontexts f rom a n umber o f d ifferent t owns . T o t hese m ay b e ( O 'Connor 1 988 ), u ndertaken o n a d umps o f c attle

a dded r ecent r esults f rom l ate 2 nd c entury d eposits i n Y ork w hich s how h ighly-specialised c arcass p rocessing b eing l arge s cale . T ypically , s uch d eposits c omprise s ubstantial f emora , r adii , h umeri a nd t ibiae , u sually w ith r elatively

f ew e piphyses , a nd a lways w ith t he d iaphyses c hopped a nd s mashed i nto p ieces af ew c entimetres i n l ength ( see a lso M altby ,

1 3

t his v olume ) .

F rom t he b eginnings o f u rbanisation i n B ritain , m arkets f or m any c ommodities , t owns e xpanded , e xpanded .

t hen ,

t owns h ave b een

i ncluding f arm l ivestock a nd w ild g ame .

A s

s o t he c atchment a reas f rom w hich t hey o btained t heir f ood

M edieval

d ocuments

c ontain m any

e xamples

o f

t he

l arge n umbers o f f arm l ivestock a round t he c ountry .

m ovement

o f

O ne o f t he b est

e xamples i s q uoted b y T row S mith ( 1957 10) w hich t ells h ow i n M ay 1 323, o ne J ohn L e B arber m oved a t otal o f 3 3 c attle a nd o ver 1 500 a ssorted s heep a nd l ambs

b etween

t he

F ens

a nd T adcaster ,

i n N orth Y orkshire .

S ome

p arts

E ngland a ppear t o h ave t raded c attle t hrough r eceiving d epots .

o f

O ne s uch

c entre a t M acclesfield , C heshire , h as b een w ell-documented f or t he y ears 1 356-7 ( Hewitt 1 929 , 5 0-54) , a nd a ppears t o h ave a cted a s a c learing house f or c attle f rom m ost o f C heshire , a nd a lso s ubstantial p arts o f N orth W ales . T he i mplications o f t his e xtensive t rading f or o ur s tudies o f b ones f rom u rban s ites a re c onsiderable . A s ample o f c attle o r s heep b ones f rom am edieval c ontext i n ap articular t own w ill n ot r epresent l ivestock w hich h ave b een r aised l ocally a s p art o f s ubsistence a griculture . F or t he m ost p art , t he a nimals w ill h ave b een b ought a t l ocal m arkets t o w hich t hey m ay h ave b een d riven f rom a n umber o f d ifferent , a nd p robably d istant , s ources . L ittle w onder ,

t hen ,

t hat i n b iometrical s tudies o f u rban b one a ssemblages ,

w ithin-sample v ariation 9 ften g reatly e xceeds t hat b etween s amples .

A NIMALS A S F OOD T he s upply o f a n imal-based f oods t o t owns i n t he p ast c an b e s een a s d eriving f rom t hree p rincipal s ources . T he m ajority p robably c ame f rom f arms a nd e states , a gricultural e nterprises w hich m ay h ave b een f ar r emoved f rom t he u rban m arket . A s maller p roportion o f m eat, e ggs a nd d airy p roduce w as p robably o btained f rom l ivestock k ept i n a nd a round t he t own i tself . p laces ,

A lthough i t e arly

i s c ustomary

t opographical

t o

a ccounts

t hink a nd

o f m edieval

t he

e vidence

t owns o f

a s

c rowded

a rchaeological

e xcavation m ake i t c lear t hat s ubstantial a reas o f w aste g round , o rchard a nd ' garden ' e xisted w ithin e ven t he l arge c ities . T he t hird s ource o f m eat w as h unting o r f ishing , w hether t he o pportunistic b agging o f s mall g ame o r t he m ore o rganised f ishing o f c oastal a nd i nland w aters . T hese t hree s ources w ould h ave f unctioned i ndependently o f o ne a nother , d iscrete

s upply n etworks

c ontributing

a s

t hree

d ifferent c omponents t o t he f ood

s upply , a nd t hus t o t he e xcavated b one s ample . A lthough t his v olume i s p rimarily c oncerned w ith a nimal r emains , a ny d iscussion o f t he s upply o f c attle a nd s heep t o t owns m ust t ake i nto a ccount t he g rowing o f c ereals a nd o ther f ield c rops . t ractors o f R oman a nd m edieval

a griculture ,

C ows a nd o xen w ere t he

a nd h owever s trong t he m arket

e mphasis o n c ereals m ay h ave b een i n a p articular r egion , p lough t eams h ad t o b e m aintained , t ogether w ith b reeding-stock t o r eplace w orn-out d raught c attle .

T his

p roducts o f s ubstantial

i s n ot t o s uggest t hat b eef a nd d airy p roduce w ere m ere b y-

l ittle w orth . m arket v alue ,

M eat , t hough

h ides a nd m ilk p roducts c learly h ad a c attle a ppear t o h ave b een c onsidered

i nferior t o s heep a nd g oats a s d airy a nimals b efore a bout ( Whitlock

1 965 ,

1 06 ) .

H owever ,

a c onsistently h igh

t he

1 3th c entury

p roportion o f

c attle

b ones a mongst t hose o btained f rom a n u rban s ite n eed n ot i ndicate d eliberate s tock-rearing f or b eef i n t he i mmediate l ocality . I ntensive a rable c ultivation c ould p roduce t he s ame e ffect , a lthough i t m ay b e s implistic t o s uggest t hat R oman o r m edieval a griculture i n B ritain w as s ufficiently s pecialised t o j ustify t he u se o f t erms s uch a s ' arable b reeding'.

1 4

f arming ' o r

' cattle

S heep , t oo , h ad t heir p lace i n t he c rop-raising e conomy , a s a c onvenient m eans o f c leaning u p t he h arvest a ftermath a nd s preading p elleted m anure o n t he f ields .

W ool w as p robably t he p rimary p roduct o f t he s heep

o ver m ost o f t he c ountry , a lthough i n s ome a reas a d airy i ndustry b ased o n s heep w as f lourishing b y t he e nd o f t he m edieval p eriod ( Trow S mith 1 957 , le ) . S heep , l ike c attle , w ere n ot p rimarily k ept f or t heir v alue a s m eat u ntil r apid p opulation g rowth a nd a c hange i n m arket d emands r evolutionised s tockbreeding i n t he l ate 1 8th c entury .

T HE M ARKET F OR C ATTLE A ND S HEEP C attle a nd s heep b ones c omprise t he g reat m ajority o f m ost u rban a rchaeological

b one

a ssemblages,

a nd

t hus

b eef

a nd

m utton

c learly

c onstituted t he b ulk o f t he r ed m eat c onsumed i n R oman a nd m edieval t owns i n E ngland . H owever , i f w e c onsider t he w orkings o f t he p re-mechanised f arm a s r evealed i n'contemporary d ocuments , i t i s c lear t hat n either o f t hese s pecies w as r aised s olely f or f ood . T he c attle a nd s heep w hich c ame t o m arket i n t he t owns , a nd w hose b ones e nded u p i n r ubbish p its a nd m iddens , w ere a p roduct o f m ixed f arming , a nd , i ncreasingly t hrough t he lth-14th c enturies, a b urgeoning w ool i ndustry . T wo a rchaeological e xamples w ill i llustrate t hese p oints .

I n F igure

1 , as imple c omparison i s m ade o f t he i ncidence o f s heep a nd c attle b ones i n a rchaeological d eposits f rom Y ork a nd L incoln . I n b oth c ities t here i s a p rogressive

i ncrease

i n

t he

r atio

o f

s heep :cattle

b ones ;

t hat

i s ,

s heep

b ones b ecome m ore a bundant r elative t o t hose o f c attle . T he r ate a nd e xtent o f t he c hange d iffers a l ittle b etween t he t wo c ities , b ut t he s ame u nderlying p rocess i s b eing o bserved . G iven t he w ell-documented r ise i n t he i mportance o f w ool a s a n e xport c ommodity ( Lloyd 1 977) , t his r eplacement o f c attle b y s heep i n t he d iet c an b e s een a s t he u rban f ood s upply b eing m odified b y e conomic f actors p ertaining t o a nother f arm p roduct , n ot s imply b y c onstraints o f f ood s upply a nd d emand . I n o ther w ords , t he c onstituents o f t he b ulk o f Y ork a nd L incoln 's r ed m eat s upply t hrough t he m edieval p eriod m ay h ave h ad l ess t o d o w ith w hat t he c itizens w anted t o e at , a nd m ore t o d o w ith w hat c arcass s urplus t he m ixed f arming e conomy o f E astern E ngland w as p roducing a s w ool a nd c orn p rices f luctuated . S ome s upport f or t he n otion t hat c attle w ere n ot p rimarily r aised f or m eat o r f or d airying m ay b e s een i n t he f act t hat c attle i n 9 th t o 1 5th c entury d eposits f rom Y ork a nd L incoln s how a d istribution o f a ge a t d eath a typical o f e ither p roduction r egime . F itting c alendar a ges t o o bserved d ental e ruption a nd a ttrition d ata i s n otoriously d ifficult, a nd a ny r econstruction o f a ge d istribution i n c attle m andibles m ust b e a pproached w ith c aution . H owever , t he g reat m ajority o f s pecimens a re u sually f rom a dult c attle , t hough n ot o f a ny g reat a ge : t he l ower t hird m olar i s i n w ear , b ut n ot h eavily w orn . I t i s a lso u sually t he c ase t hat t he l aterf using l imb b one e piphyses a re m ostly f used , t hough t he v ertebral c entra a re o ften u nfused . C onverting t his i nto a pproximate a ges , t hrough t he m edieval p eriod i n b oth c ities i t w as a pparently u nusual t o s laughter c attle b efore t heir f ourth y ear , a nd u nusual t o k eep t hem b eyond t heir e ighth o r n inth y ear . A d airy h erd w ould b e e xpected t o p roduce a s urplus o f m ale c alves f or s laughter a s v eal . A s T able 1 s hows , s uch a p attern o f s laughter h as b een r ecorded i n l ate -a nd p ost-medieval d eposits i n Y ork , t hough n ot b efore . a ges o f

T row S mith ( 1957 7 0) a ttempts t o r econstruct t he t ypical r ange o f a p lough-ox t eam a round t he t ime o f D omesday . H is c onclusions

1 5

A C oppergate l ate 9 th-early 1 th c en.

3

3

1 6

7 3

1 58

4 3

0

3

2

5

3 3

1 0

0

4

1

1

1 6

1

0

1 6

0

0

1 6

0

C oppergate 1 2th-13th c en. A ldwark 1 5th-16th c en. A ldwark 1 7th c en.

T able 1 .

A ge g rouping o f c attle mandibles f rom 1 6-22 C oppergate

a nd 1 -5 A ldwark s ites,

Y ork.

i ncludes n umerous v eal

c alves,

T he 1 7th c entury g roup f rom A ldwark p robably i ndicating t he b eginnings

o f c attle-based d airying w ithin t he c ity's c atchment a rea . P = p erinatal J = j uvenile: I = i mmature:

n ot n ewborn, b ut f irst p ermanent m olar n ot i n w ear. f irst m olar i n w ear, b ut s econd m olar n ot i n w ear.

S = s ubadult:

s econd m olar i n w ear,

b ut t hird m olar n ot i n w ear.

A = a dult: t hird m olar i n w ear, b ut n ot h eavily w orn. E = e lderly: h eavy w ear o n t hird m olar, i .e. d entine e xposed o n t he d istal

c olumn.

1 6

w ould g ive a p lough-ox p opulation p redominantly c omposed o f f our t o e ight o r n ine y ear-old b easts ,

s o t he a ge d istribution o f c attle

s een i n m edieval

s amples w ould n ot b e i nconsistent w ith t he m ajority h aving b een o btained f rom m ixed f arms a s s tock s urplus t o , o r r etired f rom , t he p lough t eam . T he i ncreased u se o f c attle f or d airying , a nd t hus t he a ppearance .o f v eal i n t he u rban m eat s upply , t owards t he e nd o f t he m edieval p eriod h as b een d etected i n b one s amples f rom Y ork ( Table 1 ), w here a n i ncrease i n t he p roportion o f y oung c alves ( stage J ) c an b e s een i n t he A ldwark s amples . I t h as a lso b een n oted i n E xeter ( Maltby 1 979 , 3 2) a nd L ondon ( Armitage 1 983) . W hitlock ( 1965 1 06-7) l inks t his t rend , s omewhat i ngeniously , w ith . t he i ncreased u se o f h orses f or h aulage , s uggesting t hat t he c aw ' .had t o f ind a n ew e conomic j ustification f or i ts e xistence ' .

L IVESTOCK I N T OWN H OUSEHOLDS C loser t o h ome ,

a nd p erhaps m ore c ontrollable b y u rban d emand , w ould

h ave b een t he l ivestock k ept o n o rchards, s mallholdings a nd b ackyards i mmediately a round a nd w ithin t he t own . T his s ource o f f ood m ay h ave b een i ndependent o f t he n etwork o f p roduction a nd t rade b ased o n f arms i n t he r ural h interland , a nd i ts c onstituents m ay t hus g ive a b etter i mpression o f t he t astes a nd n eeds o f t he u rban p opulation . N ot a ll l ivestock c an b e k ept i n a t own , o f c ourse . A part f rom t he o dd d airy c ow o r e we , i t s eems u nlikely t hat R oman o r m edieval t owns s upported p opulations o f c attle o r s heep . H owever , g oats , p igs , f owls a nd g eese a re a ll a menable t o b eing k ept i n f airly r estricted s urroundings , f ed o n s uch d iverse m atter a s u rban r efuse c an p rovide a nd c onstituting a c onvenient s upply o f c heese , m eat a nd e ggs . F or t he u rban h ouseholder , t he g oat m ust h ave r epresented a u seful r esource , w ith a l ong l actation p eriod p roviding m ilk i n m odest b ut r eliable q uantities . T here a re d ifficulties w ith t he i nterpretation o f g oat b ones i n u rban c ontexts . G oat h orn w as a v alued r aw m aterial i n t he p ast , a nd a ccumulations o f g oat h orncores , o ften a ssociated w ith t hose o f c attle , a re n ot u ncommon i n u rban c ontexts ( eg . s ee O 'Connor 1 984 ; M acGregor t his v olume ) . F rom Y ork a lone , f ive s ites o f lth13th c entury d ate h ave t hus f ar p roduced c oncentrations o f g oat h orncores . H owever , w hen c onsidering g oat r emains i n t he c ontext o f f ood , i t i s d esirable t hat t he m ain c arcass b ones a re q uantified , w hich c an o nly b e d one w here s eparate i dentification o f s heep a nd g oat i s m ade c onsistently o n aw ide r ange o f s keletal e lements . T he r ole o f t he p ig a s a d evice f or c onverting g arbage t o m eat , a nd t hus a s a c onvenient a djunct t o t he h uman h ousehold , i s w ell d ocumented ( Dudley S tamp 1 969 , 1 51) . Ap ig b eing f attened f or t he b utcher c an b e k ept i n ar elatively s mall s pace , a lthough t he b reeding o f p igs i mposes g reater r equirements o f s pace a nd s helter . ( For a g ood a ccount o f ' low t echnology ' p ig r earing , s ee B lake 1 956 .) A lthough m edieval p ractice i n Y ork a nd L incoln w ould s eem t o h ave b een t o s laughter p igs o nly w hen t hey w ere a t l east a y ear o ld ( O 'Connor 1 982, 3 3-4), Y ork s ites h ave p roduced s mall n umbers o f b ones o f f oetal a nd n eonatal p igs . T his s uggests t hat i n 9 th t o 1 3th c entury Y ork , a t l east , s ome b reeding o f p igs t ook p lace i n b ackyards a nd o pen s paces a round t he c ity . T he a bsence o f y oung p iglet b ones f rom L incoln s ites i s p robably a n a rtefact o f r ecovery : t he g reat m ajority o f s pecimens f rom Y ork a re r ecovered b y s ieving s oil s amples , a nd t his a pproach h as n ot g enerally b een a dopted o n e xcavations i n L incoln . T he r outine u se o f s ieving o n s ites i n Y ork h as a lso m ade c lear t he a mount o f f ragmented e gg s hell, m ost o f i t a pparently f rom h ens ' e ggs , w hich w as i ncorporated i n u rban d eposits a t a ll p eriods . T he e xtent t o w hich e ggs w ere u sed i n m edieval c uisine , i n p articular , t ends t o b e u nderestimated . S ources s uch

1 7

R atio o f s heep f ragments :cattle f ragments

2 .5

Y ork s ites

2 .0

1 .5

L incoln s ites

1 .0

0 .5

0

F igure 1 .

1 000

1 200

1 400

1 600

1 800 A .D .

G raph t o s how t he m arked i ncrease i n s heep b ones c ompared t o c attle b ones a t s ites i n Y ork a nd L incoln d ated b etween t he 1 0th a nd 1 8th c enturies . T he d ata a re d erived f rom l arge a ssemblages o f u nspecialised u rban d ebris . T he p rocedure u sed , a s imple c omparison o f c ounts o f i dentified f ragments , c an b e c riticised o n m ethodological g rounds , b ut i t i s a dequate t o s how t he r elative i ncrease i n s heep b ones i n b oth c ities .

1 8

s ame

as Labarge (1965, 81-2 ) detail a level of egg consumption which seems frankly staggering to modern eyes. Domestic fowl were thus important to the diet, though not primarily as meat, and the yards and orchards which housed urban pigs probably sustained poultry as well. 10th - 11th century deposits in York have also yielded numerous specimens of honey bee (Apis mellifera), a reminder that this animal was important as the producer of The city and its immediate honey to swe eten food, as well as of wax. environs thus provided a second source of food, probably producing a different suite of resources to the farms, and better placed to respond to local needs and demands. HUNTING AND FISHING The third source of animal based foods in Roman and medieval towns can be described as hunting, though hunting-gathering might be a more accurate term. It is �n this category of animal-based foods that the urban cash economy will have been most effective. Whereas with a rural subsistence community the selection of wild species which can be exploited wil 1 be limited by local availability, the urban market could draw in resources from a much greater area, �nd thus a greater diversity of habitats. The limitation on which species of game, wildfowl and fish were offered for sale in Roman and medieval towns was not so much what was available as how much the citizens were prepared to pay for a particular product. To use a contemporary analogy, both potatoes and black olives are sold in York today. The olives are imported and thus expensive, but the demand is sufficient that the market wil 1: support the necessarily high price, and it is thus worthwhile for grocers and delicatessens to import them. Potatoes are locally available and cheap: if the price were to be raised to a level comparable with that of olives, few people would buy them. The controlling factor is the value which the urban market places on the product. If a high enough price could be commanded, the extensive trading links of Roman and medieval towns could provide the consumer with almost anything. To some extent, then, the diversity of hunted species consumed in a town at a given period could be taken as an index of wealth. York is probably typical of English medieval towns in that hunted resources represent only a minor element in the food supply. Only certain species of fish, notably herring (Clupea harengus) and eel ( Anguilla anguilla), seem to have been consumed in sufficient quantities to be seen as part of the staple diet. Wild mannnals and birds are consistently present in archaeological deposits in the city, but in such small quantities as to indicate that they were only used as an occasional variation in the diet, and certainly not as a resource which was relied upon. Changes in the range of fish species consumed in the city between the 9th and 13th centuries show a progressive widening of the catchment from which fish were In the 9th and early 10th centuries, obtained (A.K.G. Jones pers. connn.). the exploitation was fairly local to the city, concentrating on river and estuarine species. Small cyprinid river fish were eaten in quantity, despite their somewhat questionable palatability, and eels were an abundant, probably locally available resource. From the mid-lOth century onwards, herrings figure ever more commonly in the food debris, to be joined in the 11th and 12th centuries by cod (Gadus morhua) as the fishery extended into inshore wa ters. Later in the medieval period there is evidence of a further extension, as haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus) and ling (Molva sp.) bones become more common. Over the course of five centuries, then, the exploitation of fish in York changed from opportunistic catching of whatever 19

NORTH YORK MOORS dissected plateaux to 400 m.

YORKSHIRE WOLDS undulating chalk hills to 250 m. NORTH SEA

Figure 2.

Sketch map of East Yorkshire to show the relationship of York to coastlin e and major rivers. The steep, rocky shores formed where chalk outcrops at the coast provide suitable habitats for edible crabs, imported to York in the Roman period, and auks, imported during the llth - 13th centuries. As fishing boats from York probably exploited the Humber estuary for oysters, mussels and inshore fish, it is uncertain whether the crabs and auks were transported overland or by sea and river.

20

could be had in the local rivers to an organised trade in fish from North Sea waters. By contrast with the fish, the exploitation of wild birds and mannnals in York shows little major change between the second and 15t4 centuries, with duck and goose species, hare (Lepus europaeus) and roe deer (Capreolus One minor change in the capreolus) being eaten at al 1 periods. exploitation of coastal resources may, however, serve as an example of market demand rather than availability affecting the food supply of the town. Amongst the diverse coastal and estuarine habitats within the catchment area of York, the East coast between Flamborough Head and Filey has extensive areas of exposed rocky shore backed by steep chalk cliffs (Figure 2). The rocky shore supports populations of edible crab (Cancer pagurus) , whilst the cliffs provide nesting habitats for a variety of seabirds. Crab shell is a conman find in soil samples of Roman date: in a recent study of 2nd-3rd century deposits, crab shell was identified in about one-third of all soil samples (O'Connor, 1986a). Clearly there was sufficient demand for this commodity in the Roman town to justify transporting crabs from the coast, either by an overland journey of around 50km or by travelling well over twice that distance by sea. In medieval deposits, however, crab shell is scarce, and it is clear that there was much less demand for the product, insufficient to support a regular trade, despite substantial exploitation of inshore fish and oysters (Ostrea edulis) . Instead, 11th - 13th century deposits contain the bones of another food resource from the same stretch of coast, namely guillemots Within the last few centuries, (Uria aalge) and razorbills (Alea torda). there has been a tradition of exploiting seabirds for meat, eggs and feathers in East Yorkshire, and it seems likely that this resource was always important to coastal connnunities (Allison 1985, 181-2). It is only during a relatively short period of perhaps 200 years, however, that auk bones are found in archaeological deposits in York. Evidently there was a demand for this particular delicacy for a while, but it is notable that the trade in seabirds was not accompanied by a trade in crabs from the same stretch of coast. CONCLUSIONS Animal-based food remains from urban sites must be seen as the product of a complex of interlinked but discrete economic systems. Different products we re obtained from different sources, with market demand determining to some extent what came into the towns, and constraints linked to the requirements of wool and arable production also having an effect. As the bulk of the meat consumed in Roman and medieval towns in lowland England appears to have been obtained from cattle and sheep, it can be argued that the population of a particular town could only directly influence the minority component, that obtained from stock kept immediately within and around the towns and from hunting and fishing. From the 12th century onwards, and perhaps also during the 3rd-4th centuries (Hoskins 1955), the number of sheep and cattle available in the rural economy to feed the towns was determined to a large extent by the woollen industry, arguably the engine which powered the economy of medieval England. Changes in the relative proportions of these two species observed in urban bone debris are thus likely to provide information on a regional scale rather than a local one. Spatial heterogeneity in the distribution of distinctive 'suites' of cattle and sheep bones within a single phase of urban development, on the other hand, may allow discrimination of high and low status areas, 21

i ndustrial q uarters f rom r esidential a reas , a nd s o o n . I t i s i n t he c hanges w ithin t he ' smallholding ' a nd h unted s pecies t hat m ost

i nformation

d irectly

r elevant

t o

t he

t own w ill

l ie .

S ocial

s tratification m ay b e a pparent i f c ertain p arts o f a t own s how a m arkedly g reater r eliance o n l ocally a vailable , p erhaps ' ha re-grown% p roduce t han o thers . T he p urchasing p ower o f d istricts o f a t own , o r e ven o f i ndividual h ouseholds , w ill b e s hown c learly i n t he r ange o f h unted a nd f ished s pecies e xploited ( see I jzereef , t his v olume ) . A lthough t he s pecies r epresented w ill t o s ome e xtent r eflect t he s urrounding e nvironment , t he a bility o f u rban m arkets t o d raw i n g oods f rom f ar a field m ust b e b orne i n m ind . T he r ecent d iscovery o f g arden d ormouse ( Eliomys q uercinus) b ones i n R oman d eposits i n Y ork h as s erved a s a t imely r eminder o f h ow f ar e xotic s pecies m ay b e d eliberately o r a ccidentally t ransported ( O 'Connor 1 986b ) . T he r emains o f a nimals e xploited f or f ood a re o ften a bundant o n u rban a rchaeological

s ites,

a nd

t heir p otential a s s ources o f s ocio-economic

e vidence i s c onsiderable . L ong-distance t rade a nd i nteracting m arket f orces w ill p roduce m any p itfalls, h owever , a nd a s traightforward i nterpretation o f r esults w ill b e e ither u nwise o r i mpossible . P erhaps t he m ost p ressing n eed i n u rban b one s tudies i s t o b e a ble t o m odel t he u rban e conomy i n s ufficient d etail

t o b e a ble t o p redict w hat b one d ebris m ight

h ave f allen o ut o f i t a t d ifferent t imes a nd p laces.

R EFERENCES ALLISON ,

E .P .

( 1985)

s even s ites i n Y ork . A RMITAGE ,

P .L .

A n a rchaeozoological s tudy o f b ird b ones f rom

D . P hil . t hesis , U niversity o f Y ork . ( 1983)

F aunal

R emains ,

I n T hompson ,

A . ,

G rew ,

F .

a nd

S chofield , J , E xcavations a t A ldgate 1 974 . T ransactions o f t he L ondon a nd M iddlesex A rchaeological S ociety , 1 29150 . B LAKE ,

N .

D UDLEY

( 1956)

S TAMP ,

T he P ioneering P ig ,

L .

( 1969 )

L ondon :

M an a nd t he L and .

F aber a nd F aber . L ondon :

C ollins ,

N ew

N aturalist S eries . H EWITT ,

H .J .

( 1929 )

M edieval C heshire .

C hetham S ociety P ublication

8 8 . H OPKINS , A D) .

K .

( 1980 )

T axes a nd t rade i n t he R oman E mpire ( 200 B C -400

J ournal o f R oman S tudies , H OSKINS,

L ondon :

( 1955)

1 01125 .

S heep F arming i n S axon a nd M edieval E ngland .

W ool E ducation S ociety .

L ABARGE, L ondon :

W .G .

7 0 ,

M .W .

( 1965)

A B aronial H ousehold o f t he 1 3th C entury .

E yre a nd S pottiswoode .

MALTBY, S heffield :

J .M.

( 1979)

The Animal B ones f rom Exeter 1 9711975 .

U niversity o f S heffield , E xeter A rchaeological R eports v ol . 2 .

2 2

M ALTBY , J .M .

( 1984)

A nimal b ones a nd t he R omano-British e conomy .

A nimals a nd A rchaeology : C lutton-Brock . O 'CONNOR , 1 500 .

O xford :

B ritish A rchaeological R eports S 227 ,

T .P . ( 1982)

A rchaeology

I n

4 H usbandry i n E urope, e d . C . G rigson a nd J .

Animal

o f L incoln

1 25-138 .

b ones f rom F laxengate, L incoln c 8701 8(1) .

L ondon :

C ouncil

f or B ritish

A rchaeology. O 'CONNOR,

T .P.

( 1 9 84)

S keldergate a nd W almgate .

S elected Groups

A rchaeology

o f

Y ork

o f Animal B ones f rom

1 5(1) .

L ondon :

C ouncil

f or B ritish A rchaeology . O 'CONNOR ,

T .P .

( 1 9 86A )

Mollusca a nd o ther s hell f ragments f rom t he

G eneral A ccident E xtension s ite, Y ork ( 19 83-4, L aboratory R eport n o .

O 'CONNOR , T .P . ( 1 9 86B)

O 'CONNOR ,

T .P .

R IVET ,

A .L .F .

V illa i n B ritain , 2 16 .

A ncient

M onuments

T he g arden d ormouse E liomys q uercinus f rom

R oman Y ork , J ournal o f Z oology , L ondon ,

A rchaeology o f Y ork

3 2) .

4 768 .

2 10 ,

6 20-622 .

( 19 88 )

B ones f rom t he G eneral A ccident E xtension S ite ,

1 5(2) .

L ondon : C ouncil f or B ritish A rchaeology .

( 19 69 )

S ocial a nd e conomic a spects .

e d . A .L .F . R ivet ,

L ondon :

I n T he R oman

R outledge a nd K egan P aul,

1 73-

1 700 ,

T ROW S MITH , R . ( 1 9 57) A H istory o f B ritish L ivestock H usbandry t o L ondon : R out l edge a nd K egan P aul .

J ohn

W HITLOCK , B aker .

R .

( 1 9 65)

A S hort H istory o f F arming i n B ritain ,

2 3

L ondon :

T HE P ROVISION O F F OWLS A ND F ISH F OR T OWNS J ennie C oy

I NTRODUCTION T his p aper d iscusses t he r etrieval a nd a nalysis o f b ird a nd f ish b ones f rom r ecent a rchaeological s alvage w ork i n t owns i n C entral S outhern E ngland . T he F aunal R emains U nit ( F .R .U .) w as s et u p a t S outhampton i n J anuary 1 975 a s t he F aunal R emains P roject . D uring t his t ime b ird a nd f ish b ones h ave b een s tudied a longside t hose o f t he d omestic a nd w ild m ammals . M uch o f t he m aterial

f or s tudy h as c ome f rom t owns a nd h as i ncluded m ajor

c ollections f rom R oman W inchester , S axon S outhampton ( lamwic ) ,

t he m edieval

t owns o f b oth , a nd m edieval a nd p ost-medieval c ollections f rom A lton , C hristchurch , N ewbury , P oole , R eading , R omsey a nd S alisbury . b eginning o n m aterial f rom R oman a nd m edieval D orchester .

W ork

i s

n ow

T HE R ETRIEVAL O F U RBAN F AUNAL S AMPLES S ampling S trategies A ll

t he b ones d iscussed h ere h ave c ome f rom r escue e xcavations w hich ,

t hrough u rgency a nd u ncertain f unding , r esearch d esign .

f rom e very

p roper u nderstanding

r ole o f

a re

t o

l imited

A dequate s ampling o f a ll t ypes o f c ontext a vailable a nd

t he s ieving o f s oil s amples s ieving

w ere o ften s ubject o nly

n eeded

o f

t he

t o g ain a f ull

l ayer h ave p roved e ssential

f ish a nd p icture .

b irds . W hereas

B oth t he

f or a

t rowelling a nd l atter

p icks

u p

s mall e lements o f l arge s pecies a nd n ew s mall s pecies , t he f ormer s amples a n e normous a mount o f s oil b y c omparison . I t i s e ssential w hen d esigning a b one r etrieval s trategy t o e nsure t hat t he v olume o f s oil s ieved c an b e e xpressed a s ap roportion o f t he t otal v olume o f t he c ontext .

R esults f rom

t hese t wo d ifferent m ethods o f e xcavating s hould a lso b e s eparable i n t he a rchive. S ome c ontexts w ill r equire f ar l ess s ieving t han o thers . B ellhouse ( forthcoming ) h ave s hown t hat f aunal

F inlayson a nd

f or a r epresentative

s ample

o f

r emains a nd p otsherds o n aN orth A merican I roquoian s ite 3 0%-35% o f

l arge m iddens n eed t o b e s ampled , 4 0%-45% o f m edium-sized m iddens , a nd s mall m iddens s hould b e t otally e xcavated . F or u rban d eposits

a n umber o f

s oil w hich n eeds t o b e s ieved .

f actors w ill

T hese i nclude

d etermine

t he a mount o f

t he t ype o f c ontext a nd i ts

t aphonomic h istory ( basically h ow f actors h ave a cted o n i t s ince d eposition ), t he variability w ithin a c ontext, a nd t he a mount t hat i s a lready k nown a bout t he t own f rom

p revious e xcavation .

I n aw ell-studied

t own w here r escue i s u rgent a nd p oorly f unded a n e xcavation m ay s et o ut t o a nswer o nly a l imited r ange o f q uestions a nd t hese q uestions s hould i nclude q uestions o f e nvironmental i mportance i f t hey a re t o b e b roadly-based . B ut i t s hould b e r emembered t hat t o s et t hese q uestions i n c ontext t here n eeds t o b e a c omparability w ith p revious w ork i n t hat t own o r e lsewhere a nd t hat i f t he s ampling a ims a re t oo n arrow , o ne c an l ose t he a bility t o a nswer a r ange o f e nvironmental q uestions .

2 5

E nvironmental S trategy a nd P roject M anagement 1 .

B efore a nd D uring E xcavation .

I n v iew o f a ll t hese f actors i t i s o bvious t hat t he s trategy m ay n eed t o b e a djusted a s t he e xcavations p roceed , a lthough i t h elps t he e xcavator a nd a ssistants f ish i n W essex

i f t here i s a c lear d efault s trategy . O ne f or b irds a nd h as b een t o r etrieve 5 l itre s oil s amples f rom e very l ayer

o f

e xcavated ,

a ny

f eature

o r

f rom a n a greed

s ub-sample o f

f eatures ,

w ith

m uch s maller s amples w here m aterial i s w aterlogged. W ith c onsistent m ethods

t he w ork i n a t own b ecomes c umulative a nd t he

q uestions b ecome q uite d ifferent . I n t he e arly s tages t hey m ight s imply b e : " What s pecies a re p resent?" , " What s ize w ere t he f ish?" , " Were t he w ild b irds e aten?" . s tatus?" ,

M ore r efined q uestions ,

s uch a s " Was t his h ousehold o f h igh

w ill e merge w hen a v ariety o f c ontext t ypes h as b een s ampled .

I t

i s i mportant t o s tress t hat , u ntil t he g roundwork h as b een d one i n a t own , r efined q uestions c annot b e t ackled . ntensive s tudy o f s oil s amples I n S outhampton i n t he p ast m ost o f t he i h as b een i n t he M iddle S axon t own ( Hamwic ) .

T hese h ave c overed a w ide r ange

o f

p reservation s o t hat r efined

c ontextual

v ariability a nd

t ypes

o f

1 , & f orthcoming ) . I n m edieval q uestions a re n ow p ossible ( Bourdillon s a ctivities a re m ore v ariable t owns , h owever , v ariability i s m ore c omplex a a nd m ore l ocalised. T his

i s

o nly

o ne

r eason f or b ringing t ogether t he e nvironmental

s pecialists b efore e xcavation , h owever b riefly , t o d iscuss t he s trategy i n a dvance . I t i s a dvantageous i f t rial e xcavation o r a ssessments o f s ome k ind c an t ake

p lace

i n o rder

m ain e xcavation . s amples .

t o

f orecast m ore a ccurately

M any s pecialists p refer t o t ake t heir

T here

r equirements

f or

t he

D uring t hese s tages i t c an b e d ecided w ho w ill s hare

a re a n umber o f p itfalls

O WL

i n s ample

t aking w hich o nly

t he

s pecialists o r t heir c ontact o n s ite m ay k now a nd, d espite t he n eed t o e mploy a s tandardised m ethodology o ver a p eriod o f t ime , w e a re a ll l earning a ll t he t ime . A ny e xcavation t eam w ill b enefit f rom e ven a b rief c ontact w ith s pecialists a s i t w ill m ake t heir w ork m ore i nteresting a nd t he e xcavation m ore r elevant .

T his i s a s mall e xtra c ost w hich m ust b e b uilt

i nto t he o verall c ost o f u rban e xcavations i f w e a re t o g ain n ew k nowledge f rom

t hem . I n l arge u nits i t i s n ecessary t o h ave a f ull-time e nvironmental

l iaison w orker w ho t ies s pecialist n eeds

t o d ay

E nvironmental

a re o nly o ne g roup i n t oday 's

s pecialists ,

a lthough v aried ,

c omplex u rban a rchaeology a nd

t he b ulk s amples

t o d ay w ork o n s ite .

t aken w ith

f ish a nd

s eeds

p rimarily i n m ind o ften y ield i mportant i nformation f or t he c eramicist , b one f inds s pecialist , a nd e xperts o n m etal-working a nd o ther t echnologies . T his w as m ade

s trikingly

c lear

d uring w ork

o n

t he

P it

P roject

u ndertaken b y

S arah C olley a nd I BM ( UK ) R esearch a t H amwic w here t he c ontents o f a M iddle S axon p it w ere t otally s ieved t hrough l mm m esh a nd t he p osition o f t housands o f a rtefacts r ecorded t hree 1 988 ; C olley , f orthcoming ) . W ith

t he

s pecialist

d imensionally

( Colley,

T odd

& C ampling

l iaison a nd s ieving a nd s orting a rrangements s et

u p , e arly e valuation o f af ew s amples w hile t he e xcavation i s s till o n w ill l ead

t o

a m ore

r elevant

s ampling

2 6

p rogramme .

I deally,

s ieving a nd

a ssessment o f s oil s amples s hould k eep u p w ith t he e xcavation .

A lthough

l ong t erm r escue u nits m ay h ave a f airly c lear i dea o f w hat i s n eeded a nd h ave a s tandard s et o f p rocedures f or b ulk s ampling a nd p rocessing ( e .g . C ottrell f orthcoming), o n n ew s ites o r w ith n ew t ypes o f c ontext i t i s i mpossible t o l ay d own a d etailed s trategy u ntil y ou c an s ee w hat i s c oming u p . I t m ay b e d ecided t hat t oo m uch s oil h as b een s aved a nd t hat i s s hould n ot a ll b e s ieved . T his s ort o f d ecision i s o nly p ossible w hen s ieving i s k eeping u p w ith e xcavation s o t hat l ikely f inds c an b e q uickly s canned . I t i s s o m uch e asier t o s tore p rocessed f lots a nd r esidues t han b ags o f s oil t hat a n e fficient s ieving p rogramme i s e ssential . W ith s ome k inds o f p reservation , h owever , -waterlogging o r m ineralisation decisions m ust b e m ade e arly o n h ow m uch t o s ave a s t heir p rocessing a nd a nalysis c an b e f ar m ore l abour i ntensive . W ith a r apid t hroughput a t t he s ieves m ore f lots a nd r esidues m ay s ometimes b e p röduced t hat n eed t o b e s tudied i n d etail, a nd i t i s b etter t o a sk t he s pecialist t o d o a q uick s can t han t o a sk u ntrained w orkers s pend h ours s orting o ut w hat m ay b e i rrelevant.

t o

T he w orst k ind o f u rban a rchaeology f or a n u nderstanding o f t he r ole o f b irds a nd f ish i s t hat w hich r elegates s pecialists t o t he p ost-excavation p hase .

2 .

P ost-Excavation T he p ost-excavation s tage i tself n eeds c areful p lanning a nd c lose c o-

o peration b etween e nvironmental s pecialists a nd o thers i nvolved . B ird

a nd f ish b ones f rom d ifferent

t ypes o f c ontexts m ay h ave q uite

d ifferent o rigins a nd i t i s i mportant t o k now a s m uch a s p ossible a bout t he l ikely f ormation p rocesses b efore s tudy o f t he b ones .

i nvolved i n a p articular b uild u p o f d eposit O nce e xamined t he b ones m ay o r m ay n ot f it t his

p icture a nd c an s ometimes

l ead t o r econsideration o f t he p rovisional

a rchaeological c onclusions f or a c ontext . T he b ones m ay p rovide e vidence f or t he o rigin o f t he d eposit n ot s hown b y t he o ther f inds , f or e xample , t hat i t c ontains c esspit m aterial . T hey m ay s how u p e vidence f or r esiduality o r c ontamination t hat e ither s upports o r d oes n ot s upport t he p icture f rom c eramics . S ometimes t his w ork m ay . n eed d etailed d iscussion b etween t he s pecialists a bout t he s tratigraphy a nd p hasing . Ar ecent e xample s hows h ow t echniques m ust b e a djusted t o t he s ite a nd i ts p rime a rchaeological q uestions . I n a s tudy o f s oil s amples f rom t he m edieval f ish m arket a t S t . M ichaels , S outhampton , o ur d eliberations w ere h andicapped b y o ur i gnorance o f w hat o rdinary o ccupational d ebris i n m edieval S outhampton s hould l ook l ike ! ( Coy & H amilton-Dyer , f orthcoming ) . O nly a s mall a mount o f m aterial f rom s omewhat s pecialised c ontexts h ad e ver r eceived s imilar t reatment i n S outhampton ( Hillman , f orthcoming , C oy, f orthcoming) a nd t he m ain b ulk o f s amples f rom-excavations o n m edieval s ites s till r emains t o b e s tudied . A s w e w ere w orking i n t he d ark w e t herefore l ooked a t s ome v ery l arge s amples , f rom t wo e xtensive c ontexts w hich w ere t hought b y t he e xcavator t o b e c ontemporary l evels o f t he f ish m arket i tself . B ecause t hey w ere e xtensive c ontexts s everal s tandard s amples h ad b een t aken w hich a imed t o s ample a ny h orizontal v ariation i n t he m aterial .

2 7

Species

No.Fragments

H orse Cattle S heep/Goat(Goat) P ig D og Cat Fowl Goose

W eight

4 9 2 3,896 1 4,606(130) 6 ,953 2 3 1 44 8 00 3 53

i n

K g

MNI overall*

4 .4 5 87.9 1 28.1(7) 9 4.8 0 .2 0 .1 1 .4 1 .3

M NI C umulative**

5 2 11 2 65 1 92 4 1 3 6 3 1 6

2 1 4 22 4 80(59) 3 86 9 2 5 1 99 1 02

* M inimum Number I ndividuals f or M elbourne S treet a s a whole * *Minimum Number a s a c umulative t otal o f s eparate f eatures

T able 1 .

D omestic

a nimals

f rom M elbourne

S treet,

H amwic .

normal r ecovery

D asyatis p astinaca, s tingray R aja s p, mostly t hornback Anguilla anquilla, c ommon e el Conger c onger, c onger e el C lupeidae, herring f amily ( mostly h erring) P ossible C yprinid, c arp f amily Gadus morhua, cod M elanoqrammus a eqlefinus, h addock Merlanqius merlanqius, whiting Trisopterus l uscus, b ib Pollachius virens, s aithe P ollachius s pecies, s aithe o r p ollack Molva molva, l ing Gadidae, cod f amily Merluccius merluccius, h ake B elone b elone, g arfish Atherina presbyter, s and s melt T riglidae, gurnards D icentrarchus l abrax, b ass Labridae, wrasses S comber s combrus, mackerel P leuronectidae, ( plaice, f lounder o r dab) Unidentified f ish f ragments

T able 2 .

F ish

f ragments

w ere r ecovered g adoids . s ieving ,

A t

f rom

S t .

Michael 's,

i n t he t rench ,

l east

1 2

a dditional

2 8

1 12 1 37 3 4 2 3 49 1 1 1 1 2 6 5 4

5

9 1 4

2 1 7 1 1

1 3 5 4 5 2 1 4 0 1 1 8 1 28 2 828

3 2

S outhampton .

S even

s pecies

m ostly h addock a nd t he o ther l arge s pecies w ere o nly

i ncluding e el a nd h erring ,

o f b ones w ere p resent.

s ieving

r ecovered

b y

f rom w hich t he g reater n umber

A fter l ooking a t a s ub-sample w e d ecided o n t he b asis o f a s can t hat t o l ook a t m ore w ould r eveal n o f urther i nformation r elevant

t o

t he

i mmediate q uestions . B ut t he b alance o f t he s ieved m aterial r emains i f f urther r esources a llow a d etailed e xamination o f , f or e xample , f ish s izes , o r i f n ew l ight i s t hrown o n t hese d eposits b y f uture e xamination o f m aterial f rom , f or e xample , c ontemporary d omestic c ontexts . O ur

c onclusions

a bout

t he

f ish m arket

a re

s till

t entative b ut

t his

d etailed w ork c an n ow s erve a s ab asis f or a ny f uture f ish w ork i n m edieval scan ' s ieved m aterial a s S outhampton a nd h as a lready l ed t o a n a bility t o ' w e h ave d one f or s ome y ears f or t he c ommon u ngulates ( Bourdillon n .d .2, n .d .3 , c ompare O 'Connor , t his v olume ) . S uch s ub-sampling a nd s canning c an c ut d own t he a mount o f l abour-intensive s orting , e specially w here i t i nvolves p icking o ut s mall f ish b ones u nder a b inocular m icroscope , b ut i t m ust b e o rganised b y s tructured s pecialist c losely .

s ampling

t echniques

a nd i nvolve

t he

T HE E VIDENCE F OR F OWL I N T OWNS T he C ollins d ictionary d efines ' fowl ' a s ' domestic f owl ' o r ' any o ther b ird ( esp . a ny g allinaceous b ird ) t hat i s u sed a s f ood o r h unted a s ga me ' . Is hall c oncentrate m ainly b ut n ot e xclusively o n t he d omestic f owl i tself a nd t he i mportance o f i ts r emains i n a rchaeological i nterpretation g enerally . I n c onnection w ith ' game ' I s hall m ake s ome r eference t o f alconry .

T he R ise i n I mportance o f D omestic F owl T he c ommon d omestic f owl o r c hicken ( Gallus g allus) ,

t hought t o b e a

d omestic f orm o f o ne o r m ore o f t he A sian j ungle f owl, i s t he m ost c ommon b ird f ind i n u rban s ites i n W essex . T here i s a l ittle e vidence o f f owl i n W essex i n t he L ate I ron A ge , f or e xample , f rom t he L ate ( b ) p hase a t D anebury ( 300100/50 B .C .) , a nd i t i s p resumed t o h ave b een i ntroduced f rom m ainland E urope ( Coy 1 983i ; C oy 1 984 ; H arcourt 1 979 ; M altby 1 981) . B y

t he

i st a nd 2 nd c enturies l i b i n W essex i t p rovides o ver h alf t he

b ird b ones f ound . D omestic f owl a verages o ut a t 6 0-75% o f b ird b ones f rom R oman , S axon , a nd e arly m edieval W inchester d eposits. B ut t he n umber o f d omestic f owl f ragments i s n ot u sually a s h igh a s t he n umber o f d omestic u ngulate f ragments . T able 1 s hows t his f or M elbourne S treet , S axon S outhampton ( Bourdillon & C oy 1 980 ) . I t a lso s hows t he r atios o f t he m ain s pecies a mong t he m aterial p reserved . A t t his s ite B ourdillon c alculated t hat a t l east 9 6% b y n umber , a nd p erhaps a s m uch a s 9 9% b y w eight d id n ot s urvive ( Bourdillon 1 979 ) .

D omestic F owl B ones a s aM ethodological T ool T he

r emains

o f f owl

o n s ites m ay b e u sed t o

s et u p a m odel

f or

i nvestigating d isposal s trategies a s a n a lternative t o t he m ore c ommonly u sed o nes i nvolving u ngulate b ones ( e .g . Maltby 1 985) . T his h as s ome a dvantages w hich a re d etailed b elow :

2 9

1 . 1 5

9 ( hen •c ock 0 castrate? B b antam

0

•

c ocks y 0 . 55x + 0 . 10

OB

c ast r a te s? y . 0 . 65x-0. 10

*

*•

** e* ) 65

* *

* * *

1 . 03

*

* ** **

*B

1 . 7

F igure 1 .

h ens 0 .26x+ 0 . 59

1 . 8 l og , g reatest

1 . 9 l ength

S ize g roups o f d omestic f owl f rom R a mie . . t he t arsometatarsus i s p lotted a gainst C oy , 1 9831) . 3 0

L og g reatest l ength o f

l og p roximal b readth ( from

1 .

I dentifiability t o S pecies P rovided t hat t he p resence o f p heasant ( e .g . P hasianus c olchicus),

g uinea

f owl

( Lyrurus

( Numida m eleagris ),

t urkey

te tr ix) , c apercai 11i e

( Meleagris g allopavo ) ,

( Tetra( )

b lack

u roga 1lus ), and

g ame

p eacock

( Pavo c ristatus) c an b e e xcluded ( and f or t his i t i s n ecessary t o h ave a ccess t o a g ood m odern c omparative c ollection ) ah igher p roportion o f f owl b ones c an b e i dentified t o s pecies t han u ngulate b ones . T his b ones a nd k nife

p henomenon i s t heir

c uts .

c aused

b y

l ack o f c hopping ,

t he

r elatively

s mall

s ize

b utchery n ormally b eing

( They a re h owever m ore

f ragile

t han b ones

i n

o f

o f

t he

t he

f owl

f orm o f

u ngulates

a nd

w hen t he f ragments o f b ird b one f rom s ieving a re i ncluded q uite d ifferent n umbers w ill b e o btained . )

2 . M easurements P rovided

.

t hen t hat

f rom o ther f inds

t he b ird

t hey a re m ore

b ones

a re

o ften w hole

s eparated s o

t hat

a s

s oon a s p ossible

c omparative

s izes

a nd

s tatures a re m ore r eadily o btainable f or a c omparison o f s ites a nd p eriods . S izes d o c hange , h owever ;

f or e xample s ome R oman a nd P ost-medieval

l ayers

p rovided v ery l arge c hicken b ones . T he s tudy o f c hanges i n f owl s ize i s i n i ts i nfancy c ompared w ith t he l arge

a mount

u nuglates . m ost

o f

w ork o n

t he

c hanges

t hrough

t ime

o f

t he

c ommon d omestic

L og/log g raphs , w hich h ave b een u sed i n F igure 1 , a re p robably

u seful

f or m onitoring

s ize

v ariations

a t

p resent

b ut

a s

w e

a cquire

l arge d atabases m ore s ophisticated s tatistical m ethods m ay b e u seful . C hange i n s ize i n d omestic a nimals a re c omplex , w ith i ncreases i n s ize b eing d ue t o a n a malgam o f h eterosis ( hybrid v igour ) a nd c hanges i n c are a nd f eeding , a s w ell a s s election . F or e xample , s ome f owls w ere c omparable w ith m odern b antams a t H amwic ( Figure 1 ) ( Coy 1 983i ; B ourdillon & C oy 1 980 ) . W ork i n W essex s eems t o s uggest t hat

t here a re p eriods o f s ize c hange

i n f owls w hich m ay m irror u ngulate s ize c hanges .

O ne w ay a head m ay b e

c loser a nalysis o f r anges a nd m axima a s a n i ndicator o f h eterosis . C hanges i n p roportion m ight a lso b e w orth m onitoring e .g . , s ize o f l egs c ould b e a g uide t o f unction -l ayers s hort , f ighters a nd s itters l ong . T he s ternum m ight

b e

t he

b est

b one

t o m onitor a s

a n i ndicator

o f

s election f or m eat

v alue b ut i t i s o ften n ot p reserved .

3 .

C arcase T reatment a nd D istribution I ndividual

f owl

a re

m ore

l ikely

t o

h ave

b een

r eared ,

s laughtered ,

u tilised, a nd d iscarded w ithin a n i ndividual p roperty t han i ndividual u ngulates . T his i s m ore s ignificant f or t aphonomic a nalysis f or m edieval a nd p ost-medieval d eposits , w hen m any o f t he o ther s pecies m ay n ot g ive t his k ind o f e vidence . o f a n u ngulate,

T he s mall s ize o f t he f owl c arcase ,

c ompared w ith t hat

r educes t he a mount o f d istribution o r e xchange t hat i s

l ikely t o h ave o ccurred .

D ivision o f t he c arcase w ill b e l ess

w ill b utchery t hrough i ndividual b ones .

l ikely ,

a s

T aphonomically f owl t ell u s a bout

d ifferent p ost-depositional e vents f rom c attle b ones a nd w ill t herefore g ive d ifferent i nformation o n t he f ormation p rocesses o f c ontexts.

3 1

S ome o f t he i ndividual b one e lements s how d ifferent p ossibilities f or s urvival a nd d istribution . i n F igure 2 . H igh v alues h igh d egree o f r esiduality m ay h ave b een r emoved f rom

T he f or ( Coy t he

p rinciple b ones o f d omestic f owl a re s hown h umerus a nd u lna m ay o ften b e a s ign o f a 1 9831 ) . T he w ings h ave l ittle m eat o n a nd c arcase b efore p resentation , e specially i f

t hey w ere d amaged , a s i n s ome t russed b irds i n s upermarkets t oday . I n t his c ase t he c arpometacarpus w ould a lso b e d iscarded . I t i s r eadily r ecognizable ; h owever , b ecause o f i ts s maller s ize i t i s l ess l ikely t o b e r ecovered i n t rowelling t han t he h umerus a nd u lna . T he c oracoid o n t he o ther h and i s as turdy a nd d istinctive

b one a nd i s

m ore l ikely t o p rovide a n i ndex o f w hat h appened t o t he r est o f t he c arcase . T he f emur i s a g ood m eat b one a nd i mportant f or a nalysis o f e gg-laying a s d escribed b elow . T he a ttached t ibiotarsus o r ' drumstick ' p rovides a c onvenient a nd m anageable s nack i llustrated b y t he c urrent f ashion f or t urkey d rumsticks . N ot o nly i s i t t he l argest l ong b one o f t he b ody b ut t he d istal e nd o f t he b one p rovides a h andle f or e ating a nd p itching . A ll t hese f actors c ould e xplain d ifferences i n d eposition w hich a s y et r emain u nstudied . U rban H anwic s howed s ignificantly h igher v alues f or l eg b ones t han s ome o ther S axon s ettlements s tudied i n t he s ame w ay ( Coy 1 9831 ) . T he t arsometatarsus , i mportant f or s exing t he b irds , m ay s ometimes h ave b een r emoved b efore c ooking , a s i t i s o n s ome s pecies t oday . I t c ould i n s ome p eriods t herefore g ive e vidence o f f ood p reparation . i mportant f or i nvestigating f ood p reparation .

S ieving i s v ery

T his i s b rought o ut b y c ommon

f inds f rom s ome d eposits o f c ervical ( neck ) v ertebrae a nd t racheal ( windpipe ) r ings r etrieved o n t he s ieves , a nd t he d igits , b oth f rom w ings a nd f eet , a re m ainly r ecovered i n s ieving .

4 .

E vidence f or B reeding

T here i s d ocumentary e vidence f or b ackyard f owl b reeding f rom m edieval t owns ( Keene , 1 985) . A v ery l arge n umber o f f owls c an b e r eared i n a b ackyard i f t here i s p roper a ccommodation f or t hem a nd p lenty o f n earby p lant m aterial f or t hem t o f orage i n o r f or g athering . D etailed k nowledge o f f owl-rearing i s d ocumented f rom R oman t imes ( e .g . C olumella , R es r ustica V III ) a nd m edieval t exts a ppear t o b e f irmly b ased o n R oman o nes . F reer anging f owl w ere c ertainly r egarded a s ah azard b y m edieval W inchester c orn m erchants ( Keene 1 985) . T he m ajor a rchaeological e vidence f or b ackyard u rban f owl

r earing i s

t he o ccurrence o f b ones o f i mmature f owl a nd o f w hole , u nbutchered s keletons f rom c asualties . B reeding s tatus c an s ometimes b e d istinguished a mongst t he l atter f rom t he p resence o f m edullary b one i n l aying h ens . T he

p ossibilities

o f

s ex

d istinction

f rom

s exual

d imorphism ,

t arsometatarsus , a nd m edullary b one h ave b een d iscussed e lsewhere , a s h as e vidence f or c aponisation ( Bourdillon & C oy , 1 980 ; C oy , 1 9831 ) . C aponised f owl w ere u sed f or t he p ot a s w ell a s f or r aising c hicks . E ggs s urvive o n s ome s ites . I n r ecent w ork o n t he S outhampton m edieval f ishmarket s mall f ragments o f e ggshell w ere r etrieved o n t he s ieves f rom m any c ontexts . I t i s p ossible s ometimes t o d istinguish t he s pecies t o w hich f ragments o f e ggshell b elong u sing e lectron m icroscopy ( Keepax , 1 981). F rom t he M edieval P eriod b oth f owl a nd e ggs a re l ikely a lso t o h ave

3 2

1C arpo metacarpus 2U lna 3H u merus 4C oraco id 5F e mur 6T ib iotarsus 7 Tarso metatarsus F igure 2 .

S keleton o f t he d omestic f owl, s howing t he b ones r eferred t o i n t he t ext a nd o ther p rincipal b ones .

3 3

c ome

f rom

l ocal

d istributors a nd s hops .

t rade c ertainly t raded i n g eese ,

h ens ,

T he m edieval W inchester p oultry

c apons ,

p artridges ,

a nd e ggs

( Keene ,

1 985 ) . I n a ddition t he c ooks b ought l ive f owl a nd w ere s upposed o nly t o s ell t hem c ooked , p robably o ften i n p ies . R ecords f or W inchester s how t hat t hey f requently b roke t he l aw a nd s old f resh m eat a nd t hat t hey a lso s old p igeons , p artridges , p heasants , p lovers , w oodcocks , a nd g eese ( Keene , 1 985 ) .

5 . A dditional V ariability F owl b ones p rovide a n a dditional s ource o f v ariability i n m ultidisciplinary s tudies a imed a t f inding t he d ifferences, e .g ., i n s tandard o f l iving , b etween d ifferent p arts o r p eriods o f a t own . I n t he p ast t heir p resence i n f ood r emains w ould i tself i ndicate h igh s tatus a nd a ditional i nformation m ay b e a vailable o n c onsideration o f t heir a ge , n umbers , a nd s ex . B ut i n o rder t o w ork o ut w hether t here w ere c onsumer a nd p roducer s ites f or f owl , i t i s e ssential t o d istinguish b etween t he r emains o f d ead c hickens a nd t he r emains o f f ood b y l ooking c arefully f or e vidence o f b utchery . I n l arge s amples t his m ight i nvolve a s pot c heck o n e ach p roximal h umerus a nd/or e ach d istal t ibiotarsus f or k nife c uts a s i t i s m easured . S tyles o f b utchery m ay c hange i n l ate m edieval o r p ost-medieval t imes w hen t he t ibiotarsus m ay b e c hopped t hrough o r b irds h alved , b ut i n W essex t his t ends t o b e r are a lthough n o s ystematic a nalysis o f o ur r ecords o f f owl b utchery h as t aken p lace s ince t he c lose e xamination o f t he f irst l arge H anwic s ample . T here , s crapes w ith a b lade s uggested k nifemarks m ade r emoving m eat t o m outh ( Bourdillon & C oy , 1 980) .

O ther G allinaceous B irds I n W essex t here h ave b een a n umber o f f inds o f i ntroduced s pecies r elated t o t he d omestic f owl .

P eacock b ones a re a n o ccasional f ind i n

m edieval t owns , e .g . a p eacock c arcase f rom m edieval S outhampton w as d etermined b y B ramwell ( Platt & C oleman-Smith , 1 975) . P heasant h as n ot y et b een d etermined f rom a m edieval u rban s ite i n W essex a lthough i t h as t urned u p i n p ost-medieval r ural c ontexts . T his i s s urprising a s i t i s o ccasionally m entioned i n m edieval d ocuments . T he o nly t urkey b ones f ound i n a n u rban c ontext i n W essex s o f ar c ame f rom c ontexts d ating t o t he S eventeenth o r E ighteenth C entury A .D . i n C hristchurch ( Coy , 1 983ii) . T he m ost r eliable a nd o ften q uoted r eference t o t urkey i n t he B ritish d iet i s i n C ramner 's D ietarie ' i n 1 541 ( Gurney , 1 921) . G uinea f owl h as n ot b een r ecorded s o f ar i n W essex , b ut i t c an b e d ifficult t o d istinguish s ome o f t he b ones f rom t hose o f d omestic f owl . T he n ative b lackgame ,

w hich s urvived i n H ampshire i nto t he t wentieth

C entury ( Nicholson 1 929 ) h as o ccasionally b een f ound a nd t here a re m any m edieval r eferences t o t he m uch s maller p artridge , P erdix p erdix , w hose b ones a re n ot u ncommon i n R oman , S axon a nd M edieval u rban d eposits .

G oose R emains f rom T owns T here i s a p roblem o f d istinction f rom b ones o f t he p robable w ild a ncestor, O ccasional

t he g reylag g oose, A nser a nser ( Bourdillon & C oy , 1 980) . s uch l arge g oose b ones , p robably f rom d omesticated f orms , a re

3 4

f ound f rom e arly p hases o f

I ron A ge s ettlements

i n W essex ( e .g .

H arcourt ,

1 979 ; M altby , 1 981; C oy , 1 984) . I t s eems t hat d omestic g eese p redated d omestic f owl . L arge g reylags o r d omestic g eese a re f ound i n R oman d eposits i n W essex a nd S axon g eese a re u biquitous i n u rban m iddle S axon H amwic a nd m ust h ave b een a bout t he t own , p erhaps w ith t heir m inders a s t hey c ommonly a re i n P olish v illages t oday . T he w ild s pecies b reeds i n t he N orth a nd n orthern E uropeans w ere p robably t o t he f ore i n g oose c ultivation . R iddell ( 1943 )

s tresses

t he

e ase w ith w hich

t hey m ight

b e

c aught w hile

m oulting

t heir f light f eathers . H e a lso g ives a n i nteresting a ccount o f t he m any u ses o f t he d omestic g oose .

B esides t he i mportance o f t heir e ggs , d own , a nd o ccasional m eat ,

t he

b est q uill p ens w ere m ade f rom p rimary q uills p lucked f rom l ive g eese i n t he S pring a nd g oose w ing f eathers w ould b e i mportant f or a rrow f lights . A h orrifying p icture o f t he l ife o f E ighteenth C entury g eese i s s hown b y t heir a nnual v alue o f " is t o 1 6d a nnually b y b eing f our t imes p lucked" ( Ernie , 1 961) . A c ity o rdinance o f 1 380 b anned g eese f rom t he m ain s treets o f W inchester ( Keene 1 985).

D uck B ones f rom TO WDS T here i s a p roblem i n d istinguishing d omestic d uck b ones f rom t hose o f t he m allard , A nas p latyrhynchos , w hich i s w idespread i n B ritain .

A natomical

d ifferences w hich m ay b e a ssociated w ith d omestication h ave n ow b een s een f rom s everal L ate S axon c ollections i ncluding , f or i nstance , N orthampton ( Coy , 1 981) . D ucks a re n ot m entioned

i n a ny o f

t he m edieval

t reatises o n f arming

t hough t hey a ppear i n t he B erkeley a ccounts i n 1 321 ( Smyth , 1 883) . B ut t hese a ccounts a re f or m anors a nd i t i s n ot c lear w hat h appened i n m edieval t owns . T he c ity o rdinance m entioned a bove f or W inchester a lso a pplied t o d ucks.

O ther B irds D orchester e xcavations p roduced t he l ower c ourses o f am edieval d ovecot f or w hich t here i s a F ourteenth C entury d ocumentary

r eference ( Susan

D avies , p ersonal c ommunication ) . M ore u sually a ssociated w ith m anors r ather t han t owns , p igeons c ould p rovide a n i mportant f ood s ource a nd t he y oung b irds w ere e aten . T here i s a lso e vidence t hat p eople i n f alcons .

m edieval t owns k ept h awks a nd

T hese p rovide i mportant e vidence o f t he h unting o f b irds f or f ood

a nd s ome o f t he w ild b irds f ound i n t own s ites a re t hose s pecies c ommonly c aught b y , f or e xample , t he g oshawk , A ccipiter g entilis . F alcon b ones a re d ifficult t o d istinguish b ut a n e xciting r ecent f ind f rom T welfth o r T hirteenth C entury W inchester w as t he p artial s keleton o f a l arge f alcon w hich o nly r eally m atches t he g yrfalcon , F alco r usticolus ( Coy , T his i s t he l argest a nd m ost p restigious m edieval f alcon a nd w as p robably i mported f or t he n obility ( if n ot r oyalty ) f rom S candinavia . T here i s s ome i nteresting d ocumentation t hat m ight l ink t his a rea o f W inchester w ith t he R oyal M ews ( Gmm le , 1 985 ) . A w ide ,

b ut n ot s urprising v ariety o f o ther s pecies o f b ird h ave n ow

b een d etermined i n W essex t owns a nd a s ummary o f S axon a nd M edieval r esults

3 5

f or

S outhampton w ill

s hortly

b e

p ublished ( Coy ,

f orthcoming ) .

I n

t otal ,

H amwic p roduced o ver t wenty s pecies o f b ird a nd m edieval S outhampton t hirtyn ine .

F ISH R EMAINS F ROM T OWNS F ish r esults f or u rban s ites , e ven m ore t han b ird r esults , a re h eavily r eliant o n g ood r etrieval ;

i f s ieving i s n ot c arried

o ut o nly t he b ones o f

l arge f ish a re r ecovered a nd v ery b iassed r esults a re o btained . T able 2 s hows t he s pecies l ist f or S outhampton m edieval f ishmarket f rom n ormal r ecovery a gainst t hat f or s ieving ( Coy s mallest s pecimens m ay h ave b een f rom o f l arger f ish b ut i n t hat c ase a re g utting a ctivity . I n 1 427 a g roup

a nd H amilton-Dyer f orthcoming ) . T he f ood f ish o r m ay b e t he g ut c ontents u seful i ndicators o f p ossible f ish o f f ishmongers i n W inchester w ere

a ccused o f d epositing t he r otting e ntrails o f f ish o n t he H ighway a t S taple G arden a t t he r ear o f t heir p remises ( Keene , 1 985) . S ieving c an p roduce l arge q uantities o f f ish b ones a nd a w ide v ariety o f s pecies a nd a g ood m odern r eference c ollection i s n eeded t o i dentify t hem . Modern s pecimens , i f w eighed a nd m easured, c an t hen p rovide a dditional d ata f or t he a ncient b ones i f m easurements a re t aken o n t hese t oo . R egression m ethods e nable u s t o a ssess t he s ize o f t he a ncient f ish f rom a s l ittle a s o ne s tandard m easurement o n a s ingle b one . F igure 3 s hows a g raph o btained f or m odern e els w here t otal l ength i s s et a gainst t he c hord l ength o f t he c leithrum b one . T he t otal l ength o f a rchaeological e els c an t hen b e a ssessed b y m easuring c leithra , w hich a re b etter p reserved t han m ost h ead b ones . T able 2 s hows

t he

r elative

i mportance o f e el

a nd h erring a mong t he

f ish , a nd t his w as t he c ase i n W essex a t l east f rom Middle S axon t imes o nwards . T he p ickling , d rying , a nd s alting o f f ish h as b een i mportant s ince p rehistory a nd s o o ne s hould r ecord w hich p arts o f t he s keleton a re p resent a s t his m ay p rovide e vidence f or p reservation p rocesses . M arine f ish , o ften o f c onsiderable s ize , a re c ommonly f ound i n m edieval t owns a l ong w ay f rom t he s ea . B y t he M edieval P eriod c onsiderable t rade h ad d eveloped a s w e k now f rom d ocuments . F ishmongers f rom f ar a field , i ncluding L ondon , t raded i n W inchester b y t he F ifteenth C entury ( Keene ,

1 985).

R ecords f or t he p ort o f S outhampton f rom 1 300 s how t he w ide r ange o f s hipping w hich b rought b oth f resh a nd p reserved f ish a nd a lso s how w hat w ent o ut o f t he t own t o n earby o nes . F ourteenth C entury r ecords r efer t o p rices l evied o n t he m ovement o f r ed a nd w hite h erring , s ardine , c onger , c od , l ing , f resh a nd s alt m ackerel, s tockfish ( cod a nd r elated s pecies p reserved b y d rying a nd s alting), b arrels o f m ulwell ( preserved c od ) a nd h addock , b askets o f l ampreys , b arrels o f s turgeon , a nd s alt a nd f resh s almon ( Studer , 1 9 10 ) . F ifteenth C entury r ecords i nclude h ake , p ollack a nd l ing f rom t he S outh W est , h erring a nd s prats f rom S uffolk a nd N orfolk a nd w hiting f rom D ieppe ( Studer 1 9 13 ) . A d aily r ecord s urvives f or m any o f t he y ears i n t he F ifteenth a nd S ixteenth C enturies f or s ome t olls a nd g ives a p icture , f or e xample , o f o verland t ravels f or h erring , s almon , a nd h ake ( Coleman , 1 960). T he f ascinating b ut i ncomplete p icture g ive b y s uch d ocuments a nd t hose w hich r ecord c ourt c ases m ake u s m ore w ary o f s eeking l ocal e xplanations f or c hanges i n f ish e xploitation t hrough t ime, w hether e cological o r t echnological .

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A cknowledgements Ia m g rateful t o an umber o f e xcavators f or p ermission t o q uote w ork i n t ypescript b efore p ublication a nd t heir h elp i n i nterpretation o f t he m aterial, e specially M ike Morris, K en Q ualmann , a nd K evin W hite .

T he

o riginal b one r eports w ere m ostly f unded b y E nglish H eritage . D ifficult i dentifications w ere m ade w ith t he h elp o f G raham C owles a nd A lwynne W heeler a nd I t hank t he T rustees o f t he B ritish M useum ( Natural H istory ) f or u se o f t he c ollections o n s uch v isits .

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U niversity o f

S outhampton . C OLUMELLA ,

L .J .M .

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a griculture ( and t rees) w ith a r ecension o f t he t ext a nd a n E nglish t ransl ation b y E .S . F orster & E .H . H effner . V olume I I . L ondon : H einemann , L oeb C lassical L ibrary . C OTTRELL ,

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C OY ,

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( 19831)

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f ood i n p rehistoric

2 S hell m iddens,

a nd h istoric W essex .

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G rigson & J . C luttonBrock ) B AR I nternational S eries 1 83 , C OY ,

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A nimal b one

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1 81-195 .

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C hristchurch , D orset , 19 81 t o 19 83 P roceedings o f t he D orset N atural H istory a nd A rchaeological S ociety 1 05 , 4 3-45 . C OY ,

J .P .

( 1984)

T he b ird b ones .

A ge H illfort i n H ampshire

I n B .

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C BA R esearch R eport N o . 5 2 , 5 26-531 .

C OY , J .P . ( no d ate 1 ) A n imal b ones f rom m edieval a nd p ost-medieval p hases o f W inchester W estern S uburbs, R eport N o . 49 10 t o t he A ncient M onuments L aboratory A ugust 1 984 . C OY , J .P .

( forthcoming)

J . B ourdillon ( ed ),

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C OY , J .P . & HAMILTON D YER , S . M ichaels , S outhampton : ERNLE , L ord

I n

a bove . ( forthcoming)

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c ontexts a ssociated w ith t he m edieval f ish m arket .

( 1961)

E nglish F arming P ast a nd P resent

N ew 6 th e d .

H einemann/Frank C ass & C o L td w ith i ntroduction b y G E F ussell & 0 R M cGregor . F INLAYSON ,

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& B ELLHOUSE ,

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E mpirical

s tudies

o f

s ampling d esigns f or t he e xcavation o f m iddens a nd l onghouses o n I roquoian s ites i n N ortheastern N orth A merica . P aper c ontributed t o t he s ession o n D ata Management a nd Mathematical M ethods i n A rchaeology . W orld A rchaeological C ongress , G URNEY ,

J .H .

H ARCOURT ,

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( 1921)

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A ge s ettlement i n D orset

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W inchester

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C larendon P ress : O xford .

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I ron A ge , f aunal

R omano-British a nd A nglo-Saxon a nimal

e vidence .

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J .M .

( 1985)

P atterns

i n

f aunal

B eyond D omestication i n P rehistoric E urope, L ondon :

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3 9

I n T he E nvironment o f M an : t he

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v ariability

B arker & C .

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I n

G amble .

N ICHOLSON , S elborne, L ondon :

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G ilbert W hite 's N atural H istory o f

e dited b y w ith a n i ntroduction a nd n otes b y E .M . N icholson ,

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& C OLEMAN—SMITH ,

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R .

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T he O ak B ook o f S outhampton

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S outhampton R ecord

S OCIAL D IFFERENTIATION F ROM A NIMAL B ONE S TUDIES F . G erard I jzereef

T his p aper d escribes t he r esults o f w ork c arried o ut o n m aterial e xcavated b y t he u rban a rchaeologist o f t he c ity o f A msterdam . A p aper r elating t o t his s tudy w ill a ppear i n t he p apers o f t he F ifth I nternational A rchaeozoological

C onference a t B ordeaux ,

1 986

( Ijzereef

i n p ress ) .

I t

u ses w hat s eems t o m e a n i nteresting n ew a pproach t o z ooarchaeological m ethods , w hich h as i nfluenced m y w ork o n o ther l arge b one s amples . I n m y w ork w ith t he N etherlands S tate S ervice I f ind m yself i n t he d ifficult p osition o f a cquiring a nimal r emains f or s tudy i n l arge q uantities , b oth f rom o ur o wn s ervice a nd f rom u rban a rchaeologists w ho h ave n o z oological a ssistance . A fter t he e xcavation s eason f inishes e ach y ear , e nough a rchaeozoological w ork t o f ill a f urther f ive y ears . t herefore h ave t o b e m ade .

t here i s C hoices

I n t he p ast l arge s amples w ere s tudied , u sing t he s tandard m ethod-of r ecording a g reat m any d ata f or e ach i ndividual b one . H ere a n a lternative m ethod w as t ried , w hich i s s uitable i n t he c ase o f e xtremely l arge b one s amples , i .e . q uantities o f 1 00 ,000 b ones o r m ore , w hich a re o f p eriods o f r ecent d ate a nd f or w hich t he r ange o f s pecies i s a lready k nown . T he m ethod i s a ppropriate w here s pecific q uestions a re b eing a sked o f t he m aterial . A nother c riterion i s t hat t he d istribution o f t he b ones m ust b e e qual o ver t he s ite a nd t hat t hey a re i n a s imilar s tate o f p reservation . T he s tudy w hich i s d escribed h ere d id n ot h ave t he a im o f p roducing a c omplete

l ist o f

s pecies b ut w as

i ntended

t o a nswer o ne q uestion o f

p articular i nterest : w hat c an w e l earn f rom a nimal b ones a bout h uman d iet ; a nd s pecifically w hat c an a nimal b ones t ell u s a bout t he s ocial d ifferences b etween i ndividual h ouseholds? T he m aterial i s f rom a pproximately 1 00 c ess p its f rom t wo e xcavations o f 1 7th a nd 1 8th c entury s ites . T he f aunal r emains w ere e xcavated b etween 1 981 a nd 1 983 a t t wo s ites , W aterlooplein a nd O ostenbergermiddenstraat , b y J an B aart o f t he A rchaeological S ervice o f A msterdam ( Baart e t a l, 1 986 ) . A t W aterlooplein t wo c omplete b locks o f 10 h ouses w ere e xcavated b efore t he c onstruction o f a n ew t own h all a nd o pera h ouse ( figures 1 a nd 2 ) . F rom a bout 1 600 t his a rea w as i nhabited b y P ortuguese J ews . A t t he O ostenburg s ite , w hich i s l ocated i n t he h arbour a rea , f ive h ouses b elonging t o t he D utch E ast I ndies C ompany w ere e xcavated : t hey i ncluded f ive c ess p its . T he m aterial w as e xtremely w ell p reserved .

I t w as c ollected b y h and-

t rowelling , f ollowed b y w et-sieving a nd f lotation o f s amples f rom t he p its . S ucceeding l ayers o f f ill w ere s een i n m ost o f t he c ess p its s o t he s amples w ere d ivided i nto s maller f ractions o r s ub-samples , w hich c ould b e d ated t o w ithin 2 5 y ears . I t w as c lear t hat t he p its m ust h ave b een c leaned o ut a t r egular i ntervals , b ecause t he l ayers w ere v ery t hin , a nd t here a re u sually g aps b etween d atable s amples . I n m any p its t he e arly 1 7th c entury f ill i s o verlain b y f ill f rom t he l ate 1 8th c entury : o ther p its d o n ot a ppear t o d ate f rom b efore 1 700 . m ore t han o ne a nd s ome h ouse .

M ost o f t he h ouses h ad o ne c ess p it , b ut s ome h ad p its c ould n ot b e a ssociated w ith a ny p articular

I n t otal 1 65 d ated s amples w ere o btained f rom t he c ess p its,

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1 86

Table

7 .

S ummary o f species present 1 540-c.15 n S t. N icholas P riory, Exeter

S PECIES 256 2 182 1

c attle s heep/goat p ig dog rabbit horse r ed d eer f allow deer roe d eer c at b rown r at TOTAL domestic f owl goose l ittle gull h erring gull duck woodcock l esser b lack-back s tarling r ook TOTAL

gull

c od l ing c onger eel hake haddock bass TOTAL

2 3 750

**

7 1 1 7 3 3 2 1 1 1 1 1 00

7 1.0 1 7.0 3.0 3.0 2.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0

6 5 3 1 1 1 1 7

3 5.3 2 9.4 1 7.6 5.9 5.9 5.9

4 939

TOTAL = l ess

4.3 2.2 .6 .5 .3 .2 .1 * *

3

human

* *

1 63 8 4 2 4 1 7 1 0 7 3 2

9 95 1 6 5 8 1 069

i ndet. mammal i ndet. b ird i ndet. f ish TOTAL

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9 3.1 1.5 5.4

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D ECIDING P RIORITES

w r ra

U RBAN B ONES:

Y ORK A S A C ASE S TUDY T erry O 'Connor

I t i s t he p urpose o f t his p aper t o e xamine t he w ay i n w hich t he s tudy o f a n e xceptionally l arge a rchive o f b ones f rom a rchaeological s ites i n o ne c ity h as e volved a nd a dapted i n t he f ace o f c hanging r esearch p riorities a nd t he p racticalities o f i mplementing t hem . T o s ome e xtent , Y ork i s a n u nusual c ase , h aving s een a n i ntensity o f a rchaeological w ork m atched i n B ritain o nly i n L ondon . H owever , t he e xtreme p roblems o f v olume o f m aterial a nd p otential r epetition o f r esearch h ave f orced a c onsideration o f t he u nderlying p remises o f a rchaeological b one s tudies, a nd s ome o f t he c onclusions w hich h ave b een r eached , a nd t he c ompromises w hich h ave b een m ade , w ill b e r elevant b eyond t he c onfines o f t his o ne r esearch p rogramme . T his p aper d oes n ot l ay d own g uidelines f or o thers t o f ollow , h owever . D ifferent c ircumstances r equire d ifferent m easures , a nd s ome c olleagues m ay d isagree s trongly w ith s ome o f

t he

s ampling

e xercises w hich a re d escribed b elow .

s trategies a nd c orner-cutting

T he a uthor i s u nrepentant :

t here i s m ore t han o ne w ay t o s kin a c at,

j ust a s

s o t here a re s everal w ays o f

s tudying i ts s keleton . T o

s et

t he

b ackground

i n which

t his

w ork

h as

t aken

p lace,

a rchaeological e xcavation i n Y ork i s m ainly u ndertaken b y t he Y ork A rchaeological T rust . W orking i n c lose l iaison w ith Y .A .T . , b ut s eparate f rom i t , i s t he E nvironmental A rchaeology U nit , a r esearch t eam w ithin t he B iology D epartment o f t he U niversity o f Y ork , l argely f unded b y g rants f rom t he H istoric B uildings a nd M onuments C ommission f or E ngland ( O 'Connor e t a l 1 984) . B ones a re s tudied a s o ne e lement i n ar ange o f p lant a nd a nimal r emains f rom a rchaeological d eposits i n t he c ity . I n p arts o f Y ork , t he a ccumulation o f o ccupation d ebris a mounts t o s even o r e ight m etres i n d epth , m uch o f w hich i s w aterlogged . P reservation o f a ll t ypes o f b iological r emains i s o ften e xcellent a nd c opious, a nd f ragments o f b one a re n o e xception . T he i ntegration o f b one s tudies w ith a r ange o f o ther b iological r emains h as b een a n i mportant i nfluence i n t he d evelopment o f t echniques a nd a pproaches . I f b ones a re t he o nly b iological r emains u ncovered f rom a s ite , i t i s e asy t o o verstate t heir v alue , a nd t o r egard t he c ataloguing o f e ach s pecimen a s a n e nd i n i tself , r ather t han a s a m eans t o a n e nd . W hen t he b ones a re j ust o ne c lass o f f ossil r ecovered f rom t he s ame d eposits, s ometimes e ven f rom t he s ame s oil s amples, a s b eetles, s eeds, b its o f t imber , s hells , f ly p uparia a nd s o o n , t hen t his u nfortunate t endency i s m ore l ikely t o b e a voided .

W hich b ones s hould I r ecord? F aced w ith a n a rchive o f a round a c ouple o f m illion b ones , m ore c oming o ut

o f

t he g round d aily ,

t he

" catalogue

a nd w ith

e verything" a pproach

c learly h ad t o b e a bandoned a t t he o utset . T he b acklog c urrently i n h and w ould r equire s omething o f t he o rder o f t wenty y ears o f d ogged c ataloguing a nd

t abulation ,

t he

e ventual

p roduct

a nswered s ome q uestions m any t imes

b eing

a h uge

o ver w hilst

1 89

v olume

o f

d ata w hich

l eaving o thers u nanswered .

H UNTING e tc. f ish w ildfowl d eer h ares r abbits S MALLHOLDINGS, B ACKYARDS

F ARMS

g oats p igs f owl g eese

c attle s heep

M ARKET

\ , / H OUSEHOLD < -

- -meat

B UTCHER

u seful w aste

p ets , v ermin

>H ORNERS, T ANNERS B ONEWORKERS

b one d ebris

b one d ebris

T HE U RBAN B ONE D EBRIS F ALLOUT

>scavenging d ogs , p igs , c ats

\

r efuse t hrown i nto r iver,

7

b urned , s pread o n f ields

T HE B URIED B ONE P OPULATION -->pit-digging e tc d estroying b ones r eworking >degradation i n s oil >non-recovery d uring e xcavation >n on-identification d uring s tudy V T HE B ONE S AMPLE

F igure 1 .

S implified f low d iagram f or b ones f rom l ivestock a nd h unted g ame t o t he a rchaeological b one s ample .

1 90

T he p rincipal a im o f o ur w ork h as b een t o c haracterise b one d eposition a cross t he c ity t hrough t he 1 900 o r s o y ears o f i ts o ccupation i n o rder t o a nswer q uestions a bout h uman a ctivity . T he f irst p riority h as b een t o d ecide w hich b ones f rom w hich d eposits s hould b e s tudied . N o a mount o f c are i n d evising r ecording o r a nalytical m ethods c an c ompensate f or h aving s elected t he w rong s ample i n t he f irst p lace . A n i mportant a spect o f t his r esearch a im h as b een t he s tudy o f t he h usbandry a nd b iology o f t he l ivestock e xploited b y t he u rban p opulation , a nd o f t he p ests a nd c ommensal v ertebrates w hich e xploited t hem T hese t wo r esearch a reas a re p laced i n t his o rder b ecause w e a re d ealing w ith a c ity , n ot w ith a s ite o f l ivestock p roduction . s tages

r emoved

c onsumption ,

f rom t he p rocesses

o f

T he e xcavated b one s ample i s m any t rade,

b utchering

a nd

d omestic

e ach o f w hich w ill h ave l eft i ts d istinctive i mprint u pon t he

d eposited a ssemblage , b ut s till m ore s tages r emoved f rom t he h usbandry r egime w hich o riginally p roduced t he l ivestock . F igure 1 a ttempts t o m ap a g reatly s implified f low d iagram f or b ones f rom l ivestock t o t he u rban a rchaeological s ample . S amples a re s elected f or s tudy o n t he b asis o f w hat t hey c an r eveal a bout h uman a ctivity w ithin t he c ity b ecause t hat i s am ore d irect , o r a t l east l ess i ndirect, l ine o f e nquiry . I n f act t he t wo r esearch a ims r arely c onflict : s amples w hich p rovide g ood e vidence o f h uman a ctivity w ithin t he c ity u sually a lso p rovide u seful d ata r elevant t o l ivestock m orphology a nd h usbandry . T he f irst c riterion o n w hich s election i s m ade i s t hat p reservation a nd r ecovery s hould b e g ood .

T here i s l ittle p oint i n b asing a d etailed

a nalysis o f b utchery p rocedures o r a ge s election a t s laughter o n a s mall s ample o f b adly-preserved b ones w hich w ere e xcavated b y p ick-axe . G ood o r b ad p reservation i s e asy e nough t o a ssess , b ut q uality o f r ecovery c an b e a m ore c ontentious h ave u p t o n ow c ollection , t he a way . O f c ourse

p oint . S tudies o f b ones f rom u rban a rchaeological s ites b een b ased l argely o n a ssemblages a cquired b y h andp icking-out o f b one f ragments a s a d eposit i s t rowelled t his i ntroduces a b ias : s mall b ones a re l ess l ikely t o b e

r ecovered . D espite t he w eight o f e vidence t o t he e ffect t hat t his b ias i s v ery s ubstantial ( Payne 1 975 ; C lason & P rummel 1 977 ; L evitan 1 982) , i t i s o ften i gnored w hen t he d ata a re d iscussed ( eg . s ee O 'Connor 1 982 ; J ones 1 984) . O ne o f t he m ajor i nnovations i n u rban a rchaeology w hich h as b een m ade i n Y ork h as b een t he r outine w et-sieving o f l arge s oil s amples o f 5 02 00kg f or t he r ecovery o f s mall b ones ( Kenward , H all a nd J ones 1 980 ) .

T his

a t l east a llows t he e xtent o f t he h and-collection b ias t o b e a ssessed , a nd t he a vailability o f s ieved b one s amples f or u se a s as ort o f q uality c ontrol h as b ecome a n i mportant c riterion i n t he s election o f h and-collected b ones f or s tudy . L atterly , t he p rocess h as b een e nlarged t o i nclude t he s ieving o f s ubstantial d eposits , h undreds o f k ilograms p er s ample , o n a 1 0mm m esh . O bviously n umbers o f s mall b ones w ill b e l ost t hrough a m esh o f t his s ize , b ut a t l east t he b ias i s k nown a nd c onstant . T he p roblem w ith h andc ollected b ones i s t hat t he e fficiency o f o perator r ecovery i s w ildly a nd u npredictably v ariable . G iven s atisfactory p reservation a nd r ecovery , t he n ext s tep i s t o r efer t o t he a rchaeological r ecords f or t he s ite i n q uestion t o d etermine a s f ar a s p ossible t he o rigin o f t he b ones . P riority i s g iven t o b one g roups f rom c losely-dated d eposits , o r f rom f eatures w hich c an b e d irectly r elated t o a s pecific s tructure o r a ctivity , s uch a s a g roup o f p its a ssociated w ith a s ingle p hase o f o ccupation o f a p articular b uilding . M uch o f t he b one d ebris f rom a t ypical u rban s ite c onsists o f s mall n umbers o f f ragments f rom d eposits r epresenting t he g radual b uild-up o f g round s urfaces, o r f rom

1 9 1

d emolition d eposits, o r , w orst o f a ll, f rom t he f ills o f s tone-robbing t renches .

A u seful

c oncept

h ere

i s

t hat

o f

" background" .

H uman

o ccupation s ites c an b e s een a s h aving a n i nevitable b ackground f all-out o f b one f ragments i nto a ny a ccumulating d eposit , s uch a s h ouse f loors , f ills o f p its , p ost-holes a nd r oad s urfaces . I n m any c ircumstances t his b one d ebris w ill n ot r epresent n earby h uman a ctivity , a nd w ill c ontain a s ample o f a ll t he d ifferent a ctivities i n d ifferent p laces a round t he t own . T he t ypical c ontent o f b ackground d ebris w ill v ary a l ittle f rom o ne c entury o f d eposition t o t he n ext, a nd i ts i nformation c ontent i s n egligible . L earning t o r ecognise b one a ssemblages w hich a re m erely " background" , s o a s t o a void m aking m ore t han a m inimal r ecord o f t hem , h as b een o ne o f t he m ost u seful d evelopments i n a ssigning p riorities t o b one g roups . O bviously t his c ould o nly b e a chieved o nce s ufficient m aterial f rom t he t own h ad b een r ecorded t o a llow f amiliar p atterns o f b one d eposition t o b e r ecognised . I n

t he

s pecific

c ontext

o f Y ork 's a rchaeology ,

p riority i s

g iven t o

c ertain p eriods p f h istory , i n p articular t o t he 4 th t o 9 th c enturies A D a nd t o t he p ost-medieval p eriod , a nd t o b one d eposits c learly d erived f rom s pecific i ndustrial a ctivities , s tretching t he t erm ' industrial ' t o i nclude p r imary b utchering a nd o ther a ctivities c onnected w ith t he p rocessing o f a nimal c arcasses . T hese , i ndustrial a ssemblages g ive i nformation w hich c an b e l inked t o a s pecific a ctivity o r s uite o f a ctivities, a nd a re t hus r elatively s imple t o i nterpret . T he m ost s ubstantial e xample p ublished t o d ate i s t he h uge a ssemblage o f s heep f oot b ones r ecovered f rom 1 7th18th c entury d eposits i n W almgate ( O 'Connor 1 984) , a nd c learly r eferable t o t he a ctivities o f a t awyer o r f ell-monger . H igh p riority i s a lso g iven t o s ieved b one s amples w hich y ield a l arge a ssemblage o f b ones o f s mall v ertebrates . D epending o n t he c ircumstances o f d eposition , t hese a ssemblages m ay b e r ich i n b ones o f f ish a nd h ousehold p ests s uch a s r ats a nd m ice , o r t hey m ay g ive a h igh d iversity o f r odent, i nsectivore a nd a mphibian t axa w hich i ndicate t he s urrounding e nvironment a t t he t ime o f d eposition . I n e ither c ase , t he b ones w ill g ive i nformation u seful i n t he r econstruction o f t he d epositional a nd t aphonomic h istory o f t he d eposit f rom w hich t hey c ame , q uite a part f rom t heir i nterpretation i n t erms o f d iet o r l iving c onditions . D uring t he i nitial s election o f s amples f or s tudy ,

c lose c o-operation

w ith t he p eople r esponsible f or o ther a spects o f t he p ost-excavation s tudy i s i nvaluable , i n p articular w ith p ottery r esearchers . A s b one f ragments a re n ot i ntrinsically d ate-attributable , u nlike p otsherds , r esiduality c an b e h ard t o a ssess . I n a n u rban s ettlement , p ressure o n l iving s pace l eads t o e xtensive r eworking o f e arlier o ccupation d eposits , t hrough t he d igging o f p its a nd w ells , a nd r esiduality o f b one c an b e a m ajor p roblem . I f p ottery s tudies h ave s hown t hat , f or e xample , 6 0% o f t he p ottery f rom a m edieval p it c omprises a braded s herds o f t erra s igillata , t hen t he b one f ragments f rom t he s ame d eposits c an h ardly b e r elied u pon t o g ive a u seful i ndication o f m edieval d isposal p ractices. T he p reliminary s election o f s amples f or s tudy m ay s een t o b e a l ong a nd

c omplex b usiness .

I n f act,

a p ractical

a nd a cademically u seful

s election i s o ften m ade b y m eans o f a ' r ummage s urvey ' .

T his e ntails a f ew

q uiet h ours s pent a mong t he s tored b oxes o f b ones, a rmed w ith n otes d escribing t he s tratigraphy a nd d ating o f t he s ite , l ifting o ff l ids a nd g enerally p oking a bout a mongst t he b ones . P reservation c an b e a ssessed , p articularly d istinctive g roups ( such a s c oncentrations o f h orn c ores o r d ead c ats ) a ssemblage

c an b e c an

l ocated , b e

a nd a c lear i mpression o f

g ained .

H aving

1 9 2

u ndertaken

t he p otential o f t he s uch

a p reliminary

e xamination ,

o ne

i s

i n a p osition t o r ecommend

t o

t he a rchaeologist w hat

b ones a re w orth f urther s tudy .

Ha i ' t o R ecord H aving s elected t he b one g roups w hich w ill b e r ecorded ,

t he n ext

q uestions a re : h ow w ill t he r ecord b e m ade , a nd i n w hat d etail? T here a re b asically t wo a pproaches t o r ecording . A ll t he d ata p ertaining t o a p articular b one c an b e k ept t ogether i n a s ingle r ecord , o r t he d ifferent c ategories o f d ata c an b e r ecorded s eparately i n as eries o f d ifferent r ecords , e ach o ne d evoted t o a p articular c ategory . T he s ingle r ecord a pproach h as t he a dvantage t hat a ll t he i nformation a bout o ne f ragment i s r etained t ogether , b ut h as t he d isadvantage t hat t he d ataset w hich r esults f rom a n a ssemblage o f a ny s ize i s s o h uge a nd c omplex t hat r esort t o c omputers b ecomes e ssential ( Hardy 1 982) . T he ' many r ecords ' a pproach h as t he a dvantage o f c omparative s implicity i n d ata h andling . I f o ne w ishes t o e xamine t he b iometrical d ata f rom a p articular a ssemblage, t hey a re a vailable i n as eparate f ile . T he d isadvantage o f s uch a n a pproach i s t hat t he d ata o btained f rom o ne s pecimen a re s plit u p a t t he p oint o f r ecording , a nd c annot b e r eunited , s hort o f i ndividually n umbering s pecimens. A c omputer b ased , s ingle-record s ystem w as u sed f or s ome t ime a t Y ork , p roducing l engthy c atalogues o f w hat w ere , i n e ffect, b one-by-bone d escriptions . H owever , t he n eed t o u se t he c omputer e ven t o s can t hrough t he r esults f rom a p articular l ayer , c oupled w ith t he d isastrous e ffects o f h ardware f ailure , l ed t o a r eappraisal . I n p ractice , t he u nit o f d ata w hich i s u sed f or a nalysis a nd i nterpretation i s n ot t he i ndividual s pecimen , b ut a s ummary o f d ata r ecovered f rom e ach s ample . T he s ample , i n t his s ense , c ould e ither b e t he b ones r ecovered f rom a s ingle s oil s ample , o r t he s pecimens h and-collected f rom a s ingle e xcavated c ontext . A ccordingly , ad ifferent a pproach t o r ecording w as a dopted , g iving p riority t o t he p roduction o f ac ollective d escription o f t he b ones i n e ach s ample . O ne o f t he m ain a dvantages o f t he c hange o f a pproach i s t hat t he i nitial r ecord i s m ade o n a p aper p ro f orma , f rom w hich d ata c an b e a bstracted f or a c omputerised d atabase , w hich i s m uch m ore c ondensed a nd f aster t o m anipulate t han e ven t he m ost e fficient b one-by-bone c atalogues . U se o f t he p ro f orma r equires n o c ompetence w ith c omputers , m erely w ith b ones , a nd a llows t he n umber o f s taff w orking o n b ones t o b e i ncreased w hen n ecessary w ithout r equiring e ither a n e xpensive p roliferation i n h ardware o r t he

s ort

a llow .

o f

p eriod o f

t raining w hich s hort-term p roject-funding

d oes

n ot

I n s hort, i t m akes t he j ob m ore c ost-effective .

A bandoning t he c atalogue a pproach t o b one r ecording r ather w ent a gainst c onventional w isdom , r equiring , a s i t d id , ac omplete r edefinition o f w hat o ne w as t rying t o r ecord . O nce a gain , d ay-to-day c ontact w ith c olleagues w orking o n d ifferent g roups o f o rganisms w as a n i mportant c atalyst . A rchaeobotanists d o n ot f ind i t n ecessary t o m ake s eed b y s eed l ists o f t he c ontents o f t heir s amples , n or d o e ntomologists c atalogue a ll t he a ttributes o f e ach p iece o f b eetle i n t heirs . I n o ther a reas o f b ioarchaeology , t he p riority h as b een t o m ake a r ecord o f t he s ample , n ot o f t he s pecimen , a nd t o a l arge e xtent , t he c hange i n r ecording m ethods w hich h as b een e ffected a t Y ork h as m erely b rought b ones i nto l ine w ith t he m any o ther c ategories o f p lant a nd a nimal f ossil.

19 3

I n h ow m uch d etail s hould d ata b e r ecorded? W hen d eciding t he d egree o f d etail i n w hich d ata s hould b e r ecorded , p riority h as b een g iven t o a cquiring t he d ataset w hich e xperience h as s hown w ill b e r equired f or t he a nalyses l ikely t o b e u ndertaken i n o rder t o a nswer a rchaeological a nd b iological q uestions i mmediately i n h and . T he p riority i n s electing m ethodological p rocedures f or t axon q uantification , a ge e stimation , b iometry , a nd s o o n , h as b een t o a llow h ypotheses t o b e t ested , r ather t han t o c reate a n a rchive w ith a v iew t o c olleagues r eworking t he d ata a t s ome t ime i n t he f uture . T here a re a rguments f or a nd a gainst r ecording f or p osterity w hich a re t o s ome e xtent u nresolved . S uffice i t t o s ay t hat i n t his i nstance t he d ecision w as t aken t o a ttend t o c urrent n eeds , r ather t han t o c ompromise r esearch i n h and i n t he h ope o f m aking a r ecord w hich m ight b e o f v alue i n t he f uture .

Q uantification T axon q uantification b ased o n f ragment c ounts i s a n a pproximate a nd u nsatisfactory t echnique f or a ssessing t he r elative p roportions o f t axa i n t he o riginal k illed p opulation ( Fieller a nd T urner 1 982) . T he p resence o f w hole o r p artial s keletons i n t he a ssemblage w ill c reate a s erious b ias , b y c ontributing m any b ones f rom a s ingle i ndividual, a nd i t m ight b e a rgued t hat ' m inimum n umber o f i ndividuals ' m ethods w ould b e m ore a ppropriate . H owever , i t i s h ighly d ebatable w hether t he c oncepts o f i ndividuals a nd k illed p opulation h ave a ny r elevance w hen c onsidering t he b one d ebris f rom u rban s ettlements . T he k illed p opulation i s m any s tages r emoved f rom t he r ecovered a ssemblage : m uch m ore s o t han i s t he c ase w ith b one a ssemblages f rom h unter-gatherer o r s ubsistence a griculture s ites . W hat i s t he k illed p opulation f rom w hich t he s heep b ones i n a 1 3th c entury p it i n Y ork w ere d erived? T he i ndividual s heep i nvolved a re l ikely t o h ave o riginated i n s everal d ifferent f locks , a nd s ome m ay h ave b een d riven t o t he c ity f rom t ens o f k ilometres a way . C alculation o f m inimum n umbers o f i ndividuals i s s eldom u seful w ith b ones f rom u rban e xcavations a s t he u nit o f d istribution o f d omestic l ivestock w ithin t he c ity i s l ikely t o h ave b een t he j oint , o r t he s ide o f b acon , r ather t han t he w hole c ow o r p ig , a p oint w hich h as b een w ell m ade b y A rmitage ( 1982 , 9 5 ) . R ecovering a n e stimate o f t hree c attle a nd f ifteen p igs f rom o ne p articular p it c ould i ndicate t hat t he d eposited a ssemblage

o riginally

c omprised

t hree w hole

c attle

c arcases

a nd

f ifteen

e ntire p igs , o r i t m ight s how t hat a p articular h ousehold b ought i n t hree s moked s houlders o f b eef a nd f ifteen p igs ' h eads f or b rawn . E ach r econstruction w ould p rompt a q uite d ifferent i nterpretation . H aving r ejected q uantification m ethods b ased o n n umbers o f i ndividuals , o ne i s l eft w ith f ragment c ounts a s a c rude m eans n ot o f r econstructing f armed o r s laughtered p opulations , r ecovered

a ssemblage .

b ut o f d escribing w hat w as a ctually f ound i n t he P roviding

i nterpretation

i s

k ept

a t

t hat

l evel,

f ragment c ounts h ave a u se i n u rban b one s tudies . G iven t hat f arm l ivestock c irculated w ithin t owns a s b utchered j oints o f m eat a nd a ncillary m eat p roducts , t he q uantification o f s keletal e lements m ust b e g iven a h igh p riority . A v ariety o f d ifferent w ays o f c ounting s keletal e lements h ave b een p roposed , m ost o f t hem b ased o n v ariants o f W atson 's ( 1979 ) c oncept o f ' d iagnostic z ones ' . S mall, s tructurally s imple , b ones s uch a s a stragali c an b e q uantified f airly e asily . I t i s a c omparatively s imple m atter t o t ake w hole a nd f ragmentary c attle a stragali a nd t o d ecide o n t he s mallest n umber w hich m ust b e p resent .

L imb b ones a nd

s kulls p resent m ore c omplex d ifficulties , a nd t he p roblem o f w hat t o d o w ith

1 94

i dentifiable d iaphysial f ragments , i n p articular , r emains u nresolved .

O ne

c ompromise i s t o c ount o nly t hose l imb b one f ragments w hich h ave a ll o r p art o f a n e piphysis a ppending . T hough p rocedurally c onvenient w hen d ealing w ith s mall a ssemblages , i t i s f elt t hat t his c an l ead t o a n u nacceptable l oss o f i nformation w hen m aking a d etailed s tudy o f l arge a ssemblages . F or o ne t hing , s ome e piphyses a re p articularly s usceptible t o d estruction . A g ood e xample i s t he p roximal e piphysis o f t he c attle h umerus, w hich i s r arely e ncountered i n p ost-Roman a ssemblages f rom Y ork , t hough t he s haft , h eavily g nawed a t t he p roximal m etaphysis , i s q uite c ommon . F urthermore , t he d iaphysis i tself m ay b e a n i mportant z one o f c arcass d ivision . R oman d eposits a t 2 4-30 T anner R ow , Y ork , p rovided a g ood e xample . S everal c ontexts o f l ate 2 nd c entury d ate g ave a ssemblages w hich c onsisted a lmost e xclusively o f f ragments o f h eavily b utchered c attle f emur , t ibia , h umerus a nd r adius d iaphysis . A q uantification b ased o n e piphyses w ould h ave i gnored o ver 9 0% o f t he i dentifiable b ones . T he s ystem w hich h as b een a dopted f or l arge a ssemblages , t herefore , g ives e qual w eight t o d iaphysial a nd e piphysial d iagnostic e lements b y d efining z ones t o w hich s haft f ragments c an b e a llocated . T his i s n ot t he p lace t o g o i nto t he p rocedure i n g reat d etail . T his a llows d etailed r ecording o f f ragmented m aterial a nd ac lose d egree o f h omology b etween t axa . T he l atter p oint i s a n i mportant o ne , a s i t a llows a f urther m eans o f t axon q uantification t hrough a n e lement b y e lement c omparison . I f t he c oncept o f t he u rban b one a ssemblage a s as ample o f b utchery a nd f ood d ebris i s t aken t o i ts l ogical c onclusion , t hen i t c an b e a rgued t hat s imple t axon q uantification , i n t he f orm o f a c omparison o f t he r elative a bundance o f t he b ones o f t axon A a s a gainst t axon B , i s l ess u seful a s a n i nterpretative t ool t han a q uantification b ased o n a n ap riori z oning o f t he c arcasses o f f ood a nimals . O n t his m odel, t he a ssessment o f a n i maginary a ssemblage w ould c hange f rom t he f am iliar ' mostly c attle , f ewer s heep , s till l ess p igs a nd h ardly a ny p oultry ' t o m ostly c attle v ertebrae a nd h indquarters , s heep f orequarters , a nd p ig t rotters ; w ith r ather l ess s heep a nd p ig v ertebrae a nd r ibs ; a nd a b ackground s catter o f o ther b its . I n e ffect , d ifferent p art o f t he c arcass o f t he m ain f ood a nimals c ome t o b e t reated a s t axa i n t hemselves . A part f rom m aking m ore s ense i n t he c ontext o f a n e conomic i nterpretation , s uch a p rocedure g ives a d ataset w ith m any m ore ' t axa ' a nd g reater d ifferences b etween s amples . I n p ractice , s uch d ata a re m ore

s usceptible t o o bjective s tatistical m easurement o f d iversity

a nd b etween-sample d istances . R ank a bundance a nalyses c an b e u ndertaken , t reating t he b one a ssemblage i n aw ay a nalogous t o t he a nalysis o f m ultis pecies p opulations, a nd s uch a nalyses o ften r esult i n a c lear c haracterisation o f w hat i s p articular t o t he s ample a nd w hat i s m erely b ackground. A n i mportant

t ool

i n t he i nvestigation o f h usbandry p ractises i s t he

r econstruction o f a ge a t d eath .

A gain ,

t he

c omplexity

o f

u rban m arkets

p uts s everal a dditional l ayers b etween t he l iving h erd o r f lock a nd t he r ecovered a ssemblage . T he m ain a im o f a ge a t d eath r econstruction i n Y ork h as b een t o d escribe t he a ge s tructure o f t he l ivestock s laughtered i n t he c ity a t d ifferent p eriods . A ttempts t o e xtend t his i nterpretation t o t he c onstruction o f h erd a ge s tructures a nd s urvivorship c urves a re b edevilled b y o ur l ack o f k nowledge o f t he m arketing p rocess w hich b rought l ivestock i nto R oman a nd m edieval t owns . T he n otion t hat u rban b utchers d ealt d irectly a nd i ndividually w ith t he f armers w ho r aised t he l ivestock i s p robably s implistic . A s s oon a s w e h ave r eliable l iterary r ecords , i n t he l ate m edieval p eriod , i t i s c lear t hat w e a re d ealing w ith a r emarkably c omplex s equence o f m iddlemen a nd g raziers ,

19 5

p lacing s everal l ayers o f a ge-

g roup s election a nd l ife h istory b etween t he p roducer a nd t he b utcher . H erd p opulation s tructure a nd l ife e xpectancy a re u seful c oncepts i n t he a rchaeology o f s ubsistence c ommunities , b ut i t i s h ighly d ebatable w hether t hey h ave a ny p lace i n t he s tudy o f u rban a ssemblages . U ntil t he s ources o f s upply o f t owns i n t he p ast a re b etter u nderstood , a nd t he r elationship o f t he e xcavated a ssemblage t o t he o riginal h erd o r f lock m ade c lear , a ge a t d eath r econstruction i n u rban a ssemblages i s b est l imited t o c onsidering w hat a ge g roups o f a n imals w ere s elected f or s laughter a t d ifferent t imes a nd p laces , a nd w hat t his m ight s how a bout t he e conomic p ressures w ithin t he t own . O bviously t here a re s everal r outes t o a n a ge a t d eath r econstruction , a nd w ork i n Y ork h as b een b ased o n m andibular e ruption a nd a ttrition . T his i s n ot t o d ecry t he u se o f e piphysial f usion a s a t echnique f or a ge e stimation , b ut t here a re i nterpretational p roblems w ith t his t echnique ( Watson 1 978 ) , a nd t he f act t hat a nalysis o f e piphysial f usion i s b ased o n e lements f rom t hroughout t he s keleton c an b e p roblematical i n t he u rban c ontext , w here l ivestock w ould h ave b een t ransported a s j oints r ather t han i ndividuals . I f t he p referred p attern o f b utchery o f , f or e xample , p igs c hanged a ccording t o t he a ge o f t he i ndividual c arcass , a nd i f d istribution o f d ifferent c uts o f p ork w ithin t he t own w as n ot s patially h omogenous , t hen a s imple i nterpretation o f e piphysial

f usion d ata f rom o ne s eries o f

d eposits c ould b e v ery m isleading . F or t hese r easons , a ge e stimation i n Y ork b ones h as c oncentrated o n m andibular e ruption a nd a ttrition , u sing t he w ear s tages d efined b y G rant ( 1982, 9 2-4) a s t he b asis o f t he r ecord . H owever , G rant 's i nterpretational t echnique , b ased o n s ummed ' m andibular w ear s cores ' , i s n ot t i sed . E piphysial f usion d ata , w here a vailable , a re u sed a s a c ross-check o n t he m andibular d ata , a nd o nly i n c ircumstances w here d ifferential d isposal o f i mmature a nd a dult c arcasses i s n ot s uspected . I n p resenting t he d ata , t he e mphasis h as b een o n d efining d evelopmental a ge g roupings r ather t han c alendrical o nes . T his a llows a g reater d egree o f c omparability w ith t he d ata o btained b y o ther w orkers , a nd s idesteps t he p roblem o f n ot a ctually k nowing a t w hat a ge t he l ower t hird m olar e rupted i n a 1 5th c entury s heep .

F urthermore , i t s eems u nlikely t hat

t he f armers o f R oman t o m edieval Y orkshire k new t he a ge o f t heir l ivestock i n t erms o f m onths o r y ears . T hen , a s t o a l arge e xtent n ow , i t w as t he s tage o f d evelopment r eached b y t he a nimal w hich d etermined w hether o r n ot i t w as s laughtered , m ated , s old t o a n eighbour , o r w hatever . A c omparison o f d evelopmental s tage a t d eath i s t hus p robably m ore d irectly r elevant t han a n a ttempt t o c ompare a bsolute a ge d istributions .

O nly w hen t here i s

an eed t o t ime t he s laughter o f l ivestock t o ap articular m onth o r s eason o f t he y ear d oes t he n eed t o c onvert s tage o f d evelopment t o a bsolute a ge a ctually a rise , a nd t hen t he a ssumptions w hich m ust b e m ade r ender t he w hole p rocedure v ery a pproximate a nd t enuous ( eg . s ee L auwerier 1 983). O ne l ine o f r esearch w hich d eals w ith t he d ata i n w ider g roupings t han t he i ndividual c ontext o r s ample i s t he i nvestigation o f b iometry . O nce a gain , t he e mphasis h as b een o n a nswering s pecific q uestions , r ather t han a rchiving d ata f or t heir o wn s ake . T he m ain s ubject t o h ave b een t ackled i s t he s imple q uestion o f t he e xtent t o w hich t he g ross s ize a nd s keletal m orphology o f t he m ain d omesticates v aried f rom p eriod t o p eriod . I n o rder t o e xplore t his t opic , i t h as b een n ecessary t o c ollect d ata w hich d escribe t he s ize a nd c onformation o f s ome o f t he m ain e lements o f t he s keleton , a nd w hich a re c ommonly r ecovered i n m easurable c ondition . T his l ast p oint c annot b e o ver-stressed .

T here

i s

l ittle p oint

i n a ttempting

t o b ase a

b iometrical s tudy o n m easurements w hich a re r arely a vailable . T he s tandard s et o f d escriptions o f b one m easurements i s u sed ( von d en D riesch 1 976 ) ,

19 6

t hough t he f ull

s et o f v ariates d escribed b y v on d en D riesch h as s teadily

b een w hittled d own w ith e xperience t o a s hort-list o f t hose

w hich a re a t

l east o ccasionally a vailable . T he r outine r ecovery o f t he b ones o f r odents a nd a mphibians f rom s ieved s amples h as p rompted s ome i nvestigation o f t he p otential o f b iometrical w ork o n t axa o ther t han t he f amiliar d omestic l ivestock a nd p ets . T o d ate , t his w ork h as e ither b een t axonomic, d ifferentiating M us a nd A podemus s pecimens , o r d emographic , i nvestigating a ge-related s ize c lasses i n f rog b ones ( O 'Connor 1 988 ) . S everal o ther a reas o f b one s tudies h ave b een g iven h igh p riority . T he r ecording o f s pecimens w hich e xhibit a bnormalities a ttributable t o d isease o r t rauma h as b een o ne s uch , t he e mphasis b eing o n d escribing t he l esions i n c onsistent t erms s o a s t o f acilitate c omparisons a nd o bjective d iagnosis . C ertain p athological c onditions h ave b ecome s ufficiently f amiliar t o j ustify a ttempts a t q uantification . S ome m anifestations o f a rthropathy i n c attle , i n p articular o steoarthritis i n t he m etapodio-phalangeal j oints a nd a cetabulum , o ccur a t f requencies o f 1 -2% o f a ll a cetabulae o r m etapodia . T hese a rthropathies , a mongst o thers , a re p robably l argely a ttributable t o t he u ses t o w hich c attle w ere f ormerly p ut , i n p articular h auling c arts a nd p loughs . T hese o ccupational d isorders a re o bviously o f p articular a rchaeological s ignificance . A t t he o ther e xtreme , s ingle i nstances o f a bnormalities h ave b een e ncountered . W hilst r ange o f p athological . a i ntrinsically i nteresting , a nd w orth n oting s o a s t o s et m odern v eterinary r ecords

i n a n h istorical

c ontext,

t hese

s pecimens a dd

l ittle

t o

t he

a rchaeological i nterpretation o f t he a ssemblage. N on-metrical s keletal t raits a re p otentially v aluable i n c haracterising t he d ifferent g ene p ools b eing s ampled b y a n u rban m arket . A lthough s ome w ork h as b een u ndertaken i n t his f ield ( eg . s ee N oddle 1 978 ; A ndrews a nd N oddle 1 975) , t here h as b een l ittle s ystematic u se o f t he r esults a s p art o f t he a rchaeological p rocess . T he p rocedure a t Y ork h as b een t o m ake a s ystematic r ecord o f t he o ccurrence o f t wo t raits i n c attle a nd s heep m andibles, n amely t he c ongenital a bsence o f t he s econd p remolar a nd r eduction o f t he d istal c olumn o f t he t hird m olar . T hese h ave b een c hosen a s b eing r easonably c ommon , e asy t o s core w hilst r ecording e ruption a nd a ttrition d ata , a nd r elatively u nambiguous . T he i mportant p oint t o n ote i s t hat n ormal s pecimens a re r ecorded a s w ell a s a bnormal o nes . H ere a nd t here i n t he l iterature o ne e ncounters r eports w hich d escribe a n i nteresting s pecimen o f a bsence o f s econd p remolar i n a c attle m andible w ithout g iving a ny i ndication o f w hether t his o ne s pecimen r epresented 1 0% o f a ll c attle m andibles i n t hat s ample o r o nly 0 .1% . B y c oncentrating o n t wo f airly c ommon t raits ,

s ufficient d ata h ave b een a massed t o g ive a n i mpression o f

t he ' usual ' f requency o f t hese t raits i n c attle a nd s heep m andibles , m aking i t p ossible t o d raw a ttention t o s amples i n w hich t he f requency i s e ither s trikingly h igh o r l ow , w ith p ossible i mplications a bout g ene p ool s ize a nd i nbreeding . A lthough s till i n i ts i nfancy , t his i nvestigation s eems p articularly u seful i n t he u rban c ontext, a s i t o ffers s ome h ope o f d isentangling t he m any d ifferent s ources o f s upply w hich t owns m ust h ave h ad . S omewhat i ronically , l ittle a ttempt h as b een m ade t o a pply t he s tudy o f n on-metrical t raits t o r odent a nd i nsectivore b ones f rom u rban s ites , d espite t he w ealth o f m odern s tudies o n e pigenetic p olymorphism i n r odents . A lthough p lenty o f t heories a bout t he s tatus o f s hip r at ( Rattus r attus ) p opulations i n e arly E nglish t owns h ave b een a dvanced ( Armitage e t a l 1 984 ; D avis 1 986), t his o bvious m eans o f i nvestigating t he r ival c laims o f p opulation c ontinuity o r r epeated i ntroduction h as y et t o b e a pplied .

19 7

C onclusions T o s ummarise t he p oints m ade i n t his p aper ,

t he k ey t o t he c ost-

e ffective s tudy o f b ones f rom u rban a rchaeological

d eposits

i s

c areful

s election . A n u rban e xcavation w ill p roduce s amples o f b ones w hich m ay y ield u seful i nformation a bout h uman a ctivities i n a nd a round t he t own , a nd o thers w hich a re m erely ' background ' , a nd o f l ittle v alue . R esiduality c an a lso b e a s erious p roblem , a nd c lose l iaison w ith p ottery r esearchers a nd o thers s tudying d ifferent m aterials f rom t he s ame d eposits i s e ssential . D ifferent p eriods o f a t own 's d evelopment m ay m erit p articular s tudy . I n t he c ase o f Y ork , a ny b one s amples f rom t he 4 th t o 9 th c enturies , o r 1 6th t o 1 8th c enturies a re g iven a h igh p riority . D eposits o f b ones d erived f rom s pecific c raft o r i ndustrial a ctivities m ay a lso b e p articularly i nformative a s t he p apers o f M acGregor a nd S erjeantson i n t his v olume s how . S ieving

i s

e specially

i mportant

a s

a c ontrol

o n t he

l evel

o f b one

r ecovery . E ven a c oarse m esh , s uch a s 1 0mm , w ill g ive b etter r ecovery t han c ollection b y h and d uring e xcavation . T he i mportant p oint a bout b one r ecovery b y s ieving i s t hat t he l evel o f r ecovery i s c onstant . S ieving a lso t ends t o d irect r ecording p rocedures t owards p roducing a r ecord o f t he c ontents o f a s ample , r ather t han c ataloguing i ndividual s pecimens . T his t ends t o m ake t he b one d ata m ore c ompatible w ith s tudies o f o ther b iological r emains f rom t he s ame d eposits. A nalytical

t echniques m ust

t ake a ccount o f t he c omplex r oute b etween

t he o riginal h erds a nd t he u rban d eposit . S ome s pecies q uantification m ethods c an b e r uled o ut a s i nappropriate . R econstruction o f h erd a ge s tructure i s p roblematical w hen t he t own m ay h ave d rawn o n m any d ifferent s ources o f l ivestock , a nd t his a lso c omplicates t he i nterpretation o f b iometrical v ariation . R ecording t he d istribution o f d ifferent c arcass e lements o f t he m ain d omesticates i s i mportant , a s t he u nit o f d istribution w ithin

a t own w as p robably t he j oint o f m eat ,

r ather t han t he i ndividual

a nimal . T he m ain p rinciple u nderlying t he r ecording a nd i nvestigation o f b one s amples

f rom a rchaeological

d eposits

i n Y ork h as

b een

t he

i mportance

o f

a ttending t o t he j ob i n h and , o f a nswering c urrent r esearch a ims r ather t han a ttempting t o p redict a nd s atisfy t he n eeds o f f uture r esearchers b y b equeathing t hem a d etailed a rchive . T his h as b een i n p art a d eliberate i ntent a nd i n p art a p ragmatic r esponse t o t he n eed t o e xtract i nformation q uickly a nd e fficiently f rom w hat c ould e asily b ecome a n o verwhelming q uantity o f r aw m aterial . I f t he b ones i n q uestion w ere s ubsequently g oing t o b e d estroyed o r r eburied , t hen t his s elective i nformation-grabbing w ould b e d ifficult t o j ustify .

H owever ,

t he p rimary a rchive o f b ones w ill b e

r etained a nd c urated b y t he d esignated r eceiving m useum , t he Y orkshire M useum , a nd w ill p resumably b e a vailable f or f uture r esearch . I n t he c ircumstances ,

t hen ,

i t h as b een j ustifiable t o a scribe p riorities o n t he

b asis o f p resent n eeds. T here i s a nother a rgument i n f avour o f t his r ather s elective a pproach . W hereas o ne l arge e xcavation m ight a dequately r epresent t he b one d ebris d eposited a t a s mall r ural s ite , a s a t D anebury ( Grant 1 985) , t he c omplex p attern o f d eposition i n at own w ill o nly g radually b ecome a pparent a s m ore a nd m ore e xcavations a re m ade i nto d eposits o f d ifferent d ates . U ntil s uch t ime a s b one s amples a re a vailable f rom a ll p eriods o f Y ork 's h istory , a nd f rom a r ange o f d ifferent t ypes o f o ccupation w ithin e ach p eriod , t he p rimary n eed w ill b e t o c ollect i nformation i n q uantity , b ut a t a l ow l evel

1 98

o f d etail,

i n o rder t hat l ong-term t rends a nd c oarsely-defined p atterns o f

a ctivity a nd d eposition m ay b e s een . O nly w hen t his f ramework o f k nowledge i s r elatively c omplete w ill i t b ecome p ossible t o d etermine t he a reas i n w hich v ery d etailed w ork i s r equired t o a nswer q uestions .

F or

t he

p resent,

t he

s pecific ,

p riorities

a ssemblages a vailable i n t erms o f p reservation ,

a re

n arrowly-defined

t o

s elect

r ecovery ,

t he

b est

a nd r elevance t o

t he a rchaeological r ecord , a nd t o c oncentrate o n a ccumulating i nformation b ased o n s ecure ( or, m ore h onestly , l ess i nsecure) m ethodological p rocedures.

R EFERENCES A NDREWS r uminant

A .H .

a nd N ODDLE

mandibles

A rchaeological S cience 2 . A RMITAGE

P .L .

B .A .

f ound

( 1975)

a t

A bsence

o f

a rchaeological

p remolar s ites .

t eeth

f rom

J ournal

o f

1 37-44 .

( 1982)

S tudies

o n

t he

r emains

o f

d omestic

l ivestock

f rom R oman , m edieval a nd e arly m odern L ondon : o bjectives a nd m ethods . I n H all, A .R . and Kenward, H .K . ( eds) Environmental Archaeology i n t he U rban C ontext . A RMITAGE

P J,

L ondon :

W EST B .

r at i n R oman L ondon . C LASON

A .T .

R esearch R eport

a nd S TEEDMAN K .

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4 3 .

a nd

P RUMMEL

W .

( 1 9 77)

9 4106 .

N ew e vidence o f b lack

T he L ondon A rchaeologist 4 (14) .

a rchaeological r esearch .

3 75-383 .

C ollecting,

s ieving

J ournal o f A rchaeological S cience 4 .

DAVIS D .E . ( 1986) e cological h istory .

C .B .A .

a nd

1 71-5 .

T he s carcity o f r ats a nd t he B lack D eath :

a n

J ournal o f I nterdisciplinary H istory 1 6(3) , 4 55-70 .

V ON D EN D RIESCH PG ( 1976 ) f rom A rchaeological S ites .

AG uide t o t he M easurement o f A nimal B ones

P eabody Museum B ulletin 1 .

H arvard :

P eabody

M useum . F IELLER N .R .J . s amples .

a nd

T URNER PG ( 1982)

N umber e stimation i n v ertebrate

J ournal o f A rchaeological S cience 9 (1) ,

G RANT A .

( 1 9 82)

T he u se

o f

4 9-62 .

t ooth w ear a s a g uide t o t he a ge o f

d omestic u ngulates . I n W ilson , B ., G rigson , C . a nd A geing a nd S exing A nimal B ones f rom A rchaeological S ites . A rchaeological R eports B ritish S eries 1 09 . G RANT PG ( 1985)

A nimal

D anebury . V ol I I T he F inds . HARDY E .A .

( 1982)

f rom a rchaeological P roceedings A pril 1 982 .

h usbandry . L ondon :

P ayne, S . ( eds) O xford : B ritish

9 1107 . I n C unliffe ,

B .

E xcavations a t

S ociety o f A ntiquaries .

4 96-548 .

A m icrocomputer-based s ystem o f r ecording b ones s ites .

I n A spinall,

A .

a nd

W arren ,

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o f t he M icro-computer J amboree . U niversity o f B radford , 1 B radford : U niversity o f B radford . 1-17 .

( eds) 3 rd

J ONES G . ( 1984) A nimal b ones . I n R ogerson , A . a nd D allas, C . E xcavations i n T hetford 1 948-59 a nd 1 973-80 . N orwich: E ast Anglian A rchaeology R eport 2 2 .

1 87-92 .

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A t ested s et o f

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S cience a nd A rchaeology 2 2 , 3 15 .

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p iglets

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t he

s eason

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The

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( 1 9 80)

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1 33-41 . O 'CONNOR ,

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1 2737.

2 00

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G AZETEER O F S ITES W ITH A NIMAL B ONES U SED A S B UILDING M ATERIAL P hilip L . A rmitage

I NDEX 1 )

A RCHITECTURAL F EATURES 1 .1

E xternal d ecoration

1 .2

I nterior d ecoration -"knuckle-bone f loors"

1 . 3 F loor

d ecoration i n " follies" -v ariation o f t he m ore t raditional

" knuckle-bone f loors" f ound i n p rivate a nd p ublic h ouses 1 .4 2 )

C ONSTRUCTIONAL W ORKS I: 2 .1

3 )

32 3 .3

5 )

6 )

I ndustrial C ontexts

H orn c ore l ined p its

C ONSTRUCTIONAL W ORKS - I I: 3 .1

4 )

P atterned f loors i n s ummerhouses a nd o ther m inor " follies"

D omestic a nd O ther N on-industrial E xamples

P acking/hardcore i n h ouse w alls I n

r epair

w orks

w here d amage h ad o ccurred

b uilding o n p art o f a f loor e tc. F astening s lates t o a c hurch r oof

C ONSTRUCTIONAL W ORKS I II: 4 .1

C esspits a nd s oakaways

4 .2

R oad f oundations

M iscellaneous C ategories

A GRICULTURAL A ND H ORTICULTURAL U SES 5 .1

A gricultural l and d rains

5 .2 5 .3

F armhouse r oofs W alls b uilt a round m eadows a nd m arket g ardens

" ACOUSTIC R ESONANCE V ESSELS" 6 .1

H orse s kulls p laced b eneath f loors

2 01

t o

t he f abric

o f a

1 )

A RCHITECTURAL F EATURES

1 .1

E xternal d ecoration

S ite o r p lace n ame : " Knuckle-bone h ouse" ( also k nown l ocally a s " whale b one s tores" ), v illage o f C ley o n t he n orth N orfolk c oast . D escription :

C ornice u nder t he e aves o f t he r oof i s d ecorated w ith v arious

h orse ,

c attle a nd s heep b ones ( including f irst

b ones ,

m olar t eeth a nd v ertebrae ) a rranged i n c ourses ,

p halanges ,

m etapodial

t ightly p acked

t ogether w ith t he a rticular e nds o f t he l imb b ones f acing o utwards . I n a ddition t o t he b ones e mbedded i n t he c ornice , t here a re s quare a nd r ectangular p anels s et i n t he f lint w alls , b etween t he w indows, w hose b orders a re f ormed b y t he d istal a rticular e nds o f h orse m etapodial b ones. T he h ouse w as b uilt i n t he D utch s tyle f or a m erchant , i n c . 1 630 ;

b ut

i t i s n ot k nown w hether t he b one d ecoration w as a c ontemporary o r l ater f eature . W hatever t he o riginal d ate o f t he d esign , i t s eems p robable t hat m any o f t he b one e lements n ow e mbedded i n t he w alls a re r ecent r eplacements a s i t i s u nlikely t hat t he o riginals c ould h ave s urvived s o l ong i n s uch a n e xposed s ituation w ithout s uffering f rom t he e ffects o f w eathering . T he o riginal s ource(s) o f t he b ones i s n ot k nown ;

b ut l ocal o ral

t radition h olds t hat t hey c ame f rom a " boneyard a ttached t o ag lue f actory" t hat o nce o perated i n n earby B lakeney ( dates u nknown ) . P resent s tatus :

Aw ell-known l ocal l andmark ;

n ow a b ook s hop o wned b y M r

a nd M rs P . D earden . S ources o f i nformation :

U npublished ;

p ictures a nd d escription o f t he h ouse

s upplied b y J ennie C oy , F aunal R emains P roject ,

S outhampton U niversity

( 1982, p ers . c omm .); h istorical d etails o btained f rom Mr a nd M rs D earden ( 1982, p ers . c omm .), B . B land a nd M rs . P . S uckling , b oth o f C ley ( 1982 , p ers . c omm . ) a nd S ue M arjeson , N orwich M useum ( 1982 , p ers . c omm .).

1 .2

I nterior d ecoration - " knuckle-bone f loors"

S ite o r p lace n ame :

P ublic h ouse c alled " Antiquity H all" ( also k nown a s

" The H ole i n t he W all" o r b y i ts s ign o f " Whittington a nd h is C at" ) . F ormerly l ocated i n O xford , o n t he s outh s ide o f t he s treet l eading f rm H ithe-Bridge t o R ewley . D escription :

S kelton

( 1823)

d escribed

t he

. . f loor a s a " .pavement -m ade

o f ' sheeps t rotters ' n eatly c omposed i n v arious c ompartments" . C hambers ( 1863) a lso r ecords t ha t he f loor "—was p aved w ith t he b ones o f s heeps ' t rotters ,

c uriously d isposed i n c ompartments" .

F rom t he p ublished d rawings b y G . V irtue ( reproduced i n S kelton ,

1 823

p late 1 26 ) i t w ould a ppear t hat t he f loor a lso i ncorporated c attle a s w ell a s s heep m etapodial b ones i n t he d esign ; b ut t his i s n owhere m entioned i n e ither S kelton ( 1823 ) o r C hambers ( 1863) . I nspection o f t he c riss-cross p attern s hown i n V irtue 's d rawings s uggests a ffinities w ith o ther c ontemporary b one f loors e lsewhere i n O xford ( see e xamples

2 02

f rom H olywell S treet a nd B road S treet ) . E xact d ate i s u nknown , p robably l ate 1 7th c entury ;

t he h ouse i s s hown

o n L oggan 's 1 675 m ap o f O xford . P resent s tatus : N o l onger e xtant ; h ouse s urvived u ntil d emolished ( see H urst , 1 894 : . 1) S ources o f i nformation :

1 843 w hen i t w as

P ublished a ccounts b y S kelton ( 1823:

1 26),

C hambers ( 1863: 7 65), H urst ( 1894: 1) a nd S quiris ( 19 28 : 1 58) . 1 A dditional h istorical i nformation s upplied b y M r . G raham , C entral L ibrary , O xfordshire C ounty C ouncil . S ite o r p lace n ame : P rivate h ouse , N o . 1 9 H olywell S treet , O xford . D escription :

A ccording t o H urst ( 1894)

t he f loor w as i n t he f ront r oom o f

t he h ouse a nd c overed 2 55 s q . f eet ( 71 s q .m .), a nd c ontained a n e stimated 2 4 ,460 b ones . T hese b ones w ere " halved a nd e mbedded , b road e nd u pwards , i n f ine g ravel, a nd w hen f ixed i n p osition , am ixture o f t hin l ime a nd f iner g ravel a ppears t o h ave b een f loated o ver t he w hole t o g ive s olidity a nd k eep t he s urface l ight i n c olour . W hether h obn ails a nd s treet d irt , o r r ough s and a nd r ubbing-stone w ere u sed t o s mooth t he s urface c ould n ot b e d ecided . I n o ne p lace , l eft o f t he h earth ,

t he p rojections o f t he b ones w ere

. . The b l eft u ntouched. orders ,

l etters a nd f igures o f t he d esign w ere o f c alves ' b ones , o r t hose o f s maller o xen ; t he d ividing l ines w ere s maller , a nd t he f illing i n w as o f m utton b ones o r o f l amb , a nd a f ew d eer. . .In t he i nitials t he R i s m ost p robably t he s urname o f t he o ccupier , a nd W a nd E t he C hristian n ames o f t he h usband a nd w ife . T he d ates , 1 701 a nd 1 702 , a re e asily r ecognised" . T he

s ource o f

t he b ones

i s n ot s pecified i n H urst 's a ccount ,

b ut m ay

h ave b een t he s laughterhouse l ocated b ehind t he h ouse . P resent s tatus : N o l onger e xtant ; w as p robably d estroyed s hortly a fter i ts d iscovery b y w orkmen b eneath a l ater f loor o f o ak b oards, d uring r efurbishment o f t he h ouse i n 1 893 . S ources o f i nformation : S ite o r p lace n ame : D escription :

T he

P ublished a ccount b y H urst ( 1894 :

1 011) .

P rivate h ouse f ormerly i n B road S treet , O xford .

f loor "—was

l aid w ith

' trotter

s quares , a rranged a ngle-wise w ithin a b order .

b ones '

i n a p attern o f

T he p attern w as d efined

b y b ones a bout 2 in . ( 50 m m ) s quare , r ubbed o r s awn t o a n e ven s urface , a nd f illed i n w ith t he s mall b ones o f s heep 's l egs, t he k nuckles u ppermost , c losely p acked a nd d riven i nto t he g round t o ad epth o f f rom 3 in . ( 76 mm ) t o 4 i n . ( 102 = I)" . ( Innocent, 19 16 : 1 59 ) . A lthough n ot s tated b y I nnocent , i t w ould s eem l ikely t hat t he l arger b ones i n t he f loor w ere f rom c attle . P resent s tatus : i n

N o l onger e xtant ;

d estroyed d uring d emolition o f t he h ouse

1 869 .

S ources o f i nformation :

I nnocent

( 19 16 :

1 59 ) w ho q uotes a n a rticle t hat

o riginally a ppeared i n B uilding N ews f or S eptember 3 rd , 1 869 .

2 03

S ite o r p lace n ame : V arious p roperties l ocated w ithin t he c ity o f O xford : i )

F our p rivate h ouses ( including o ne k nown l ocally a s t he " Court H ouse"), f ormerly l ocated n ear t he H amel , S t. T homas' P arish .

i i)

P rivate h ouse i n L ogic L ane .

i ii) i v )

P rivate h ouse i n G eorge S treet. O riginal A shmolean M useum b uilding , B road S treet.

D escription :

N ot d escribed i n t he l iterature ;

l isted a s

e xamples

o f

" knuckle-bone

a ll o f t he a bove a re s imply f loors" a nd

t heir

d ates

o f

c onstruction a re a lso n ot i ndicated . T he f loors i n t he f our h ouses i n t he H amel a s w ell a s t he o ne i n t he A shmolean M useum w ere f ormerly w ell k nown l ocal a rchitectural c uriousities . W orkmen a ccidentally d iscovered t he f loor i n G eorge S treet w hile d emolishing t he h ouse . C ontractors w ere a lso r esponsible f or d iscovering t he f loor t o t he h ouse i n L ogic L ane w hen t hey w ere d igging u p t he g round i n p reparation f or e recti n g s caffolding . P resent s tatus :

N one o f t he a bove s urvived t o t he p resent d ay .

T he

b uilding k nown a s t he " Court H ouse" s tood a t t he s outh e nd o f t he H amel u ntil a bout 1 880 , w hen i t w as d emolished ( Squiris , 1 928 ) . T he f loors t o t he o ther h ouses w ere a lso d estroyed b y b uilding a ctivity a t a bout t he s ame t ime ( see H urst, 1 894); t he b one f loor a t t he A shmolean M useum w as r eplaced b y o ne o f s tone i n t he 1 9th c entury ( Hurst , 1 89 4) . S ources o f i nformation : P ublished a ccounts b y H urst ( 1894) a nd S quiris ( 1928 ) . A dditional h istorical i nformation r elating t o t he A shmolean M useum w as s upplied b y A . M acGregor ( 1982 , p ers . c omm . ) . S ite o r p lace n ame : D escription :

6 5 S t . A ldates , O xford .

D uring e xcavations a t t he s ite, B . D urham o f t he O xford

A rchaeology U nit d iscovered a s mall s ection o f e arly 1 8th c entury f looring w ith f ive c attle m etapodial b ones f orming a d ecorative l ine o f i nfilling b etween t he s tone s labs . B . W ilson i dentified t he b one e lements a s t hree p roximal m etacarpals , o ne p roximal a nd o ne d istal m etatarsal, a ll o f w hich h ad w orn a rticular s urfaces " presumably f rom t he p assage o f f ootwear" ( Wilson , P resent s tatus :

1 984) .

A ll t races o f t his f eature w ere r emoved d uring t he c ourse

o f e xcavation . S ources o f i nformation :

W ilson

s upplied b y D urham ( 1984 , S ite o r p lace n ame :

i n D urham ( 1984) ; p ers .

a rchaeological

d etails

c omm . ) .

" Bear a nd R agged S taff" p ublic h ouse , C umnor v illage

n ear O xford . D escription :

N o d escription a vailable ;

P resent s tatus:

h istory u nknown .

N ot k nown .

S ources o f i nformation :

M entioned i n H urst ( 1894:

1 2).

S ite o r p lace n ame : P rivate h ouse , F ulbourn n ear C ambridge . D escription :

. . " .the f loor i n t hat p art o f t he h ouse w hich w as o nce a n o pen

2 04

h all w as

t hick w ith s heep b ones.[forming]

( Evans, 1 966 : P resent s tatus :

N ot k nown .

S ources o f i nformation : S ite o r p lace n ame : D escription :

a s ound d urable [ surface ]-"

2 00).

E vans ( 1966).

G rammar s chool n ext t o c hurchyard , W antage , B erkshire .

" Knuckle-bone

f loor" ;

d ate a nd d etails o f

c onstruction n ot

k nown . P resent s tatus :

N o l onger e xtant ;

S ources o f i nformation : S ite o r p lace n ame : D escription :

d estroyed a bout 1 850 .

H urst ( 1894:

1 2).

P rivate h ouse , E lstow n ear B edford .

N o d escription a vailable ;

P resent s tatus:

h istory u nknown .

N ot k nown .

S ources o f i nformation :

H urst ( 1894:

1 2).

S ite o r p lace n ame : ' New I nn" p ublic h ouse , 4 1-43 N ew S treet , S alisbury . D escription :

A s ection o f a " knuckle-bone f loor" w as u ncovered b y w orkmen

d uring a lterations 1 8th c entury d ate .

t o

t he m ain b ar r oom i n 1 972 ;

p resumed t o b e o f

P roximal a nd d istal a rticular e nds o f c attle m etacarpal a nd m etatarsal b ones f orm t he s urface o f t he f loor . A ll o f t hese b ones a re b roken i n h alf a nd h ave t heir s hafts d riven i nto t he e arth t o ad epth o f b etween 7 6 m m a nd 1 02

A lthough o nly a r ather s mall

3 1 1 1 1 .

p ortion o f

t he

o riginal c omplete f loor s urvives t here i s s ufficient r emaining t o s how t hat t he b uilders h ad m ade s ome a ttempt t o p roduce a p atterned e ffect : t he d istal m etapodial b ones a re a rranged i n s everal n eat r ows , l aid p arallel t o o ne a nother , a nd f orming a b order t o ac entral s quare p anel o f p roximal m etacarpal b ones . P resent s tatus :

T he s urviving s ection o f t his f loor i s o n p ublic d isplay ,

p rotected b y s heets o f a rmoured g lass , a nd l it f or v iewing . T his n ow r are e xample o f a " knuckle-bone f loor" i s i n n eed o r u rgent a ttention ; a nd u nless m easures a re t aken s oon t o i mprove t he a ir f low u nder t he g lass v iewing p anels t he r ising m oisture w ill o ver t he n ext f ew y ears c ause i rreparable d amage t o t he b ones . S ources o f i nformation :

U npublished ;

b ones i dentified b y P . A rmitage

d uring a v isit t o t he p ublic h ouse i n 1 982 . A dditional i nformation s upplied b y M rs M . S picer , p roprietor o f t he " New I nn" a nd b y M s C . C onybeare , S alisbury a nd S outh W iltshire M useum ( 1982 , p ers . c am . ) . S ite

o r

p lace

D escription :

n ame :

' king J ohn 's H ouse" , R omsey , H ampshire .

A n e xtensive a rea o f " knuckle-bone f loor" w as u ncovered

d uring r estoration w ork t o t he b uilding i n 1 977 . T he f loor i s c onstructed f rom t he d istal e nds o f c attle m etapodial b ones , o f w hich

2 05

o nly

t he d istal

s haft r emains .

e piphysis a nd b etween o ne h alf a nd o ne t hird o f t he M arks l eft o n t he b roken e nd o f t he s haft s how w here

t he b one w as c hopped i n h alf b y a n a xe o r c leaver . E ach b one w as d riven s haft e nd d ownwards i nto t he n atural b rickearth , t o a d epth o f 7 6 m m t o 1 27 m m , d epending o n t he l ength o f t he s haft, l eaving t he d istal a rticular e nd u ppermost . A lthough t he u nderlying b rickearth i s r elatively s oft, n o m ortar w as u sed t o c onsolidate t he s tructure , i nstead a ll t he b ones w ere p acked c losely t ogether t o p roduce a f irm a nd s table s urface . A part f rom t he s mall a rea s howing e vidence o f r epair w ork ,

d escribed

b elow , t he e ntire s urface o f t he f loor i s c overed b y c attle m etapodial b ones a rranged d istal e nd u ppermost . T his u niformity i n c onstruction m ay b e c ompared w ith t he p atterned ' knuckle-bone f loors" r ecorded f rom O xford a nd S alisbury ; t he R amsey f loor h as t he a ppearance o f b eing f unctional r ather t han o rnamental . T he f requent m ovement o f p eople i n t he r oam h as r esulted i n c onsiderable w ear t o t he b ones i n t he c entre o f t he f loor a rea , w hilst t hose n earest t he w alls s how l ittle , i f a ny , e vidence o f a brasion . I n t he m ost s everely a braded b ones , t he d istal c ondylar s urface h as b een r ubbed a way l eaving t he u nderlying c ancellous t issue e xposed ( Figure 1 ) . I n

o ne s mall

s ubsequently

a rea , b een

t he f loor

r epaired

s eems

u sing

a n

t o h ave s uffered d amage a nd a ssortment

o f

b ones ,

i ncluding

s everal c omplete s heep m etapodial b ones , t hree e quid m etatarsal b ones ( the s mall s ize o f t hese i ndicating t hat t hey w ere e ither f rom d onkeys o r p onies) a nd v arious b ones f rom j oints o f b eef ( eg . s capulae a nd t ibiae) . W hen f irst d iscovered t he f loor w as p resumed t o b e o f m edieval d ate ; b ut i nspection b y P . A rmitage r evealed t hat i t w as p robably m uch l ater t han t his -the l arge s ize o f t he c attle m etapodial b ones s uggesting l ate 1 7th/early 1 8th c entury d ate . I n o rder t o t est t his a ssumption a s ample o f 4 8 m etatarsal b ones p reviously r emoved f rom t he f loor w as c ompared w ith m edieval , T udor a nd e arly m odern c attle m etatarsal b ones . F rom t he s ize o f t he d istal e piphysis i t w as c lear t hat t he R amsey b ones w ere n o e arlier t han t he l ate 1 5th a nd e arly 1 6th c entury . A lthough t he r ange o f t he d istal w idths i n t he R amsey s ample c ompared f avourably w ith t he e arly T udor c attle f rom L ondon , t heir p rojected l engths g reatly e xceeded t he l argest o f t hese 1 6th c entury b easts a nd r esembled t he m etatarsal b ones f rom t he m uch t aller 1 7th a nd 1 8th c entury c attle . T hus a d ate s ome t ime i n t he 1 7th o r 1 8th c entury i s s uggested f or t he c onstruction o f t he " knuckle-bone f loor" i n K ing J ohn 's H ouse , b ased o n t he r esults o f o steometric a nalyses . T o o btain a m ore p recise d ate , as ample o f c attle m etatarsal b ones f rom t he f loor w as s ubmitted t o t he B ritish M useum R esearch L aboratory f or r adiocarbon

d ating .

T he

r esult

o f

t his

t est

c onfirmed

t he

s uggested d ate r ange 1 7th t o 1 8th c enturies. S ample R ef .

B M L ab . R ef. N o .

U ncalibrated d ate y ears B P)

B os R /KJB

B M-2156R

C alibration m ade u sing

D ate R ange 1 460-1675 c al A D o r 1 7501795 c al A D

2 90+ 110

t he

c urve

o f

C alibrated P ossible*

S tuiver

a nd

P earson ,

1 986,

R adiocarbon , v .28 , p . 8 05-838 , a nd a s tandard e rror t erm w ith e ndpoints r ounded t o 5y ears ( Dr S .G . B owman , B ritish M useum , R eserach L aboratory , p ers . c omm . 1 988 ) .

2 06

5 cm • _-

7

-

. . ' OW r

••

_

" 1 !

F igure 1 .

0

•

C attle m etapodial b ones f rom " knuckle-bone f loor" , K ing J ohn 's H ouse , R omsey , H ampshire , s howing a brasion o n t he e xposed p art o f t he b ones,

t he d istal a rticular e nd .

2 07

D rawing :

K .H . A rmitage .

P resent s tatus :

E xtant ;

a lthough m uch o f t he f loor i s c overed b y m odern

w ooden f loorboards, a s mall s ection h as b een l eft e xposed a nd i s i lluminated f or p ublic v iewing . S ources o f i nformation :

A part f rom t he v ery b rief m ention o f t his f loor i n

t he g uidebook t o " King J ohn 's H ouse" ( produced b y t he " King J ohn 's H ouse M anagement C ommittee" ) t his f ine e xample o f as urviving " knuckleb one f loor" i s u npublished . B ackground h istorical i nformation s upplied b y K . S tubbs, H istoric B uildings B ureau , H ampshire C ounty C ouncil ( 1982 , p ers . c omm . ) . R adiocarbon m easurements c arried o ut b y t he B ritish M useum R esearch L aboratory ( 1983) .

1 .3

F loor d ecoration i n " follies" -v ariation o f

t he m ore t raditional

' knuckle-bone f loors" f ound i n p rivate a nd p ublic h ouses . S ite o r p lace n ame : D escription :

T he " Bath H ouse" , W rest P ark , S ilsoe , B edfordshire .

T he f loor i s m ade u p o f s mooth p ebbles w ith a n i nlaid p attern

f ormed b y d eer m etapodial b ones .

A ll t he b ones a re b roken i n h alf a nd

h ave b een e mbedded i n t he g round w ith t heir s haft e nd d ownwards a nd t he a rticular e nd ( proximal o r d istal) u ppermost . T he i nlaid p attern t akes t he f orm o f a c entral c ircle o f p roximal m etacarpal a nd m etatarsal b ones , f rom w hich e ight ' spokes ' r adiate o utwards r eaching i nto t he c orners o f t he r oom , w hich i s b uilt t o ah exagonal p lan . T he b ones f orming t he ' spokes ' a re t he d istal e nds o f m etapodial b ones . T he f olly w as b uilt i n c . 1 763 . F ormerly t he d esign o f t he f olly w as a ttributed t o S ir W illiam C hambers , b ut i t i s n ow t hought t o b e w ork o f S tephens ,

o ne o f h is p upils

P resent s tatus:

( Kernow ,

p ers .

c omm . ) .

T he f loor i s o pen t o p ublic v iew ( the e state h as b een

d esignated a s a n ational m onument u nder t he g uardianship o f t he D .O .E . , a nd i s l eased b y t hem t o t he N ational I nstitute o f A gricultural E ngineering). T he f loor w as r epaired s ome 2 0 y ears a go .

D uring t he r estoration

w ork , a pproximately h alf t he b ones p resent w ere f ound t o b e d amaged a nd s o w ere r eplaced w ith m odern d eer m etapodial b ones o btained f rom R ichmond P ark . I n o rder t o p rotect t he s urface o f t he f loor f rom f urther d amage , m ortar w as s pread b etweent t he b ones a nd p ebbles t o c onsolidate t hem . T he m odern b ones a re e asily i dentifed b y t heir f resh a ppearance . A ll t he o ther b ones a re d arker i n c olour b ut t hey s till s how n o e vidence o f a ny r eal w ear , s uggesting t hat e ven t hese m ay n ot b e t he o riginal 1 8th c entury b ones . S ources o f i nformation :

C ited

i n L ysons

( 1806 ,

V ol .

1 ) .

H istorical

a nd

o ther b ackground i nformation s upplied b y A . H unter , N ational I nstitute o f A gricultural E ngineering , W rest P ark ( 1981, p ers . c omm .) a nd P . K ernow , P rincipal I nspector , D .O .E . ( 19 81, p ers . c a m ) . E xamined b y P .

A rmitage

( 19 82) .

S ite o r p lace n ame : W iltshire . D escription :

" Temple o f M ercury" , g rounds o f M oot H ouse , D ownton ,

" Floor o f c obbles d ivided i nto s egments b y b ricks c ontaining

2 08

p atterns

f ormed b y k nuckle-bones" ( Moore ,

1 982 ,

T he f loor i s t hought t o b e c ontemporary w ith

p ers .

c omm . ) .

t he " temple" ( a ' folly ' )

w hich w as b uilt i n c . 1 740 . P resent s tatus :

D ecorated f loor a nd r est o f f olly i s e xtant a nd i s a l ocal

a rchitectural c uriousity . S ources o f i nformation : ( England ) ,

1 .4 S ite

N .

M oore ,

R oyal

C ommission o n H istoric M onuments

S alisbury , W iltshire .

P atterned F loors i n s ummerhouses a nd o ther m inor " follies" o r

place

S axmundham ,

name :

S ummerhouse

i n

t he

g rounds

o f

D arsham H ouse ,

S uffolk .

D escription :

Floor m ade u p o f h exagonal p aving s tones w ith t he c heekteeth

o f h orses f orming a p atterned e ffect i n t he d iamond-shaped i nterstices . T his f eature i s t hought t o d ate f rom t he R egency p eriod . P resent s tatus :

F loor s till

e xtant b ut w all

a nd r oof o f

t he

s ummerhouse

w ere d emolished s ome y ears a go . S ources o f i nformation :

H istorical

o wner o f D arsham H ouse . S ite o r p lace n ame : D escription :

d etails s upplied b y M r . R . W etmore ,

F loor i nspected b y P . A rmitage ( 1984 ) .

" Folly" i n t he g rounds o f B laise C astle , n ear B ristol .

F loor p atterned w ith h orse t eeth .

P resent s tatus :

A v isit t o t he a rea i n 1 984 b y P . A rmitage a nd B . L evitan

f ailed t o f ind a ny e vidence o f t his f eature, w hich m ust h ave b een d emolished

( date u nkno w n ) .

S ources o f i nformation : c omm .).

B . L evitan , U niversity M useum ,

2 )

C ONSTRUCTIONAL W ORKS -I

2 .1

H orn c ore l ined p its

S ite o r p lace n ame : D escription :

O xford ( 1984 ,

p ers .

I ndustrial C ontexts

C utler 's G ardens ( PQ 3 340/8150 ) , C ity o f L ondon .

E xcavations c arried o ut o n t his s ite b etween 1 978 a nd 1 980 b y

t he D epartment o f U rban A rchaeology , M useum o f L ondon , r evealed t he f loors o f 1 7th c entury w orkshops ( including a s mithy ) a nd o ther p ostm edieval d ebris o f aw ide v ariety o f i ndustries ( bell f ounding , g lass a nd c lay t obacco p ipe m aking , b one-working a nd i vory t urning ) s ealed b eneath E ast I ndia C ompany w arehouses ( built a t t he e nd o f t he 1 8th c entury ) w hose s hallow c ellars e nsured t he s urvival o f t his e vidence . I n t he n orthern p art o f t he s ite , b uried b eneath t he w arehouses , w as a s eries o f a t l east t hirteen p its w hose f unction r emains u nknown .

A ll

o f t hese p its , w hich a re d ated t o t he l ate 1 7th/early 1 8th c entury ( not l ater t han c . 1 740 ) , h ad t heir s ides l ined w ith c attle h orn c ores i n d istinct c ourses , w ith t heir t ips a ll a ligned o ne w ay ( pointing

2 09

o utwards ) a nd b onded w ith c lay .

B y p lacing t he i nside c urve o f e ach

c ore a gainst t he o utside c urve o f i ts n eighbour , t he b uilder h ad m anaged t o p ack t he c ores f orming e ach l ayer c losely t ogether w ithout t oo m uch o verlapping a t t heir t ips . O nly a t e ach c orner o f t he p it w ere t he c ores a rranges s o t hat t heir t ips i nterlocked b y c urving o ver e ach o ther -presumably s uch a c onfiguration p rovided a dditional s tability a t t his t he w eakest p oint i n t he i nternal l ining t o t he p it . T he t hirteen p its v aried c onsiderably i n s ize w ith t he l argest o f t hem m easuring 8 m l ong b y 1 .9m w ide a nd 1 .15m d eep a nd t he s mallest 1 .8m l ong b y 0 .8m w ide a nd 1 . 14m d eep . I n e very c ase t he t op o f t he p it w as t runcated b y t he c ontractors w orking o n t he s ite b efore t he s tructure c ould b e p roperly r ecorded b y t he a rchaeologists a nd s o t he t rue d epths o f t he p its w ould h ave b een g reater t han t he v alues q uoted a bove. F ive

o f t he p its h ad t races o f w ooden p lanks ( possibly p ine ) a nd o ak

j oists p rojecting f rom t he l ining o f h orn c ores, s uggesting t he p ossibility t hat e ither t he s tructures w ere l ined w ith w ood , i n t he f orm o f a n e nclosed w ooden t ank , o r t hat t hey h ad o riginally b een f itted w ith l ids . A ll t he p its w ere f illed w ith t he s ame d ark s ilty m aterial t hat o n a nalysis w as f ound t o c ontain v ery l ittle a rtefactual o r b iological m aterial . S amples o f t he s eeds e xamined b y S traker a nd D avis ( 1982) w ere i dentified a s c ommon c omponents o f u rban p lant m acrofossil a ssemblages . I n a ddition t o t he s eeds, t he f ills c ontained a rthropods i ncluding w ood-boring w eevils a nd v arious b eetles w hich l ive o n d ung o r c arrion , w ith a s mall n umber o f p hytophagus b eetles h inting a t t he p resence o f v egetation u sed f or b edding o r s talling a nimals ( Girling , 1 982) . C hemical a nalysis c arred o ut b y E vans ( North E ast L ondon P olytechnic ) r evealed t hat t he p it f ills w ere c ertainly n ot c ess a nd t hat s ome o f t hem c ontained t races o f r esidue f rom b ronze c asting . H uman , c attle a nd r abbit h air f ibres , i dentified b y A rmitage , w ere a lso e xtracted f rom t he f ills . D espite t he d etailed i nvestigation i nto t he n ature o f t he m aterial f illing t hese p its , t heir f unction r emains u nknown , b ut p resumably t hey w ere u sed f or s ome i ndustrial p urpose, f or e xample a s c asting ( founding) p its o r a s s oakaways . T he c attle h ore c ores u sed i n t he c onstruction o f t hese p its p resumably c ame f rom t he h om er 's w orkshops s ituated a long P etticoat L ane

( now M iddlesex S treet) a nd t he b utchers ' s hops i n

A ldgate H igh S treet . t he a uthor . P resent s tatus:

A ll

T he m easurements o f t he h orn c ores a re h eld b y

t hese

r edevelopment o f t he s ite .

p its

w ere

d estroyed

i n

t he

c ourse

A s ample o f 5 39 h orn c ores w as ,

o f

h owever ,

c ollected a nd i s h eld b y t he M useum o f L ondon . S ources o f i nformation :

S ite d etails

s upplied b y M s A lison B alfour L ynn

( site s upervisor o f t he 1 978 w atching b rief ) a nd S . O 'Connor T hompson ( supervisor o f t he 1 979-80 e xcavations), b oth o f t he D epartment o f U rban A rchaeology , M useum o f L ondon . S pecialist r eports p rovided b y t he f ollowing : M s V anessa S traker a nd M s A nne D avis , D UA , M useum o f L ondon ; M s M aureen G irling , D .O .E . A ncient M onuments L aboratory ; D r . J . Evans, C hemistry D ept ., N orth E ast L ondon P olytechnic . P its a nd a ssociated h orn c ores i nspected b y P . A rmitage . B rief d escription i n A rmitage ,

D avis ,

S ite o r p lace n ame :

S traker & W est ( 1983 ,

2 4-26) .

C rosswall ( T IQ 3 360/8101) , C ity o f L ondon .

2 10

D escription :

D uring

A rchaeology ,

e xcavations

c arried

M useum o f L ondon ,

o ut

b y

t he D epartment

o f

U rban

b etween S eptember 1 979 a nd M arch 1 980

( site s upervisor J ohn M aloney ) , t races o f t wo p its o f 1 7th/18th c entury d ate w ere d iscovered . T he s ides o f t hese p its h ad b een l ined w ith c attle h orn c ores l aid n eatly i n c ourse a nd s eparated b y l ayers o f c lay . O ne p it h ad t races o f w ooden p lanking ( soft w ood ) n ailed t o o ak c ross m embers ( joists ) a long t he t op c ourse o f h orn c ores ; p ossibly t he r emains o f a l id o r w alkway . P resent s tatus : B oth p its w ere d estroyed d uring r edevelopment o f t he s ite . As ample o f 2 8 h orn c ores w as r etained a nd i s h eld i n t he c ollections o f t he M useum o f L ondon . S ources o f i nformation : P its a nd a ssociated h orn c ores i nspected b y P . A rmitage . U npublished . S ite o r p lace n ame : D escription :

D uring

M ansell S treet ( TQ3388/8116 ) , C ity o f L ondon . e xcavations

c arried

o ut

b y

t he

D epartment

o f

U rban

A rchaeology , M uesum o f L ondon i n 1 982 ( site s upervisor A nne U psom ) t hree p its o f c . 1 700 d ate w ere f ound ; a ll t hree h ad b een l ined w ith c attle h orn c ores a nd w ere s imilar i n c onstruction t o t he p its r ecorded a t C utler 's g ardens . P resent s tatus :

A ll t hree p its d estroyed d uring r edevelopment o f t he s ite .

A s ample o f h orn c ores w as r etained a nd i s h eld i n t he c ollections o f t he M useum o f L ondon . S ources o f i nformation : A rmitage .

S ite o r p lace n ame : D escription :

P its a nd a ssociated h orn c ores i nspected b y P .

U npublished . G ardener 's C orner ( TQ3381/8126 ) , C ity o f L ondon .

D uring e xcavations

c arried o ut b y

t he

I nner L ondon U nit

i n

1 980 t wo h orn c ores l ined p its o f 1 7th/early 1 8th c entury d ate w ere d iscovered . T he f unction o f t hese p its c ould n ot b e d etermined , b ut t hey w ere p robably c onnected w ith s ome i ndustrial p rocess . P resent s tatus :

B oth p its w ere d estroyed d uring r edevelopment o f t he s ite .

A s ample o f 4 0 h orn c ores w as r etained A rchaeology U nit . S ources o f i nformation :

a nd i s h eld b y t he I nner L ondon

I nformation o n t he s ite s upplied b y R . W hytehead ,

D irector o f t he I nner L ondon U nit ( 1980, p ers . a ssociated h orn c ores i nspected b y P . A rmitage . S ite o r p lace r uune : D escription :

c omm .) .

P its

a nd

6 -7 C rescent ( TQ 3 361/8082) C ity o f L ondon .

E xcavations

c arried

o ut

b y

t he

D epartment

o f

U rban

A rchaeology , M useum o f L ondon i n A pril-July 1 985 r evealed t wo f urther h orn c ore l ined p its c onstructed a nd b ack—filled i n t he l ate 1 7th c entury . p urpose . P resent s tatus :

T he p its w ere p erhaps u sed f or s ome u nidentified i ndustrial

D estroyed d uring r edevelopment o f t he s ite .

2 11

S ources o f i nformation :

C ited :

ab rief i nterim n ote o n t his s ite h as b een

p ublished b y A . W estman ( site s upervisor ) i n R ichardson ( 1986 :

1 58 ) .

3 )

C ONSTRUCTIONAL W ORKS - I I D omestic a nd o ther n on-industrial e xamples

3 .1

P acking/hardcore i n h ouse w alls

S ite o r p lace n ame :

P rivately o wned c ottage , 4L ittle S t . M ary 's, L ong

M elford , S udbury , S uffolk . D escription : D uring a lterations t o c onvert t he c ottage i nto a h airdressing s alon i n 1 970 , t he o wner , M rs . H . S chofield , r eported t he d iscovery o f a nimal b ones e mbedded i n t he i nternal w all . T hese b ones w ere l ater i dentifed b y D r J uliet C lutton-Brock a nd D r C aroline G rigson a s c attle m etacarpal a nd m etatarsal b ones f rom a dult a nd j uvenile a nimals . T hese b ones w ere c omplete a nd h ad n ot b een b utchered i n a ny w ay ( cf . m etapodial b ones u sed i n t he c onstruction o f " knuckle-bone f loors" ) . A ccording t o M rs H . R oss , A ssistant C urator , I pswich M useum a nd A rt G alleries ( 1981, p ers . c omm . ) t he m etapodial b ones w ere e mbedded i n t he w all o n e ither s ide o f t he d oorway , f our s ingly o n e ither s ide a nd t hen i n p airs , a bout 1 8 i n ( 457 u m ) a part , s lightly s taggered a nd p arallel w ith t he l ine o f t he w all .

M rs R oss i s o f t he o pinion t hat t he b ones

s erved n o s tructural p urpose . I f o ne a ccepts t his o bservation , i t f ollows t hat t he b ones h ad p robably b een p laced i n t he w all t o a ct a s t alismen p rotecting t he h ouse a nd i ts o ccupants f rom e vil i nfluences a nd g eneral m isfortune a w idespread p ractice i n m edieval a nd T udor t imes . I n m y o pinion , h owever , t he p resence w ithin o ne w all o f s o m any b ones a rgues a gainst t his i dea ; i nstead o f p lacing t hem i n t he magic d evice" t he b uilder p robably s imply u sed w all a s s ome f orm o f " t he b ones a s p acking/hardcore m aterial t o b ond a nd s trengthen t he c onstruction . D ate :

a lthough t he m ain b uilding w as

c onstructed

i n t he e arly

1 6th

c entury ,

t he w all i n w hich t he b ones w ere f ound f orms p art o f a l ater

o utshot

w hich

a rchitecture , P resent s tatus :

M rs

C oleman ,

a n

e xpert

o n

S uffolk

h as d ated t o t he 1 8th c entury ( Ross ,

1 981,

v ernacular p ers .

c omm . ) .

P art o f t he w all o nly w as t aken d own d uring t he a lterations

t o t he c ottage ; t he r emaining s ection s urvives w ith t he b ones l eft i n s itu . S amples o f t he b ones e xtracted f rom t he d emolished s ection a re h eld i n t he c ollections o f t he B ritish M useum ( Natural H istory ) a nd I pswich M useum . S ources o f i nformation : H istorical d etails s upplied b y M rs H . R oss, A ssistant C urator , I pswich M useum a nd A rt G alleries ; i nformation o n t he b ones i s b ased o n t he r eport o f t he s tudy c arried o ut b y D r C lutton-Brock a nd D r G rigson , ( osteology r oom ) 1 970 .7 .

r ecorded i n B M (NH ) G eneral L etter F ile

S ite o r p lace n ame : " Knuckle-bone h ouse" ( also k nown l ocally a s " Whale b ones s tores" , C ley , N orfolk . D escription :

D uring

r efurbishment

o f

t he

h ouse

a f ew

y ears

a go w orkmen

d iscovered t hat a nimal b ones ( species a nd e lements n ot s pecified ) h ad b een u sed a s h ardcore i n t he f lint w alls .

2 12

P resent s tatus:

S ee 1 .1 a bove.

S ources o f i nformation : p ers .

3 .2

O wners o f t he h ouse ,

M r a nd M rs P . D earden ( 1982 ,

c omm .).

I n r epair w orks - w here d amage h ad o ccurred t o t he f abric o f ab uilding o r p art o f a f loor e tc .

S ite o r p lace n ame : W are ,

P rivately o wned c ottage ,

f ormerly i n C hurch S treet ,

H ertfordshire .

D escription :

D uring e xcavations o f t he c ellar o f t his 1 8th c entury c ottage ,

t he W are R escue A rchaeology G roup d iscovered a n umber o f c attle m etacarpal a nd m etatarsal b ones e mbedded i n a s ection o f t he i nternal b asement w all . I t w ould a ppear t hat t he f lint w all i n t he w est s ide o f t he c ellar t o t he c ottage h ad a t o ne t ime s uffered s ome s tructural d amage ( possibly d uring a lterations t o t he b uilding ) . T his d amage e xtended 1 .8m a long t he t op o f t he w all, t o a d epth o f 0 .2m ; a nd h ad b een r epaired u sing c attle m etapodial b ones a s r eplacements f or t he d islodged f lints . T he b ones w ere l aid l engthwise a cross t he w idth o f t he w all, i n d istinct c ourses s et i n m ortar , w ith t heir a rticular e nds f lush w ith t he i nner f ace o f t he w all ( see p . 1 48 ) . T he b ones u sed i n t his r epair w ork p robably c ame f rom t he n earby s laughterhouse w hich w as c ontemporary w ith t he c ottage . P resent s tatus :

D estroyed i n 1 973 d uring r edevelopment o f t he s ite .

S ources o f i nformation : C rossby ( 1974 :

I nterim n ote ( with p hotographs) p ublished b y

1 75) .

A rchaeological/historical

b y F . C rossby , W are R escue G roup ( 1973 ,

p ers .

i nformation s upplied

c omm .) ;

b ones i dentified

b y P . A rmitage ( 1973); a dditional s ite d etails o btained f rom C . P artridge , D irector , H art A rchaeology U nit ( 1982 , p ers . c omm . ) . S ite o r p lace n ame : H orn I nn" ,

A sh ,

C ottage ,

f ormerly a n a le-house k nown a s " The H art 's

S urrey .

D escription : D uring a v isit t o t he c ottage i n 1 926 , t he R ev . H . E . H uband r eported f inding h orse t eeth u sed i n t he r epair o f a s ection o f t he c ellar f loor : t he c ellar a t t he w est e nd I f ound h orses ' t eeth s et u pright i n s quares l ike t iling a 1 926 : 7 5) .

p oor m akeshift f or t he m issing t iles" ( Huband ,

T he b uilding w as c onstructed i n t he 1 6th c entury ,

b ut t he f loor w ith

t he h orse t eeth p robably d ates f rom t he 1 8th c entury . P resent s tatus :

N ot k nown .

S ources o f i nformation :

H uband

( 1926) .

P . A rmitage i s i ndebted t o M rs .

A lison L ocker f or d rawing h is a ttention t o t his r eference . S ite o r p lace n ame :

G reat B lakenham C hurch , n ear I pswich , S uffolk . .

2 13

D escription :

B ones

e mbedded

i n m ortar i n a s tone w all

t o t he c hurchyard .

A ccording t o l ocal v illage o ral t radition , t he w all c ontained h uman b ones f rom t he c hurchyard ; i t i s m ore r easonable t o s uppose t hat t hese w ere a nimal b ones o btained f rom a l ocal b utcher 's s laughteryard f or t he p urpose o f r epairing a d amaged s ection i n t he w all . S ome o f t he b ones u sed t o r eplace t he d islodged f lint n odules w ere " knuckle-bones" . D ate o f r epair w ork u nknown . P resent s tatus : N o l onger e xtant ; t he w all w as d emolished i n 1 968 i n t he c ourse o f a r oad w idening s cheme . S ources o f i nformation : U npublished ; i nformation o btained f rom t he R ev . E xcell , R ector o f G reat B lakenham ( 1981, p ers . c omm . ) a nd M rs H . R oss , A ssistant C urator , c omm .).

3 .3

I pswich M useum a nd A rt G alleries ( 198 1,

p ers .

F ASTENING S LATES T O AC HURCH R OOF

S ite o r p lace n ame : D escription :

P arish C hurch , P annal, n ear H arrogate , Y orkshire .

L ocal p arish a ccount f or P annal,

f or t he y ear 1 678 ,

r ecords

t hat " -Henry W interburne w as p aid 1 7s f or s lating t he c hurch a nd 1 l s .3d . f or 5 00 s heep s hanks-" ( ja & E 30 1 , 1 966 ) . H ere t he t erm s heep s hanks r efers t o s heep t ibiae w hich w ere b eing u sed i n l ieu o f w ooden o r m etal p ins t o f asten t he r oofing s lates . P resent s tatus :

N ot k nown .

J ackson ( 1966 ) r emarks t hat h e p ersonally k new

o f n o a ctual s urviving e xamples o f t his p ractice i n W est R iding ( see h owever 5 .2 b elow ) . S ources o f i nformation :

J ackson ( 1966) w ho q uotes f rom a n e arlier a rticle

b y H ambletonian i n T he M eat T rades J ournal f or N ovember 1 8th , 1 9 65 .

P .

A rmitage i s i ndebted t o D r M R yder f or d rawing h is a ttention t o t his e xample a nd f or p roviding a c opy o f t he n ote b y J ackson ( Ryder , 1 984 , p ers . c omm .) .

4 )

C ONSTRUCTIONAL W ORKS - I II M iscellaneous c ategories

4 .1

C esspits a nd s oakaways

S ite o r p lace n ame : D escription :

G reyfriars ( site B ) , O xford .

D uring e xcavations c arried o ut

E xcavation

C ommittee i n

1 969 ( site

b y

t he O xford A rchaeological

s upervisor J .

H aslam )

a s ub-

r ectangular h orn c ore l ined p it w as d iscovered . C lay t obacco p ipes , p ottery a nd g lassware r ecovered f rom t he f ill t o t he p it s uggest t hat t his f eature w as c onstructed a nd b ack-filled b etween c . 1 7501820 . I ts o riginal f unction w as s uggested b y t he o rganic n ature o f t he f ill w hich w as p robably c ess . T wo t anneries a re k nown f rom d ocumentary s ources t o h ave o perated n ear t he G reyfriars s ite ; t he e arlier o ne w as a ctive d uring t he 1 7th a nd 1 8th c enturies , a nd t he l ater , i n t he l ate 1 8th a nd e arly 1 9th c enturies . A s t he d ate f or t he p it b ased o n t he a rchaeological e vidence s pans t he p eriod c . 1 7501820 , e ither o ne o f t hese t wo t an-

2 14

y ards

i s a c andidate f or t he s ource o f t he h orn c ores u sed i n i ts

c onstruction . P resent s tatus :

P it d estroyed i n r edevelopment o f t he s ite .

A s ample o f

3 36 h orn c ores w as c ollected f or f uture r eference, a nd t hese w ere p resented t o t he B ritish M useum ( Natural H istory ) ( reg . n os . 1 977 .5014 t o 5 06 1) . Ap reliminary i nterim ( level I II ) r eport o n t hese c ores w as p repared b y P . A rmitage ( 1982) . S ources o f i nformation :

S ite a nd h istorical i nformation s upplied b y R .

W ilson a nd M . M ellor , b oth o f t he O xford A rchaeological U nit . c ores e xamined b y P . A rmitage . U npublished . S ite o r p lace n ame : D escription :

C hurch S treet ( T IQ 3 9 1836) , L ondon B orough o f W est

E xcavations

c arried

o ut

H orn

l ianh

b y P assmore E dwards M useum i n 1 973

u ncovered a 1 7th/18th c entury p it l ined a t t he b ottom w ith c attle m etapodial b ones . T hese b ones w ere a ll c omplete ( unbroken ) , a nd w ere a ligned v ertically w ith t he p roximal e nds u ppermost , f orming a u niform s urface . I t i s t hought t hat s uch a n a rrangement e nabled t he b ones t o a ct a s af ilter , t he w hole p it s erving a s a s oakaway f or l iquid w aste ( though w hether t his d erived f rom i ndustrial o r d omestic a ctivity c ould n ot b e d etermined f rom t he s canty a rchaeological e vidence ) . I t m ay b e s uggested t hat t he c attle m etapodial b ones p robably c ame f rom a n earby s laughteryard o r t anyard ( cf . t he r ecently d iscovered p ostm edieval s oakaway i n S outhwark w here a ll o f t he c attle m etapodial b ones f orming t he b ottom f ilter l ayer h ad b een s awn i n h alf

-c learly

i ndicating t hat t hey h ad d erived f rom d iscarded b one-working w aste ) . P resent s tatus :

P it d estroyed d uring r edevelopment o f t he s ite .

As ample

o f 3 5 m etapodial b ones ( 18 m etcarpals a nd 1 7 m etatarsals ) w as c ollected f or f uture r eference a nd t hese a re h eld i n t he c ollections o f t he P assmore E dwards M useum . S ources o f i nformation :

S ite

i nformation s upplied b y M s P at W ilkinson ,

P assmore E dwards Museum . B ones e xamined b y Mrs . A lison L ocker, I nstitute o f A rchaeology a nd P . A rmitage ( 19 84 ) . U npublished .

4 .2

R OAD F OUNDATIONS

S ite o r p lace n ame :

C ity o f L ondon a nd i ts s uburbs ( no s pecific l ocalities

r ecorded). D escription :

D uring t he 1 8th c entury c attle h orn c ores w ere s pread o ut o n

t he r oads a nd t hen c overed w ith s and a nd e arth t o f orm a " firm a nd d urable" s urface . P resent s tatus : N ot k nown . N o e xamples o f t his p ractice h ave s o f ar b een d iscovered d uring a rchaeological e xcavations c arried o ut i n t he C ity a nd G reater L ondon . S ources o f i nformation : P ublished e yewitness a ccount o f t his u nusual u se o f c attle h orn c ores b y K alm ( 1892 : 7 3) .

2 15

5 ) 5 .1

A GRICULTURAL A ND H ORTICULTURAL U SES A gricultural l and d rains

S ite o r p lace n ame :

F orest H ouse E state , E pping F orest , E ssex .

D escription : W orkmen d igging d rainage d itches o n t he e state i n 1 894 c ame a cross e xamples o f l ate 1 7th c entury l and d rains l ined w ith c attle h orn c ores ( mostly f rom l onghorn c attle ) .

M cKenny H ughes ( 189 6 ) p ublished

ad escription o f t he d rains b ased o n d etails g iven h im b y h is f riend M r F rancis B arclay o f L eyton , E ssex : " . t he h orn c ores w ere f ound i n c layey

s oil

a bout

1 4

i n

[ 0 .35m]

b elow

t he

s urface ,

a rranged

l ongitudinally t hree a breast , o nly o ne l ayer d eep , a nd a t t he b ottom o f d rains r unning d own t he s lopes a lmost a t r ight a ngles t o t he d irection o f t he s tream [ at t he b ottom o f t he P resent s tatus:

N ot k nown .

S ources o f i nformation : S ite o r p lace n ame :

P ublished a ccount b y M cKenny H ughes ( 1896).

2 8-32 U psdell A venue ( T IQ 3 129 17) , P almers G reen , L ondon

B orough o f E nfield . D escription :

A ccidentally d iscovered b y C . P ratt i n O ctober 1 978 w hen h e

w as c onstructing a f ish p ond i n h is b ack g arden . T he s ite w as s ubsequently i nvestigated b y t he E nfield A rchaeology S ociety , i n 1 9788 0 , w ho c arried o ut e xcavations i n M r P ratt 's b ack g arden a nd i n t he t wo a djoining p roperties . T he e xcavations r evealed t he p resence o f t wo p arallel r ows o f b uried c attle h orn c ores , 1 0 .8m a part , r unning e ast-west a cross t he s lope o f t he g round . T hese r ows, i nterpreted a s h ollow l and d rains, w ere t raced f or a d istance o f h ill a nd d own t he s lope o f t he f ield . T he h orn d epth b elow p resent d ay

1 4m ; t he p rojected l ine c ontinued a cross t he t o w here a b rook o nce r an a long t he e ast s ide c ores h ad b een l aid i nto t he c lay s ubsoil a t a g round s urface o f 0 .48m , w ith t he t ips e mbedded

0 .08-0 .10m i nto t he c lay . T hey h ad b een p laced a t a n a ngle o f 4 50, w ith e ach c ore s et u p a gainst t he n ext s o a s t o c reate a c ontinuous r ow . S ome o f t he c ores w ere c ompletely f illed w ith b lack s ilt s howing t hat t he d rain h ad b ecome b locked a nd w as n o l onger f unctioning . D ate : L ate 1 7th/early 1 8th c entury , b ased o n p ottery e vidence a nd h orn c ore t ypology . P resent s tatus :

O nly a bout

1 0m o f t he t wo d rains w as d estroyed d uring t he

c ourse o f t he e xcavations ; t he r emaining s ections o f t his d rainage s ystem l ie u ndisturbed u nder m odern g ardens a nd m ay b e r einvestigated , i f r equired . S ources o f i nformation : I vens ( 19781980) ; S ite o r p lace n ame : H ertfordshire . D escription :

E xamples

I nvestigated c ited :

b y

A rmitage ,

P .

A rmitage ,

R .

C oxshall

a nd J .

C oxshall & I vens ( 1980 ) .

G ray 's Y ard ( TL ( 20 ) 2 33085 ) , B atterdale , O ld H atfield ,

o f

1 7th/early

1 8th c entury h orn c ore

l ined

d rains

w ere d iscovered i n 1 968 b y t he H atfield & D istrict A rchaeological S ociety .

T he h orn c ores w ere p acked e nd t o e nd i n ad ouble l ayer .

2 16

T he d rains w ere f ound c lose t o t he s ite o f a f ormer p ond ;

i t i s

s uggested t hat t he h orn c ores d erived f rom a l ocal t annery w hich u sed t he w ater s upply f rom t he p ond . D elftware p ottery f ound o n t he s ite s uggests t he d rains m ay h ave b een c onstructed a nd w ere i n u se s ome t ime d uring t he l ast q uarter o f t he 1 7th c entury a nd t he f irst q uarter o f t he 1 8th c entury . T his d ate r ange i s s upported b y t he h orn c ores f rom t he d rains w hich m atch t hose f rom o ther l ate 1 7th/18th c entury c ontexts e xamined b y P . A rmitage . P resent s tatus:

D estroyed d uring r edevelopment o f t he s ite.

S ources o f i nformation :

U npublished .

S ite d etails s upplied b y M s J udith

H arris a nd M s S usan F raser , b oth o f W elwyn a nd H atfield M useum S ervice ( 1983, p ers . c omm .) . S ite o r p lace n ame : B ethel C hapel, H obbs H ill , W elwyn , H ertfordshire . D escription :

W hen B ethel C hapel ( erected i n 1 792) w as b eing c onverted i nto

a p rivate h ouse i n 1 959 , t here w as " found u nder p art o f c losely p acked c ollection o f a nimal h orns [ presumably c ores].-" T hese w ere t hought t o b e t he " remnants o f d rainage s ystem" ( Johnson , 1 967 : 3 9-40 ) . T his f eature

i ts f loor a c attle h orn a p rimitive i s p robably

b est i nterpreted a s a n e arly a gricultural l and d rain w hich o ccupied t he s ite p rior t o t he b uilding o f B ethel C hapel i n t he l ate 1 8th c entury i e .

t he d rain c ould p erhaps b e o f 1 7th/early 1 8th c entury d ate .

P resent s tatus:

N ot k nown .

S ources o f i nformation : S ite o r p lace n ame : R eading ,

J ohnson ( 1967).

C alcot P ark G olf C lub ( SU 6 69725) ,

C alcot P ark ,

n ear

B erkshire .

D escription :

T he s ection o f a n u ndated l and d rain w as u ncovered b y w orkmen

i n 1 970 , w hen t he g olf c lub w as e xtending i ts c lub h ouse . T he d rain t ook t he f orm o f a t rench l m d eep , c ut i nto t he h eavy c lay s oil ( Swanmore s eries ) o f w hich t he l ower h alf w as p acked w ith t he u nbroken l ong b ones o f h orse a nd c attle . T he p rojected l ine o f t he d itch r an a cross C alcot P ark f rom N W t o S E f ollowing t he n atural s lope o f t he g round . P resent s tatus :

U ndisturbed

s ections

o f

t his d rain r emain b uried b eneath

t he g old c ourse . S ources o f i nformation :

U npublished .

D escription s upplied b y H .

C arter ,

M useum a nd A rt G allery , R eading ( 1982, p ers. c omm .).

5 .2

F armhouse r oofs

S ite o r p lace n ame :

V illages i n W harfedale a nd n eighbouring d ales,

Y orkshire ( exact l ocalities n ot r ecorded ) . D escription :

I n a l etter t o D r M ichael R yder , M r A . R aistrick m entions t he

w idespread p ractice i n W harfedale a nd t he n eighbouring d ales o f s ecuring s tone s late r oofing t iles i n p lace u sing s heep t ibiae i n l ieu

2 17

o f w ooden o r m etal p ins ( cf . 3 .3 a bove ) .

A ccording t o t he d escription

g iven b y M r R aistrick , " The b one w as n ot r equired t o p ierce t he s later 's l aths, b ut o nly t o h ook b ehind t hem , a nd t he t aper o f t he t ibia e nable t he b one t o b e d riven t o a t ight h old i n t he h ole c hipped i n t he s tone s late" . P resent s tatus :

N ot k nown ;

b ut p robably m any e xamples s till s urvive t oday

a waiting p roper s urvey a nd d ocumentation . I t i s i nteresting t o n ote t hat o ral t radition a mong c ertain f ield a rchaeologists h old t hat s imilar e xamples o f t his p ractice m ay s till b e f ound i n S uffolk v illages ( Ms M iranda A rmor-Chelu , 1 985 , p ers . c am . ) . P . A rmitage w as, h owever , u nable t o d iscover a ny s upporting e vidence f or t his n otion a nd t his n eeds t o b e e xplored f urther . S ources o f i nformation :

L etter d ated S ept .

2nd , 2

1 966 f rom M r A . R aistrick

o f S kipton , Y orkshire t o D r M . R yder o f t he A .R .C . A nimal B reeding R esearch O rganisation , R oslin , M idlothian . P . A rmitage i s i ndebted t o D r R yder f or b ringing t his i nformation t o h is a ttention a nd f or p roviding a c opy o f t he l etter ( Ryder , 1 984 , p ers . c omm . ) . C ited : a b rief m ention o f t he u se o f s heep t ibiae a s r oof-tile p egs i n t he n orth o f E ngland a ppeared i n R yder ( 1984 : 2 82) . S ite o r p lace n ame :

F armhouses i n n orth e ast C ounty A ntrim , N orthern

I reland ( exact l ocalities n ot r ecorded ) . D escription :

B one

p egs w ere

i nserted

i nto

( 152mn) b elow t he l evel o f t he e aves ;

t he w alls

o f

f armhouses ,

6 in

t hese s erved a s a nchoring p oints

f or t hatching r opes . P resent s tatus :

O ld l ocal p ractice ,

n o l onger f ollowed .

R elic e xamples

m ay s till b e f ound t oday i n t he w alls o f d erelict ( ruined ) f armhouses i n t his p art o f N orthern I reland ( Galley 1 975 , p ers . c omm . ) . S ources o f i nformation :

D escription a nd h istorical d etails s upplied b y A .

G ailey , S ociety f or F olk L ife S tudies , U lster F olk a nd T ransport M useum ( 1975, p ers . c omm .) .

5 .3

W alls b uilt a round m eadows a nd m arket g ardens

S ite o r p lace n ame :

L ane l eading f rom S t A lbans t own c entre t o S heffield

M ill , S t A lbans , H ertfordshire . D escription : Mundy ( 1904: 1 59 ) r ecorded t hat " .In a d ark n arrow l ane l eading f rom S t A lbans t o t he b ack m eads w atered b y t he r iver V ernon ( sic ) t he w ay t o S heffield M ill i s t o b e o bserved , a lthough a lmost c oncealed b y t he o btrusion o f i vy a nd o ther p arasitical p lants, a c urious o ld w all, w hich o n c loser e xamination , p roves t o b e c omposed w holly o f t he a sseous ( sic) r emains o f t he h orns o f c attle . T his s ingular s tructure h as t he a ppearance o f b eing o f v ery g reat a ntiquity , b ut n o p erson l iving i n t he n eighbourhood c an g ive a ny c orrect a ccount o f i ts o rigin . R umour a sserts t hat s ome c enturies a go a t anner r esided n ear t he s pot , w ho p urchased a p lot o f m eadow l and c ontiguous t o h is f actory t o b uild u pon , a nd t hat, e ither i n a s pirit o f e ccentricity o r f rom p enurious m otives, w ith a v iew t o a void t he e xpense o f b ricks e tc., c aused t he w all i n q uestion t o b e e rected f rom a n a ccumulation o f h orns w hich h e h ad l ying b y h im i n h is t anning

2 18

y ard f or m any y ears" . N o d ate i s g iven f or t his f eature ,

b ut i t i s d ocumented t hat a l arge

t annery w as o nce l ocated i n n earby F ishpool S treet, S aunders , 1 977 : 1) . P resent s tatus:

i n 1 744

( see

N o l onger e xtant.

S ources o f i nformation :

Mundy ( 1904:

1 59 ) w ho q uotes a n a rticle t hat

a ppeared i n a n o ld H ertfordshire n ewspaper ( not n amed ) b etween 1 840 a nd 1 850 . S ite o r p lace n ame : D escription :

O uter s uburbs o f L ondon ( exact l ocations n ot r ecorded ) .

E arth w alls

i ncorporating

c attle

h orn

c ores ,

b uilt

a round

m eadowns a nd m arket g ardens . K alm ( 1892:

6 2-70),

a S wedish

v isitor

t o

B ritain ,

p rovides

a n

e yewitness a ccount o f t he m ode o f c onstruction o f t hese f eatures : " An e arth w all i s c ast u p i n t he u sual w ay . T he b readth o r t hickness a t t he g round i s m ade p roportionate t o t he h eight o f t he i ntended f ace , f or t he h igher t he w all t he b roader t he b asis . W hen t he e arth h as b een c ast u p t o ah eight o f a bout s ix i nches ( 152 m ) i t i s l evelled a ll o ver t he t op . T hereupon t hey h ave r eady t o h and a m ultitude o f t he . . q uicks o r i nner p arts o f O x-horns .This q uick i s s o c ut o ff t hat p art o f t he s kull c ommonly g oes w ith i t . T he q uicks a re t hen s et c lose b eside o ne a nother o ver t he e arth t hat h as b een c ast u p f or t he w all, a nd t his s o t hat t he l arger a nd t hicker e nds o f t he q uick , o r t hat t o w hich a p ortion o f t he s kull i s a ttached , i s t urned o utwards o r l ies j ust i n t he f ace o f t he s ide o f t he w all . I n t his w ay t wo r ows o f q uicks a re l aid , v iz , o ne r ow o n o ne s ide o f t he w all, a nd t he o ther o n t he o ther , s o t hat t he s mall e nds o f t he h orn q uicks m eet i n t he m iddle . O ver t his a fterwards c ast e arth a bout s ix i nches ( 152mm ) t hick , w hen a gain i n t he f orenamed m anner i s l aid a s tratum o f d oubler anged o x-horn q uicks t ill t he w all h as r eached t he d esired h eight . . . ( often t o t he h eight o f s ix c ourses o f h orn c ores) .The o bject o f u sing t hese q uicks i s p rincipally t o b ind t he e arth i n t he w all b y . . Thus t t hem , a nd m ake i t s teady t hat i t m ay n ot s o s oon s lip d own. hey k now h ere t o m ake u se o f t hat w hich i n o ther p laces i s t hrown a way" . K alm ( ibid .:

7 0) a lso m entions w alls c onstructed o f " bare o x-horn

q uicks -piled u p o n o ne a nother a s t hick a s e ver t hey c ould f ind r oom , a nd t he i nterstices o nly w ere f illed u p w ith m ould" . P resent s tatus :

N o e xamples o f a ny o f t hese h orn c ore w alls h ave

s o f ar

b een d iscovered d uring a rchaeological e xcavations a round t he C ity o f L ondon ; b ut t he s ame t echnique o f c onstruction , b ased o n l ying c ourses o f c attle h orn c ores b onded b y c lay , i s k nown t o h ave b een a dopted i n t he e astern p arishes o f L ondon f or s trengthening t he s ides o f i ndustrial p its ( see 2 . 1 a bove ) . S ources o f i nformation : S ite o r p lace n ame :

P ublished d escription i n K alm ( 1892 :

6 9-70 ) .

P rivate g arden o wned b y M r P eter C ollinson , P eckham ,

L ondon .

2 19

D escription :

S mall f ences a round f lower b eds f ormed f rom h orse a nd o x

m etapodial b ones . K alm

( 1892 :

6 7 )

g ives a n e yewitness a ccount

o f

t his

p ractice :

" For

t he b order o r t he o uter e dge o f t he f lower-beds , M r C ollinson h ad s et k nuckle-bones , o r h orse o r o x-legs . . .the t ransversal e nd w as s et d own i n t he g round a nd t he r ound c urled e nd s tood u pwards . A ll w ere t he s ame

l ength ,

a nd q uite c lose t o o ne a nother , w hich p erformed t he s ame

s ervice i n h indering t he e arth f rom s lipping d own f rom t he b eds , t here h ad b een h oards s et r ound t hem" . P resent s tatus : t oday.

a s i f

N o e xamples o f t his t ype o f b izarre f lowerbed f ence s urvive

S ources o f i nformation :

P ublished a ccount b y K alm ( 1892).

6 )

" ACOUSTIC k ESONANCE V ESSELS"

6 .1

H orse s kulls p laced b eneath f loors

S ite o r p lace n ame :

" Bungay H ouse" , E arsham S treet , B ungay , S uffolk .

D escription : D uring r epair w ork t o t he h ouse i n t he 1 930s , t he c ontractors d iscovered h orse s kulls l ying u nder t he f loor b oards . E thel M ann v isited t he h ouse i n 1 933 i n o rder t o i nvestigate t his d iscovery ;

s he

r eported t hat o n l ifting t wo o f t he f loorboards t here " .beneath t he . . ( oak ) j oists w ere r ows o f h orses ' s kulls , l aid w ith g reat r egularity , t he i ncisor t eeth o f e ach r esting o n a s quare o f o ak o r s tone. T he ( floor ) b oards , w hich w ere o f r ed p ine , r ested i mmediately u pon t he s kulls" . M ann e stimated t hat t he r oom c ontained u p t o f orty h orse s kulls " -carefully p repared a nd b oiled , a nd . -placed i n p osition w ith g reat c are a nd a ccuracy" . E nquiries m ade b y M ann r evealed t hat i n t he h ouse a djoining ( once a lso p art o f " Bungay H ouse" ) s ome t wenty y ears p reviously w orkmen h ad a lso f ound h orse s kulls u nder t he f loor b ut t hat t hese h ad b een r emoved . A lthough " Bungay H ouse" i tself d ated b ack t o a bout 1 620 , Mann w as u nable t o a scertain w hether t he h orse s kulls w ere c ontemporary o r l ater a dditions t o t he b uilding o f t he h ouse . T hese s kulls w ere t hought b y M ann t o h ave g iven r esonance t o t he f loor w hen t he r oom w as b eing u sed b y d ancers ( see e xample b elow ) . P resent s tatus:

N ot k nown .

S ources o f i nformation :

M ann ( 1934 :

2 53-255 ) w hich i ncludes a p hotograph

o f t he h orse s kulls i n s itu . S ite o r p lace n ame :

P rivate h ouse ( formerly a n i nn ) i n H erefordshire ( exact

l ocality n ot r ecorded ) . D escription :

A nother e xample c ited b y M ann ( 1934) o f h orse s kulls p laced

b eneath a f loor . H ere t he s kulls w ere l aid b etween t he j oists o f t he o ne r oom i n t he h ouse w ith a b oarded f loor ; a ll t he o ther r ooms h ad f loors o f f lagstones . T he o bject o f b urying t he s kulls u nder t he f loor w as s aid t o m ake " -a h ollow s ound w hen t he d ancers s tamped t heir f eet ,

a s w as t he c ustom i n s ome o ld c ountry d ances ;

20 2

t he r oom i n t his

h ouse b eing k nown a s ' the d ancing r oom' . D ate o f c onstruction o f t his f loor i s n ot r ecorded . P resent s tatus :

N ot k nown .

S ources o f i nformation :

P ublished a ccount b y M ann ( 1934:

2 54).

S ite o r p lace n ame : O ld i nn c alled t he " Portway" l ocated e ight m iles w est o f H ereford . D escription :

D uring a v isit t o t he i nn i n 1 852 , M r T homas B lashill w as t old

b y t he l andlord t hat c artloads o f h orses ' b eing " a p lace w here t o t he s ame i nn s ome

u nder t he f loor w here t hey w ere s tanding w ere " two s kulls" l aid " to m ake t he f iddle g o b etter" -this m usic a nd d ancing s ometimes w ent o n" . R eturning t wenty-eight y ears l ater , M r B lashill d iscovered

t hat s ome o f t hese h orse s kulls h ad b een u nearthed b y w orkmen d uring r efurbishment o f t he b uilding : " -twenty-four s kulls w ere f ound s crewed t hrough t he e ye-holes t o t he u nderside o f t he f loor b oards i n t hree r ows" ( see M cKenny H ughes , 1 9 15 : 7 1) . D ate o f f eature n ot i ndicated i n B lashill 's a ccount. P resent s tatus :

N ot k nown .

S auces o f i nformation :

A ccount b y T .

B lashill o riginally p ublished i n

T rans . R . I nst . B rit . A rchitects 1 882, p . 8 3; q uoted i n M cKenny H ughes ( 1915) . P . A rmitage i s i ndebted t o T ony L egge f or b ringing t his e xample t o h is a ttention . S ite o r p lace n ame : D escription :

T hrimby H all, W estmorland .

I n t he y ear 1 860 a q uantity o f h orses ' s kulls w as d iscovered

u nder t he p arlour f loor " where t hey h ad b een p laced s ound b y t he t enants w ho w ere a m usical f amily" . D ate

o f

i nterment

o f

t he h orses '

f or p urposes o f

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2 23