Data copyright © Dale Serjeantson unless otherwise stated
This work is licensed under the ADS Terms of Use and Access.
Dale
Serjeantson
Research Fellow
Archaeology
University of Southampton
Avenue Campus
Highfield
Southampton
SO17 1BJ
England
The query page provides a form which enables you to filter data from the database by a number of criteria. None of the fields are mandatory but a search will not be conducted if no criteria are provided. A help page giving details of the data fields and limitations may be accessed via the navigation bar.
The species present in the database are the domestic mammals and birds. Cattle provide the greatest number of measurements, followed by sheep and sheep/goat. The largest number of measurements are from the main limb bones, especially the metapodials, and the tarsals.
The basic data record is a measurement, not a bone. Each bone has a unique identifier Bone-Id (=ABMAP number) and may have more than one associated measurement. All measurements are in millimeters (mm).
Most of the measurements in the database are those defined by von den Driesch; a few are from other sources. The sources are:
Davis, S. J. M. (1992). A rapid method for recording information about mammal bones from archaeological sites. Ancient Monuments Laboratory Report 19/92. London, English Heritage
Driesch, A. (1976). A Guide to the Measurement of Animal Bones from Archaeological Sites. Harvard, Peabody Museum.
Jones, R. T., S. M. Wall, A. M. Locker. J. Coy & M. Maltby (1978). Computer Based Osteometry: Data Capture User Manual. Ancient Monuments Laboratory Report 3342. London, Department of the Environment (English Heritage)
Payne, S. (1969). A metrical distinction between sheep and goat metacarpals. In The Domestication and Exploitation of Plants and Animals (ed) P. J. Ucko and G. W. Dimbleby. London, Duckworth: 295-306.
Payne, S. and G. Bull (1988). Components of variation in measurements of pig bones and teeth, and the use of measurements to distinguish wild from domestic pig remains. ArchaeoZoologia II, 1.2: 27-65.
A complete list of measurement codes, a description of each measurement and, if it is not generally applicable, the species to which it applies, along with the source of the measurement is accessible from the link on the query form.
All records are assigned to a Period, which may be broad (eg 'Roman') or narrower (eg 'Late Roman'), and also a minimum and maximum date which is sometimes more precise than the period. Some also have a date in centuries assigned by the excavator. A large proportion of the measurements are from the Early Medieval (Saxon in the south of England), and the Medieval periods (AD 1066 - AD 1540), and fewer are from the prehistoric period. A good selection of post-medieval measurements are also included. For best results with Period, Date and Date range, choose multiple selections, at least in the first instance. From the Early Medieval period onwards it is often better to select a date range (e.g. 750 - 950) rather than the broader period.
Each site is identified by its name and a code.
Note: In some cases the
excavator's code has been modified to avoid duplication, so the site code used here
is not always the excavator's site code. Sites in towns (except London) also
include the name of the town or city. You can find further details of an
assemblage by clicking on the site name and / or site code if these are selected for
inclusion in the results. Site details available are the site name, place, county, grid reference,
and occasionally site geology.
Where it was available, some other relevant data is given: total number of fragments, the
number of identified fragments and a bibliographic reference.
References are given for published bone reports, which are either excavation publications or Ancient Monuments Laboratory Reports where the excavation remains unpublished. If you opt to display the reference field it is included for each result, and will be repeated for each measure on bones from the same site. Alternatively if you opt to display the site name or site code in your results clicking on the highlighted value will take you to the reference.