SECTION 6.4: WHELFORD BOWMOOR ENVIRONMENTAL REPORTSTABLES Animal Bones by Mary HarmanAll of the 217 bone fragments recovered were examined (Table 1). They were in poor condition due to the acidity of the soil on this site. Most of the long bone shafts were split with eroded surfaces and there were several groups of teeth which belonged together but lack the alveolar bone. The bones of sheep and pig are more likely to have decayed beyond recovery or recognition than the larger bones of cattle and horse and thus the numbers of fragments from each species are unlikely to reflect the situation on the site. Bones from immature animals would also be more likely to decay. The bones found are from cattle, sheep (or goat), pig, horse and dog, all the common domestic animals. There are many long bone shaft fragments, mostly from animals of cattle size.
Waterlogged Plant Remains by Mark RobinsonMacroscopic plant remains were absent from the bottoms of the Roman ditches, either because the contemporaneous permanent water table was below the ditch bottoms or because the recent lowering of the water table, associated with gravel extraction in the area, caused their decay. Very degraded seeds of plants of wet grassland, such as Ranunculus repens (creeping buttercup) were noted in the late Roman peat which survived in a desiccated state above some of the early Roman ditches. This suggested the development of fen grassland over some of the lowest-lying areas of the site.
Charred Plant Remains by Julie JonesFour samples from the Roman archaeological features were floated onto a 0.5mm mesh to recover charred plant remains, which wee found in low concentrations. The results are given in Table 2. They showed evidence for the use of Triticum sp. (wheat) and Hordeum sp. (barley), although it was not possible to identify the cereals to species. The chaff suggested some processing of the grain was occurring on the site. One of the weeds, Anthemis cotula (stinking mayweed), occurs amongst arable crops on base-rich, heavy soils and it is possible that the crops wee grown nearby. The other weed seeds, however, were from plants of grassland and scrub. The carbonized remains may be interpreted as general agricultural debris typical of a Roman rural settlement.
Phosphate Analysis (Fig. 6.4.1: Phosphate analysis)Prior to excavation the field was systematically sampled for phosphates. A series of transects were sampled. Higher phosphate levels seem to occur in the 'marshy' areas of the site particularly north of the putative occupation area. Levels seem to drop to the west and north east. However given the soil stratigraphy in these lowlying areas (ie roman deposits sealed by alluvium) their significance is not clear.
TablesTable 1: Faunal remains by phase from Whelford Bowmoor
Table 2: Charred Plant Remains from Whelford Bowmoor (Four 10 litre samples)
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