SECTION 4.3 THE FAUNAL
REMAINS FROM LONGDOLES FIELD by Naomi Sykes
INTRODUCTION
METHODS
THE ASSEMBLAGE
TAPHONOMY
TAXA REPRESENTED
RELATIVE FREQUENCY OF THE MAIN DOMESTICATES
AGEING
SEXING
BODY PART PATTERNS
ARTICULATED REMAINS
CARCASS PROCESSING
SIZE OF LIVESTOCK
PATHOLOGY
SPATIAL PATTERNING AND RUBBISH DISPOSAL
DISCUSSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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Introduction
Excavations at Longdoles Field, Claydon Pike, were undertaken
by Oxford Archaeology during the 1980s. Seven trenches (Trench 13, 17,
18, 19, 27, 29 and 30) covering an area of approximately 180m x 100m,
revealed evidence for human activity spanning the Late Iron Age to Post-Roman
period.
The earliest period of occupation (Phase 2) dates between
AD25-125 and consists of a Late Iron Age/ Early Roman settlement. Most
of the evidence for this phase of activity was recovered from Trench 13,
where several large enclosure ditches and a series of boundaries, gullies
and pits were unearthed. A small number of ditches and gullies from Trenches
19 and 29 have also been dated to Phase 2.
During Phase 3 (AD125-early 4th century) the
settlement appears to have been re-organised extensively. In Trench 13
this was manifest by the construction of a succession of aisled buildings,
surrounded by rectilinear enclosures, fence lines and cobbled trackways.
Similar restructuring was observed within Trench 29, whilst the area covered
by Trench 19 appears to have taken on a religious function, with the construction
of a double ditched rectangular enclosure, interpreted as a ‘temenos’.
Expansion of the settlement during this period is indicated by Trench
17, which revealed a series of sub-rectangular enclosures associated with
pits, gullies and a small rectangular building.
By Phase 4 (Early to late 4th/early 5th
century), occupation appears to have been largely confined to Trench 13,
where a small estate, centred upon a modest ‘cottage style’ villa, had
formed. Whilst evidence for occupation became limited in Trenches
17 and 29, it continued in Trench 19, with the construction of
a ditch and masonry wall. Towards the end of the 4th century
a circular shrine and cobbled trackway was built to the east of the villa
(Trench 27).
Animal bones were recovered, in varying quantities, from
all phases and areas of the site. Recording and preliminary analysis of
the assemblage was undertaken primarily by Bob Wilson, and he and Bruce
Levitan produced a short, unpublished report on their findings. Other
than this work, the information contained in the assemblage remained largely
untapped, consequently it was decided to re-analyse Wilson’s original
records and bring the report to publication.
The Upper Thames Valley is relatively well understood zooarchaeologically
as assemblages have been studied from numerous Iron Age and Romano-British
sites in the region. Indeed, the Longdoles Farm assemblage is just one
of several assemblages from the Cotswold Water Park area - others have
been recovered from Warrens Field (Sykes n.d), Somerford Keynes and Whelford
Bowmoor. Viewed against this backdrop the Longdoles Field assemblage has
the potential to reveal a considerable amount of information, not only
about the site and its development but also about its occupants, their
lifestyles and belief systems. The sheer size of the area from which the
animal bones were recovered provides the rare opportunity to undertake
spatial analysis and examine rubbish disposal practices. In turn, this
may inform on settlement structure and in particular, help to highlight
zones of domestic or industrial activity. Wilson realised the potential
of this aspect of the assemblage and produced a publication (Wilson1996)
touching on the spatial patterning of the Longdoles Field material. This
report draws together and develops his findings.
Beyond spatial patterning, the size and multi-period nature
of the Longdoles Field assemblage allows temporal changes in animal economy,
agricultural regime, site provisioning and diet to be examined at both
a site and regional level. Furthermore, as the assemblage spans the Late
Iron Age to Romano-British transition, it may be possible to determine
changes attributable to ‘Romanisation’ – whether or not animal exploitation
and diet changes as a result of Roman influences.
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Methods
Wilson began recording the Longdoles Field assemblage in
1985. In 2002, Oxford Archaeology transferred Wilson’s hand-written records
to a computer database. The data were then re-analysed and re-tabulated
by CAAA (Centre for Applied Archaeological Analyses, University of Southampton)
during 2003. These circumstances, where the specialist responsible for
writing the report did not record the assemblage, are far from ideal.
For example, Wilson’s recording stratagem – such as the criteria he used
to differentiate frog and toad, sheep and goat, or horse from donkey –
are not always clear. Many of Wilson’s methodologies can, however, be
ascertained. It would appear that all identifiable specimens, from all
elements including skull, rib, vertebrae, tarsal and carpal fragments,
were recorded to species, with no material being placed in sheep- or cattle-size
categories. These data have been used to calculate the basic NISP (Number
of Identified Specimens) totals, with complete and partial skeletons being
counted as single specimens.
Since Wilson did not employ a ‘zones’ system of recording
(for instance Serjeantson, 1996), indices of fragmentation are difficult
to ascertain, making calculations of the MNE (Minimum Number of Elements)
and MNI (Minimum Number Individuals) problematic. During the re-analysis,
MNE figures were based on counts of fused and unfused epiphyses, and bones
that had been recorded as ‘complete’. The MNI was calculated from the
most common element according to the MNE, taking sides into consideration.
Fortunately, mandibles - the only elements that Wilson sided consistently
– were in almost all cases the best represented element.
For the main domesticates, dental wear was originally recorded
using Payne’s (1973) method for sheep/goat and Grant’s (1982) technique
for pig. The data for cattle mandibles appear to have been recorded using
a hybrid of these two strategies. During re-analysis, all the records
for dental eruption and wear were converted to Grants system; the results
are provided in Appendix I. Mandibles, loose deciduous and adult forth
premolars, and third molars were placed into age groups following the
criteria provided by Payne (1973) for sheep/goat, Legge (1992) for cattle
and Maltby (1993) and Hambledon (1999) for pig. Wilson did not take crown-height
measurements for equid teeth and does not mention how he used dentition
to estimated horse/donkey age. Epiphyseal fusion for all the main domesticates
was interpreted using Sisson and Grossman’s (Getty, 1975) timings for
epiphyseal closure.
Wilson sexed cattle and caprines pelves on the basis of
their morphology but no other sexing criteria for any other animals appear
to have been employed as a standard.
Measurements seem to have been taken following the criteria
of von den Dreisch (1976) and the raw data are provided in Appendix
II. Where possible, wither heights have been calculated using the factors
presented in Driesch and Boessneck (1974). Data accumulated by the Animal
Bone Metrical Archive Project (Centre for Human Ecology and Environment
1995) were used for comparison.
Wilson did not record gnawing marks but did note whether
identifiable specimens (unidentifiable material was not considered) were
burnt. He made copious illustration of butchery marks for cattle and caprine
bones but the resulting diagrams have proved difficult to interpret, for
instance it is seldom possible to differentiate cut, chop or shaving marks
from his illustrations. Nevertheless, the butchery information he provided
has, where possible, been converted into a digital format using Lauwerier’s
(1988) coding system - the data are tabulated in Appendix III.
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The Assemblage
A total of 35,531 bone fragments was recovered from Longdoles
Field. The majority of this material was retrieved from Trench 13 (67.7%),
Trench 17 (16%) and 19 (9.6%) with the other areas producing much smaller
quantities of animal bone (Table 1).
Overall, the assemblage derived largely from ditches (59%),
pits (18%), gullies (7%) and wells (5%), with the remaining 11% coming
from a variety of minor feature types. Table 1 shows, however,
that this general pattern masks significant variation between the different
phases and trenches. For example, the Phase 2 material from Trench 13
came predominantly from ditches (73%) whereas the Phase 4 animal bones
from the same trench were recovered from a much wider range of feature
types, with just 43% deriving from ditch deposits. Such differences complicate
inter-area and inter-period comparisons, as it has been shown repeatedly
that bone disposal and survival vary dramatically between feature types
(Maltby, 1985; Wilson, 1996). In order to compensate for these factors,
comparisons between the different areas and phases of the site are based
predominantly on the ditch, pit, gully and well assemblages.
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Taphonomy
Wilson made few notes on the condition of the assemblage
and thus rates of fragmentation and preservation are uncertain. However,
the comparatively small number of measurable specimens (Appendix II) and
the fact that sizeable numbers of loose teeth were recovered from all
areas and phases of the site (Table 2),
suggests that the material was in a fragmentary state. Credence is perhaps
added to this suggestion by the generally low percentage of identifiable
material: on average just 31% of specimens were identifiable to taxa.
An indication of bone preservation is also provided by the proportion
of loose teeth: due to their robusticity, teeth will preserve even when
mandibular and maxillary bone has been destroyed. Table
2 demonstrates that loose teeth tend to be well represented
in assemblages with low percentages of identifiable fragments, such as
those from Trenches 27 and 30. It seems likely that the material from
these trenches had been subject to considerable redeposition, whereas
that from Trenches 13, 17 and 29 may have undergone less movement, hence
the higher percentage of identifiable fragments and lower frequency of
loose teeth.
Whilst Wilson recorded no data concerning gnawing, dogs
are consistently represented in the Longdoles Farm assemblages, suggesting
that the material is likely to have been effected by canid consumption.
This idea is supported by the anatomical frequency data: Figure
4.3.1: Skeletal representation data for the Longdoles field caprines compared
to Brain’s (1976) carnivore-ravaged caprine assemblage shows
the similarity of the body part representation for the Longdoles
sheep/goats to Brain’s (1967) data for a carnivore-ravaged caprine assemblage.
On this basis it may be assumed that dogs had access to, either through
scavenging or being deliberately fed, the Longdoles Field bones.
Table 3 presents the frequency of burnt bones,
by trench, phase and taxa. As Wilson considered only identifiable fragments,
the actual level of burnt material is probably much higher than the table
suggests. Nevertheless, the data indicate an interesting pattern, that
sheep/goat bones account for nearly all (84%) of the burnt material. Why
this should be the case is uncertain but it seem likely that the inter-taxa
variation in burning may reflect cookery techniques, perhaps with lamb
and mutton being roasted (see my comment 2) whilst pork and beef were
boiled.
Inter-taxa variation is also indicated by the butchery data.
Although Wilson did not record marks in a quantifiable manner, it is clear
that cattle bones had a much higher incidence of butchery marks that those
of other animals.
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Taxa Represented
Composition of the assemblage is shown, by trench and phase,
in Table 4. Since most of the remains were retrieved by hand and
systematic sieving was not carried out, it is likely that small bones
from mammals, birds and, in particular, fish are under-represented. Like
most hand-collected assemblages from England, the remains of domestic
mammals dominate the Longdoles Field assemblage, on average accounting
for 94% of the identifiable fragments. Wild mammals are represented sporadically,
being scarce in Trenches 17 and 19, and totally absent in Trenches 18,
27, 29 and 30. They are most numerous in Trench 13 where they become increasingly
abundant in the later Phases (3, 3/4 and 4).
Cattle, Caprines and Pigs
In all areas and phases of the site, cattle and caprines
are the dominant taxa according to the NISP count. Pigs are less numerous
but their remains are represented in most areas and phases of the site.
Only two goat specimens - a pair of horn cores from a Phase 3/4 pit in
Trench 19 - were positively identified. This suggests that goats were
not common at Late Iron Age and Roman Longdoles Field, a situation paralleled
on most other sites of these periods (Maltby 1985, 101; King 1991, 16).
No articulated cattle or pig remains were noted but four sheep skeletons
were recorded. Of these, three were from Phase 3 contexts (gully 1281,
ditch 1330 and pit 1373) in Trench 17, and the fourth was from a Phase
3/4 context in Trench 13. An articulating section of vertebral column
was also recovered from a Phase 3/4 ditch (number 667) in Trench 17.
Equids
Equid remains are present in the assemblages from most areas
and phases of the site, usually being as numerous as those of pig, often
more so. In most cases equid bones and teeth were found distributed, in
no great concentrations, amongst the remains of other animals. Despite
this, they seem to have been treated differently from the other main domesticates.
For example, a much higher percentage of horse bones (8%) were complete
compared to those of cattle (3.5%) and sheep/goat (0.2%), indicating that
horse flesh was not processed to the same extent as beef and mutton.
Indeed, this may suggest that horse meat did not make a significant contribution
to the diet, an idea perhaps supported by the articulated horse hindlimb,
which appears to have been discarded fully-fleshed in a Phase 4 ditch,
context number 2804 (Section 10).
Wilson identified two donkey (Equus asinus) specimens
from Trench 13 – a complete metacarpal from a Phase 2 gully (context 532)
and a femoral fragment from a Phase 4 pit (1989). Confirmation of the
metacarpal’s identifications has been made through metrical analysis:
Figure
4.3.2: Distal breadth plot of the Longdoles Field equid metacarpals with
those for modern donkeys demonstrates that it is too small to
be a horse, falling instead within the distribution of modern donkeys
(Davis, 1976). It, therefore, seems highly likely that the femur was also
correctly identified.
Dog
Dogs are represented in most of the trenches, although not
in all phases. Their remains are seldom found in concentration, but are
more regularly recovered in low density, mixed with fragments from
other domestic animals. Exceptions to this situation are the two skeletons
found in the Phase 3 assemblages: a partial skeleton was recovered from
ditch 620 in Trench 13, and a complete specimen was found buried in its
own pit (number 1231) in Trench 17 (Section 10).
Cat
Felid remains were recovered from Trench 13, where they
were found in all phases except 2/3, and Trench 17, where a single specimen
was found in a Phase 3/4 context. Metrical analysis, using the comparative
data provided by Teichert (1978), suggests that wild (Felis silverstris),
as well as domestic (Felis catus), cats are represented within
the assemblage: Figure
4.3.3: Scatterplot (Greatest length by Breadth of Distal) for the Longdoles
field felid humeri against those of modern wild (Felis silvestris) and
domestic (Felis catus) cat. shows that the humerus recovered from
a Phase 4 pit (1989) in Trench 13 fits the size range of the wild rather
than domestic specimens. It seems likely that the other cat remains retrieved
from this context were from the same individual, although this cannot
be confirmed as none of the specimens were measurable.
Cervids
Red deer (Cervus elaphus) is the only cervid species
present in the Phase 2 material from Trench 13, where it is represented
exclusively by antler fragments. Post-cranial specimens were identified
in the Phase 3 assemblages from both Trench 13 and 17, although antler
still predominates in the Trench 13 material (Table
4). Antler is the only red deer specimen from Phase 3/4 of
Trench 17, whilst the Phase 4 assemblage from Trench 13 produced a single
radius fragment.
Although less numerous than red deer, roe deer (Capreolus
capreolus) is represented by a higher ratio of post-cranial bones,
with specimens other than antler being present in the Phase 3 material
from both Trench 13 and 19. An antler fragment was, however, the only
roe deer specimen recovered from the Phase 4 assemblage from Trench 13.
Hare
Recovered exclusively from Trench 13, hare (Lepus
spp.) are one of the best represented wild mammals in the Phase 3 assemblage.
Five of the nine identified specimens came from well 766 and probably
represent a single individual. A further two derived from post-hole 2269,
with the remaining specimens coming from contexts 663 and 1988.
Other Wild Mammals
A small number of bones and teeth from badger (Meles
meles), fox (Vulpes vulpes), Polecat (Mustela putorius)
and weasel (Mustela nivalis) were also identified in the Longdoles
Field assemblage. One badger bone was found in the Phase 4 assemblage
from Trench 19, and two fox specimens were noted in the Phase 3/4 material
from Trench 17. All the remaining specimens, including one fox and two
badger bones, were recovered from Trench 13. A single weasel humerus was
found in a Phase 2 gully, and an articulating polecat skull and pair of
mandibles was recovered from a Phase 3/4 well (context 502).
In addition to these species, Trench 13 also produced the
remains of several small mammals: field vole (Microtus arvalis),
water vole (Arvicola spp.) mole (Talpa europaea) and unspecified
‘rodent’ were all identified. Rather than representing animals caught
deliberately by humans it seems likely that these individuals represent
natural fatalities.
Birds
Both domestic and wild bird species were identified in the
assemblages from all phases of Trench 13, with smaller numbers being present
in the Trench 17 and 19 material. Domestic fowl are the dominant taxon
throughout, followed by domestic goose and domestic duck. Wild birds are
present in lower frequencies, each species seldom being represented by
more than one specimen. Many of the wild birds, such as the Teal (Anas
crecca), Coot (Fulica atra), Swan (Cygnus sp), Crane
(Gruidae), Grey Heron (Aredea cineria), Dunlin (Calidris
alpina) and Snipe (Gallinago gallinago), are those that would
be expected to inhabit the wetland environment surrounding Longdoles Field.
In terms of both frequency and taxa range, there is a general
increase in bird representation from the earlier to the later periods.
In Trench 13, for example, seven bird species account for 1.3% of the
identifiable remains from Phase 2, whereas in Phase 3 twelve bird species
are represented and their remains constitute 4% of the assemblage. By
Phase 4, birds make up 4.2% of the total assemblage and 15 species are
represented.
Trench 13 produced two partial bird skeletons: that of a
domestic fowl was recovered from a Phase 3 posthole (context 1773) and
a female buzzard skeleton was found in Phase 4 gully (835).
Amphibians
Trench 13 produced a sizeable number of frog (Rana temporaria)
bones, particularly from Phase 2, 3, 3/4 and 4 contexts. A further two
frog bones were found in the Phase 3/4 assemblage from Trench 17. Toad
(Bufo bufo) is represented by a single specimen, recovered from
a Phase 4 robber trench (1578) in Trench 13. Most of the amphibian remains
were found in deposits from deep contexts, such as ditch 892 and wells
502 and 766, suggesting that the individuals concerned fell into
these features where they died unable to escape.
Fish
Just four fish bones were recovered during the Longdoles
Farm excavations, the low frequency probably reflecting lack of sampling
rather than actual absence. All four bones were from eel (Anguilla
anguilla) and were recovered from the Phase 3 well (context 766) in
Trench 13.
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Relative Frequency of the main
domesticates (cattle, caprines, pig and horse)
Numerous researches (notably Maltby 1985 and Wilson 1996)
have demonstrated that species representation can be influenced heavily
by context type. For instance, it is often noted that the remains of larger
mammals, such as cattle and horse, are better represented in peripheral
boundary ditches, whereas sheep/goat and pig bones are more numerous in
pits close to central zones of activity. The causal factors of these patterns
have been linked to inter-taxa variation in bone preservation, butchery
and disposal practices. In order to ascertain whether or not the Longdoles
Field assemblage was affected by similar biasing factors, it is necessary
to consider the results by feature type before the data are combined.
By so doing, sample sizes are reduced greatly: only four trenches – numbers
13, 17, 19 and 29 – are able to contribute to the data-set and just four
feature types – ditches, gullies, pits and wells – are represented by
assemblages large enough (over 100 identifiable specimens) to warrant
comparison. The data for these context types are provided, by phase and
trench, in Tables 5a-5d.
Comparison between the different phases, trenches and feature
types demonstrates a high degree of variability and it is difficult to
see any obvious context-related patterning. For instance, the Phase 2
features all demonstrate similar taxa ratios, with cattle dominating each
of the deposit types. Here there is some indication that cattle are better
represented in ditches, and caprines more abundant in the pits but these
trends are not seen in either the Phase 3 or 4 contexts from Trench 13,
where cattle greatly outnumber sheep/goat in both the ditch and pit deposits.
By contrast, the Phase 3 and 3/4 ditch deposits from Trench 17 show sheep/goat,
rather than cattle, to be the dominant taxon. Pig and horse remains are
in all cases less frequent than those of cattle and caprines but there
is no clear evidence indicating that they are consistently under- or over-represented
in any particular feature type. Indeed, the general impression provided
by Tables 5a-d is that no context type is characterised by a particular
assemblage. Even the burial of the animal skeletons does not seem to have
been restricted to specific contexts – the Phase 3 sheep skeletons from
Trench 13 were recovered from a ditch, a gully and a pit (Wilson &
Levitan n.d). As such, it might be conjectured that rubbish disposal at
the Longdoles Field settlements was less structured than has been seen
on other similarly dated sites, such as Winnall Down (Maltby 1985) and
Owslebury (Maltby, n.d). Wilson & Levitan (n.d.) suggested that, rather
than having functional significance or being perceived as specialised
dumping grounds, the different features were used indiscriminantly, with
rubbish being discarded in the most convenient place at the time. If this
were the case, it reduces the problems of combining the data from different
context types, in fact, such aggregation may actually provide results
more representative of the overall situation.
Table 6 presents the cumulative cattle, sheep/goat,
pig and horse frequencies for the main trenches, by phase. In all cases
cattle and caprines are the dominant taxa but it can be seen that the
variation in their representation is as great between trenches as it is
between the different feature types. Most notable is the comparatively
high frequency of sheep/goat (59%) in the Phase 3 contexts of Trench 17.
Why this area should have produced so many more sheep/goat remains is
uncertain, although it may be significant that all of the Phase 3 sheep
skeletons were recovered from it, perhaps indicating a specialised activity
or disposal area. Again, this does not form part of a consistent temporal
trend, since the Phase 3/4 material from the same trench is dominated
by cattle remains (57%). Trenches 19 and 29 seem to demonstrate opposing
shifts, whereby caprines are better represented in the later (Phase 4)
than earlier (Phase 3) periods. Only Trench 13 demonstrates consistent
inter-period shifts in taxa representation.
Figures 4.3.4a+b:Relative
frequency of the main domesticates according to the a) NISP and b) MNI
counts show the inter-phase variation in cattle, sheep/goat and
pig representation in terms of NISP and MNI – horse are not considered
here as it was demonstrated in Section 4 that the remains of this species
seem to have been treated differently to those from the other main domesticates.
Comparison between the two graphs shows that ranking of the different
taxa is dependent largely on quantification technique: fragment counts
show cattle to be the best represented animal but sheep/goat become dominant
when minimum numbers are considered. This disparity between the two sets
of results highlights the issues of fragmentation and preservation set
out in Section 4. For example, it was noted that cattle bones demonstrated
the highest frequency of butchery marks, suggesting that their remains
had been more heavily processed, and thus fragmented, than the bones of
other domesticates. As such, it might be assumed that cattle frequencies
are artificially inflated when considered in terms of NISP. By contrast,
it seems likely that the sheep/goat and pig NISPs are reduced due to the
susceptibility of their bones to destruction: both taxa have lower bone
density than cattle, this is especially the case for pigs since most individuals
tend to be culled at a young age before their bones are fully ossified.
In this case the MNI counts are perhaps a better reflection of the true
species representation, Figure
4b indicating that both caprines and pig are more numerous than
Figure
4a suggests.
Regardless of quantification method, the data show the same
overall trends. Although there are no dramatic inter-period shifts in
taxa representation, both graphs (in particular Figure 4b) indicate a
slight but consistent increase in cattle, at the expense of sheep/goat
and pig.
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Ageing
Whilst little dramatic inter-period variation in taxa representation
was noted above, dental and, to a lesser extent, epiphyseal fusion data
indicate some marked shifts in herd and flock age structure.
Cattle
Sample sizes were insufficient for cattle ageing to be considered
by trench and the data have, therefore, been combined to provide a general
overview of inter-period change. Epiphyseal fusion evidence (Table
7) shows no clear patterns, although there is a suggestion
that the average age of slaughter fell slightly between the earlier and
later phases: 74% of Phase 2 and Phase 3 animals survived beyond 3-4 years
but this figure had dropped to 65% by Phase 4. Foetal and neonatal cattle
bones are also better represented in the later periods, being absent in
the Phase 2 assemblage (Table 8).
The principle caveat of epiphyseal fusion data is that the porous, unfused
bones of immature animals are more vulnerable to taphonomic destruction,
and their epiphyses less likely to be recovered, than those of adults.
Considering the evidence for taphonomic alteration (Section 4) it seems
likely that juvenile bones are under-represented within the Longdoles
Field assemblage. Since teeth are more robust than bone, the dental ageing
data should be viewed as the more accurate indicator of herd structure.
The dentition-based cull-patterns (Figure
4.3.5: Kill-off patterns for the Longdoles field cattle with all trenches
combined) demonstrate a trend opposite to that suggested by the
epiphyseal fusion, indicating a gradual but clear increase in cattle age.
Data for Phase 2 show that over 50% of the herd were slaughtered by Stage
5 (approximately 15-26 months of age). By Phase 3, however, the number
of animals culled at this point had dropped to 35%, with another 6% drop
by Phase 4. During these later phases, a much higher proportion of animals
survived beyond Stage 6 (2-3 years): 45% of the herd in Phase 3 and 55%
in Phase 4, compared with just 34% in Phase 2.
Caprines
In contrast to the cattle data, sample sizes for sheep/goat
ageing are large enough that differences between the Phase 3 cull-patterns
for Trenches 13, 17 and 29 can be discerned. It is clear from Figure
4.3.6: Inter-trench variation in kill-off patterns for the phase 3 caprines
that the caprines represented in Trenches 17 and 29 are generally older
than the individuals from Trench 13: according to the graph, 51% of animals
from Trench 13 had been culled by Stage E (2-3 years), whereas 68% of
the Trench 17, and 75% of the Trench 29, individuals survived past this
point. Whilst it could be argued that this variation is an artifice of
small sample size – the Trench 29 patterns being based on just 16 mandibles
– epiphyseal fusion data supports the dental evidence. Table 9
indicates that 67% of the Trench 17 and 29 sheep/goat survived beyond
2.5-3 years, compared to just 32% of those from Trench 13. This suggests
that the variation between the different areas may be an accurate reflection
of the actual situation. In view of this, it would be unwise to combine
the samples from the various areas, especially for considering inter-period
change, since the resulting cull-patterns would be skewed depending upon
which trench contributed the largest number of mandibles. Instead, inter-period
variation in age structure is examined only for Trench 13, as this was
the only area to provide large samples of mandibles for each phase.
Figure
4.3.7: Caprine kill-off pattern by phase in trench 13 demonstrates
that inter-phase differences between the cull-patterns are not as marked
as those for cattle. Nevertheless, some variation is apparent. For instance,
there is an increase in average sheep/goat age between the earlier and
later phases: whereas 66% of Phase 2 individuals survived past Stage D
(1-2 years), this figures rises to 75% for Phase 3 and 80% for Phase 4.
Again these dentition-based cull-patterns correlate well with those derived
from epiphyseal fusion data, Table 10 showing that the Phase 2
caprines were, on the whole, slaughtered considerably younger than those
in Phase 3 and Phase 4.
Pig
Few ageable pig specimens were retrieved from the Longdoles
Field assemblage, making it necessary to combine the data from the different
trenches. Even with this aggregation, however, sample sizes remain low
when the results are considered by phase.
Figure 4.3.8: Inter-phase variation in kill-off pattern for pigs
shows the dentition-based cull-patterns, with epiphyseal fusion data being
presented in Table 11B. No correlation exists between the
different ageing methods. For instance, the dental data suggest the Phase
4 pigs to have been slaughtered at a younger average age than those from
Phase 3, whereas the reverse is indicated by the epiphyseal fusion evidence.
Patterns of inter-period variation are, therefore, difficult to discern.
Perhaps the only statement that can be made with certainty is that, regardless
of phase, most animals were killed young, with the majority being culled
before they were fully mature: according to Figure
4.3.8 very few individuals survived past Stage 6 (21-27 months).
Table 8 shows that a foetal pig skull was recovered from the Phase
2 assemblage, with both the Phase 3/4 and Phase 4 material producing neonatal
remains.
Equids
Both the epiphyseal fusion (Table 12) and dental
evidence (Table 13) indicate that, in all phases, most equids survived
for several years. Sample sizes are small, even when the data from all
trenches are combined, but it is possible to detect some inter-period
change, namely the appearance of younger animals in the late phases. Table
12 demonstrates that all the individuals represented in Phase 2 were
older than 3-3.5 years, and the only ageable mandible from this phase
came from an individual aged between 11-16 years. All the mandibles from
Phase 3 derived from animals said to be over 5 years of age, a situation
supported by the epiphyseal fusion. By Phase 4, however, the remains of
several juveniles are represented: according to Table 12 14% of
animals were dead by the age of 18-24 months. One mandible from an individual
aged approximately 12-18 months was recovered from pit 2721, this was
found in association with a distally unfused radius and tibia. The partially
articulated hindlimb of another 18 month old animal was represented in
ditch 2804: this specimen’s tibia was distally unfused but the distal
metatarsal was fused. In addition to these, a two foetal
specimens – a tibia and a pelvis – were recovered from ditch 501.
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Sexing
The results of Wilson’s work on cattle and sheep/goat pelves
are provided, by phase, in Table 14.
Cattle
Whilst the number of specimens providing evidence is small,
the data suggest a temporal trend towards an increased maintenance of
male animals. For instance, all of the sexed pelves from Phase 2 derived
from females but this figure falls steadily through time. Metrical analysis
of the metatarsal, an element shown to display considerable sexual dimorphism
(Albarella 1997:38; Thomas 1988) provides a similar picture of changing
sex ratios.
Figure 4.3.9 Scatterplot of cattle metacarpels - breath of distal by
depth of distal shows a bivarate plot (breadth of distal against
depth of distal) which forms two separate clusters, labelled tentatively
as male and female. It can be seen that all but one (90%) of the Phase
2 metacarpals fall within the smaller group, supporting the idea that
most of the animals from this phase were females. By contrast, the percentage
of Phase 3 (36%) and 4 (30%) specimens plotting within this group is much
reduced, suggesting that emphasis did, indeed, gradually shift towards
the management of male animals.
Caprines
The evidence provided by the sheep/goat pelves is perhaps
less reliable than that for cattle since the sample size is even smaller.
Certainly no clear temporal trends are apparent, although there may be
some indication of a shift away from the management of rams and whethers:
whereas 25% of the Phase 2 pelves are from males, by Phase 4 they account
for just 14% of the sexed specimens.
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Body Part Patterns
Distribution of cattle, caprine, pig and horse skeletal
elements is shown (in terms of MNE), by trench, phase and feature type,
in Tables 15, 16, 17 and 18a-d. Since inter-feature
variation in the data is difficult to discern and because sample sizes
are often small, aggregated results for each phase are provided in Tables
19, 20, 21 and 22, with the data presented
graphically in Figures 4.3.10:
Skeletal representation data for the Longdoles field cattle from all trenches
, 4.3.11:
Skeletal representation data for the Longdoles field caprines from all
trenches , 4.3.12:
Skeletal representation data for the Longdoles field pigs from all trenches
and 4.3.13:
Skeletal representation data for the Longdoles field horses from all trenches
.
Cattle
In each phase of the site cattle are represented by all
body parts. Mandibles and denser longbone portions, notably the distal
tibia, distal humerus and proximal radius, are particularly abundant,
with portions of lower bone density, such as the proximal tibia, proximal
humerus, ulna and distal radius being less well represented. This skeletal
patterning would appear to be related to differential preservation, rather
than the impact of human activity. Scarcity of the smaller elements, in
particular the atlas, axis, astragalus, calcaneum and first phalanx, may
be accounted for by the lack of on-site sieving.
Whilst the body part patterns are similar for each phase,
there are some distinct inter-period differences. Perhaps most obvious
is the increase in scapula representation, which rises from 31% MNI in
Phase 2 to over 80% in Phases 3 and 4. Since cattle scapulae are generally
more susceptible to destruction than the distal humerus (Brain 1967; Lyman
1994) their abundance in the latter two assemblages suggests that their
presence is related to anthropogenic factors. Interestingly, although
scapula representation appears consistent in Phases 3 and 4, when the
data are considered by feature type is becomes clear that their distribution
within the two assemblages is dissimilar. Table 15a shows that
whereas the Phase 3 scapulae were evenly distributed among a range of
feature types, the Phase 4 specimens were absent or poorly represented
in all feature types except the enclosure ditches and pits. Indeed, of
the twenty-eight scapulae recovered from pits, twenty-two came from a
single feature, number 1989. Table 23 provides the skeletal representation
data for this feature and it is clear that mandibles and, in particular
scapulae, are significantly over-represented compared to the other body
parts. If this assemblage accumulated over time, it would suggest a degree
of structured rubbish deposition, however, it may equally represent a
single carcass processing event.
Caprines
There is little inter-period variation in the distribution
of caprine body parts. In each phase mandibles are vastly over-represented
with the distal tibia and distal humerus being the next most abundant
elements. All other bone portions, especially those with low structural
density (such as the proximal humerus and proximal tibia), are present
in small frequencies. It was noted in Section 4 that the body part patterns
for the Longdoles Field caprines resemble closely those from assemblages
that have been ravaged by carnivores. Certainly the data suggest that
density-based differential preservation is the strongest factor influencing
the caprine skeletal representation, masking any human-introduced biases.
Pig
As with the caprine assemblage, the pig body part patterns
for all phases are dominated by mandibles, with post-cranial bones being
less well represented. This is particularly true of the Phase 2 material
which, although having the greatest MNI of any of the phases, contains
the least number of appendicular bones. Such skeletal patterning is common
for hand-collected pig assemblages and is generally linked to differential
recovery and preservation: the small size of many pig elements means they
are often missed during excavation and, whilst pig mandibles are particularly
robust, their long-bones (often being unfused) are susceptible to destruction.
Data for the Phase 3 and, to a lesser extent, Phase 4 material indicate
that bones of the forelimb are better represented than those from the
hind. Again this pattern is common for pig assemblages and most probably
reflects the greater structural density of the scapula, humerus and radius
compared to the pelvis, femur and tibia.
Equid
Figures 4.3.13a-c:
Skeletal representation data for the Longdoles field horses from all trenches
show that the skeletal representation for the Longdoles Field equids
is substantially different to that for the other main domesticates. Whilst
all parts of the body are represented, metapodia and hind-limb elements
are present in higher frequencies than those of the forelimb. This pattern
is consistent for all phases, although less clear for Phase 3, due to
small sample size. It seems unlikely that the variation can be attributed
to differential preservation, since the distal humerus is less well represented
than the tibia, despite being of higher structural density. Factors of
identification could, perhaps, be responsible for the observed trend:
mandibles, femora, tibiae, astragali and metapodia being slightly easier
to identify than the humerus and radius. Certainly representation of the
highly identifiable metapodia is not skewed in favour of the hind-limb,
the data showing the metacarpal to be represented in equal, or even greater,
frequencies to the metatarsal.
Although differential identification may explain the skeletal
patterning, there exists the possibility that the data reflects the true
circumstances, that bones of the hind-limb were represented in higher
frequencies than those of the forelimb. Such a situation may have arisen
either by the export or import of particular body parts or as a result
of selective disposal strategy, with bones of the hind-limb being discarded
in contexts more likely to ensure preservation. Evidence to support the
latter argument is perhaps provided by the partially articulated horse
hind-limb that had been placed in the Phase 4 ditch, number 2804 (Section
10).
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Articulated Remains
Several sets of articulating remains were recovered from
Longdoles Field . Although most of the main domesticates were represented
by at least one partial skeleton, no articulating remains of cattle or
pig were noted.
Sheep burials
Anatomical frequencies and, where available, epiphyseal
fusion data for the four sheep skeletons and set of articulating vertebrae
are presented in Table 2. None of
the skeletons were complete, suggesting that portions of the carcasses
were either retained or deposited elsewhere. It is conceivable that the
small vertebrae from the lamb skeleton could simply have been missed during
excavation but it seems unlikely that the same is true of the other skeletons.
If the animals represent natural fatalities whose flesh was not considered
fit to eat, it would seem pragmatic that useful parts of the body, such
as the skin, were removed. Certainly this would explain the skeletal representation
for skeleton 699, which was missing both its head and foot bones, elements
that are often detached with the skin. The skeletons from both context
1281 and 1373, however, were both missing meat-bearing parts of their
body; both lack the upper forelimb, and the hindlimb was absent from skeleton
1281. If these carcass portions were removed for consumption, it is surprising
that the remainder of the skeleton was dumped without apparent utilisation.
Such a situation may indicate ritual activity but it seems equally possible
that the remains were scavenged or utilised for feeding domestic dogs.
If the burials do represent sacrificial animals, the rituals involved
were not specific to animals of a particular age since the Longdoles Field
individuals cover a wide age range: on the basis of the epiphyseal fusion
data the lamb was no older than 10 months, the specimen from context 1281
was between 1 and 2 years, whilst the individual from context 1373 was
at least 3.5 years of age.
Dog burials
Table 25 provides the anatomical representation for the
two sets of articulating dog remains. Those from context 620 were found
scattered throughout the ditch and were mixed in with the remains from
other domestic animals but the individual represented in context 1231
was entirely complete, having been placed in a specially dug pit. Both
dogs were adult and that from context 1231 provided three measureable
bones, whose size suggested it was of medium build with a wither-height
of 44-45cm. A considerable number of dog bones were recovered from Longdoles
field but most were found disarticulated and scattered in a variety of
contexts. Why the skeleton from context 1231 should differ from this pattern
in unclear but it seems possible that the animal was a pet, hence the
care taken in its burial.
Horse
Context 2804, a Phase 4 ditch, produced the only articulated
horse remains, which consisted of a lower left limb that seems to have
been buried fully fleshed (Table 26). This specimen was not placed
in isolation, being mixed in with remains from other animals.
Birds
Anatomical representation data for the partial domestic
fowl and buzzard skeleton are provided in Table 27. Again the significance
of these remains is difficult to ascertain.
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Carcass processing
The general impression provided by the Longdoles Field material
is that the assemblages are composed not only of food refuse but also
of waste from slaughter and primary butchery, as well as bone, horn and
antler working. Although Wilson’s butchery mark records do not permit
detailed studies of these activities, they are sufficient for methods
of cattle and caprine carcass reduction to be considered. Some comments
concerning the processing of other animals can also be made. Due to the
limited sample size and the nature of the records, no significant inter-period
variation in butchery patterns was apparent and the data from all phases
and areas of the site have, therefore, been combined.
Cattle and Caprines
Cattle carcasses appear to have been more heavily utilised
than those of any other animal but many sheep/goat bones also display
cut and chop marks. No evidence for slaughter method was apparent but
there were some traces pertaining to the preparation of the carcass. In
particular, several skulls and metapodia demonstrated cut marks indicative
of skinning.
According to Wilson’s diagrams, cattle and caprine heads
appear to have been detached from the rest of the carcass by chopping
between the axis and 3rd cervical vertebra. Most of the vertebrae
posterior to this point had their transverse processes removed, suggesting
that carcasses were split into sides by chopping either side of the centrum.
The vertebral column itself then seems to have been cut into smaller lengths,
several centra having either their anterior or posterior articulations
removed. If these butchery patterns are viewed in conjunction with those
for ribs (many of which had been cut into smaller units), they suggest
that chops, or rib-steak, were commonly prepared.
Evidence for disarticulation of the appendicular skeleton
is scarce but it would seem, from the number of butchery marks on the
articular surfaces, that divisions were made between joints with few specimens
having their diaphysis chopped through.
Rather than deriving from disarticulation, most of the butchery
marks seem to have been made during meat processing and consumption. For
instance, the majority of marks of the humeri, radii, femora and tibiae
consisted of shavings and nicks (Figure
4.3.14: Shaving marks noted on the cattle a) humeri, b) radii, c) femora
and d) tibiae). Lauwerier (1988) interpreted these as filleting
marks, created either when joints of meat were de-boned or when the cooked
flesh was cut away from the bone. Perhaps the most convincing evidence
for meat processing was exhibited by the caprine and, in particular, cattle
scapulae, which appear to have been butchered in a standardised way (Figure
4.3.15: Typical butchery patterns for the Romano-British cattle scapulae).
Most had their glenoid cavities trimmed and their spine either chopped
or removed. In addition, many scapulae exhibited a series of cut or shaving
marks on the medial surface of the blade. Such butchery patterns for cattle
scapulae have been observed on numerous Roman sites, both in Britain and
on the continent (Grant 1987). Large numbers were recovered from Lincoln
city (Dobney et al. 1995) where it has been suggested that they
represent the cold smoking and/or brining of shoulder joints, the trimming
of the bones allowing the preservatives to penetrate the muscle. The shaving
marks are thought to have been produced when meat, which had become firmly
attached as a result of the curing process, was cut away from the bone
(Lauwerier 1988,156).
Products other than meat, such as fat, grease and marrow,
must also have been targeted during carcass processing. Some of the bones,
notably the metapodia, had been split longitudinally, presumably to facilitate
marrow extraction. A considerable number of sheep/goat skulls had also
been cleaved in two, most probably to gain access to the fatty brains.
Small-scale craft-working seems to have been taking place
on-site. Several horn-cores exhibited marks suggesting the removal of
the horn sheath, and two sheep/goat metatarsi had been used as raw materials:
one, from a Phase 3 pit (2390) had been turned into a knife handle and
the other, from a Phase 3 post-hole (558) had a hole drilled through it’s
promixal articular facet. Examples of the latter specimen are uncommon
but have been reported from Danebury (Cunliffe & Poole 1991, 359)
and Wilcote (Hamshaw-Thomas 1993, 176), where it was suggested that they
represented the early stages of bone handle manufacture.
Pig
Only one butchered pig bone was recorded for the Longdoles
assemblage, an atlas displaying a chop mark from where the head had been
separated from the rest of the carcass. Whilst pig bones seldom show as
many cut and chop marks as those from cattle and caprines, a single specimen
seem unfeasibly low, and it is likely that the scarcity of butchery information
is due to recording strategy rather than actual absence.
Horse
It is unclear whether horse meat was eaten regularly by
the inhabitants of Roman Britain but the presence of butchery marks is
often cited as positive evidence for its consumption. Of the 677 horse
specimens recovered from Longdoles Field, only five were recorded as showing
evidence for butchery. Two Phase 4 metacarpals – one from cellar 1969
and the other from pit 1989 – had been split longitudinally, suggesting
that they may have been processed for marrow. However, the remaining three
specimens – a first phalanx and a tibia from Phase 2 ditches (775 and
525 respectively), and a metatarsal from a Phase 4 ditch (2804) – displayed
only light cut marks, indicative of skinning rather than butchery or meat
consumption. Indeed, the latter specimen formed part of the articulated
hind-limb, which seems not to have been stripped of meat before being
placed in the ground (Section 10.3).
Other animals
Butchery marks were observed on the bones of several other
taxa. Again, most of the marks seem to be the product of skinning rather
than meat consumption. For example, fine cut marks were noted on a dog
tibia from pit 2526; a cat ulna from ditch 1855 displayed similar cuts,
and a polecat skull and set of mandibles, recovered from a Phase 3/4 well,
showed characteristic skinning marks. The only other specimen demonstrating
butchery was a hare vertebra from the phase 3 well, number 766, but this
can probably be linked to meat removal.
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Size of the Livestock
Few bones were complete and therefore the metrical data
set consists predominantly of proximal and distal breadth measurements.
There were, however, sufficient greatest length measurements to calculate
wither heights for cattle, caprines and horses.
Cattle
Inter-phase variations in the distal breadth measurements
of cattle humeri, metacarpals, radii and tibiae are shown in Figures 4.3.16;
Inter-phase change in cattle size - breadth of distal humerus ,
4.3.17:
Inter-phase change in cattle size - breadth of distal metacarpal ,
4.3.18:
Inter-phase change in cattle size - breadth of distal radius
and 4.3.19:
Inter-phase change in cattle size - breadth of distal tibia respectively.
All indicate similar trends, demonstrating a significant size increase
between the Phase 2 and 3 specimens. Figure
4.3.16 also suggests an increase between Phases 3/4 and 4, although
this is not borne out by the wither height evidence, which is probably
the most accurate indication of size change. Figure
4.3.20: Inter-phase variation in cattle wither heights mirrors
the patterns displayed by the distal breadth graphs, suggesting that between
Phase 2 and 3 cattle wither heights increased by approximately 10cm, after
which point they remained static. By comparison with cattle from contemporary
sites in southern Britain, the Longdoles Field animals appear to have
been of average size, however, Figures
4.3.21: Inter-site comparison of late Iron Age cattle size - breadth
of distal tibia and 4.3.22:
Inter-site comparison of Romano-British cattle size - breadth of distal
tibia suggest that they may have been slightly smaller than cattle
from other sites in the region.
Caprines
Fewer measurements were available for sheep/goat but those
for the distal tibia and humerus are presented in Figures 4.3.23:
nter-phase change in caprine size - breadth of distal tibia and
4.3.24:
Inter-phase change in caprine size - breadth of distal humerus ,
with inter-phase variation in wither heights shown in Figure
4.3.25: Inter-phase change in caprine wither heights. Trends in
size change are less clear than for cattle but, again, the graphs do indicate
a slight increase between the earlier (Phase 2) and later (Phases 3, 3/4
and 4) periods. Presence of some particularly large individuals in the
Phase 3/4 assemblage may have artificially increased the figures for this
phase but, on average, wither heights seem to have risen by almost 1cm.
Comparison of the Longdoles Field specimens with data from other first-century
(Figure
4.3.26: Inter-site comparison of Iron Age caprine size - breadth of distal
tibia) and later Romano-British (Figure
4.3.27: Inter-site comparison of Roman-British caprine size - breadth
of distal tibia) sites suggest that similar size increases occurred
throughout the region. It is also clear that the Longdoles Field caprines
were of average size for the period and area.
Horse
Detailed metrical analysis was not possible for the equid
remains but Figure
4.3.28: Inter-phase change in horse wither heights presents the
wither height data for this animal. Despite being the least clear of any
of the graphs, size change between Phase 2 and Phases 3, 3/4 and 4 is
apparent. It would seem that horse wither heights increased by about 3cm,
a much smaller rise than was seen for cattle.
Pig
No wither heights could be calculated for pigs since the
high kill-off of immature animals meant that no complete long bones were
recovered. Indeed, few measurements of any kind could were taken for this
animal. On the basis of the distal humerus measurements (Appendix II),
it seems that the Longdoles Field pigs were of comparable size to those
from contemporary site in southern Britain.
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Pathology
Without first-hand examination of the assemblage, it is
difficult to interpret Wilson’s records pertaining to palaeopathology.
Nevertheless, it is clear that some pathological specimens were recovered
from the Longdoles Field assemblage, the incidence of fine pathology perhaps
being reduced by the preservation conditions. Most frequently noted were
the lesions in equids, five specimens showing evidence of either trauma
or arthropathies: A tibia with a well-healed fracture was recorded for
context 525; two metacarpals demonstrating ‘ringbone’ were recovered from
contexts 559 and 675; a fused calcaneum and astragalus were found in context
1577; and context 501 produced a metatarsal with osteophyte at its proximal
end. It seems likely that most of these lesions resulted from the stress
of being ridden. The fracture must have had another cause but the fact
that it was well-healed suggests that the animal was given considerable
attention to help it recover.
A small number of cattle metapodia were recorded as pathological
on the basis of their splayed medial condyles. Extended condyles are a
common occurrence for archaeological cattle metapodia and are frequently
cited as evidence for ploughing (Dobney et al. 1995). In the absence
of associated arthropathies, however, it is wiser to view the Longdoles
Field specimens as displaying age-related growth rather than a condition
that might be linked to traction.
Two sheep/goat specimens were identified as pathological:
a mandible from context 813 was noted as having periodontal disease and
a metatarsal from context 1367 displayed a healed fracture.
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Spatial Patterning and Rubbish Disposal
Studies of taxa frequency and skeletal representation have
demonstrated that the Longdoles Field assemblage shows no significant
variation in bone distribution between feature-types. Wilson (Wilson &
Levitan n.d; Wilson 1996) undertook a study of spatial patterning based
on the overlying residual material but, since these deposits were contaminated
and need bear no relation to the underlying layers, his results should
be viewed with caution. Several of the trends he noted are, however, mirrored
by the securely-dated bones. Patterns are best demonstrated by bird, and
to a lesser extent, pig representation. The fragility of their remains
means that they are well represented only in well preserved, primary deposits.
By contrast, assemblages containing no or few bird and pig bones are generally
characterised by fragmented assemblages with a low identifiable component.
These deposits usually contain high frequencies of cattle remains, in
particular skull, teeth and mandible fragments.
Trench 13
The general homogeneity of the assemblage from Phase 2 meant
that spatial variation is difficult to ascertain but clearer patterns
are shown by the Phase 3 material. Data for the major contexts from this
phase are provided in Table 28 where the relationship between rates
of identification and frequencies of bird, pig and cattle remains are
presented. There is a clear inverse correlation between cattle representation
and the frequencies of birds, pigs and identification: as percentages
of the former increase, those of the latter fall. Having established this
relationship, it is interesting to see what it suggests about the spatial
patterning in Trench 13. Birds are found in greatest concentrations in
Buildings 1 and 7, and in the features (particularly 1595, 766 and 1988)
just to the east of these structures. That birds are found in such high
frequencies in this area indicates a relationship with domestic buildings
and suggest that this was the central zone of activity within the trench.
By contrast, few of the main linear boundaries contain sizeable numbers
of birds. Instead their assemblages are characterised by greater quantities
of fragmented cattle remains, perhaps suggesting poor preservation due
to considerable re-working and re-deposition. These boundary assemblages
would appear to represent the peripheries of the activity zones.
If it is accepted that the presence/absence of bird bones
reflects the presence/absence of domestic activity, there are several
finer patterns that deserve comment. First is the fact that all of the
bird bones from building 1 came from the northern half of the structure,
being recovered only from post-holes 2269, 2138, 2267, 2135 and 2318.
This may suggest that this area of the building had a different function
to the southern half. It also seems significant that no bird bones were
recovered from building 3, indeed all animal bones were scarce, suggesting
that, whilst this structure was similar in plan to building 1, the two
clearly had different functions. Building 3 has been interpreted as a
barn and this evidence would seem to support this claim. Scarcity of bird
bones in building 2 could also indicate a non-domestic function, the structure
perhaps being used as a craft work-shop.
Similar, albeit less clear, patterning is apparent for the
Phase 4 material from this Trench (Table 28). Again, features containing
the highest frequencies of birds are those associated with the domestic
structures, buildings 8 and 9, whilst the enclosure ditches containing
much lower numbers of avian remains.
Other than these patterns, the data provide little evidence
to highlight systems of rubbish disposal or indicate areas of specialised
activity, such as slaughter or butchery. However, two assemblages
– those from the Phase 3 well 766 and Phase 4 pit 1989 – did stand out
as being markedly different from the general deposits: the taxa representation
data for the assemblages are provided in Table 29 and Figure
4.3.29: Taxa representation data for contexts 1989 and 766. Whereas
most of the features from Longdoles Farm were represented by a limited
number of taxa, both 766 and 1989 were set apart by the diversity of animals
represented within them. For instance, the taxa contained in well 766
include five of the site’s nine hare bones, one of the two roe deer specimens,
all of site’s fish bones plus the remains of domestic fowl, coot and dunlin.
The frequency of pigs is also higher than in most other contexts. It can
only be assumed that this assemblage represents primary domestic refuse,
perhaps the remains of a single high-status meal. Certainly the material
from this context is in sharp contrast to that from Pit 1989.
Whilst pit 1989 also contained a considerable range of species,
many were non-food animals: horse, dog and wild cat – animals thought
to have been subject to dietary taboos in this period – all being represented.
By contrast, pig, sheep/goat and bird bones were present only in low numbers.
Cattle was by far the best represented taxon, accounting for 71% of the
material from this context. Even more interesting was the skeletal frequency
data for this animal: it was noted in Section 9.1 that mandibles and,
in particular, scapulae were vastly over-represented. Such a taxa range
and body part distribution is suggestive of specialised activities – the
abundance of horse and presence of dog and cat remains could be explained
in terms of skinning, whereas the large number of cattle scapulae points
to specialised carcass processing (Section 11.1).
Trench 17
No spatial patterns were apparent for Trench 17, partly
due to the poor stratigraphy and small sample sizes for the individual
features. Table 4 demonstrates that very few bird bones were recovered
from this trench, perhaps reinforcing the idea that the area was industrial
rather than domestic in nature. Certainly the character of the assemblage
is very different to that from Trench 13, one of the more striking differences
being the concentration of articulated remains in Trench 17: three of
the four sheep skeletons and the complete dog skeleton were recovered
from this trench. Why these animals should have been buried in this area
is far from certain but if the individuals represent natural fatalities,
rather than sacrificial animals, it might be expected that they would
have been buried away from the central area of occupation.
Trench 19
Sample sizes were again small, with spatial patterning being
difficult to discern. The two enclosure ditches, number 18 and 19, provide
the best indication of where activities were centred. The assemblage from
Enclosure 19 contained a greater, although still low, percentage of identifiable
fragments and a wider taxa range than that from Enclosure 18 (Table
28), suggesting that the refuse accumulating in the ditches came from
within, rather than outside, the temenos. Despite the probable religious
function of the enclosure, none of the deposits from this Trench appear
overtly ritual, although the roe deer skull from Enclosure 19 may represent
a placed deposit.
Trenches 18, 27, 29 and 30
Evidence for specialised activity was not apparent for any
of the remaining trenches, the sample sizes for each being too low to
reveal any spatial variation. The assemblages from both Trench 27 and
30 yielded the lowest percentages of identifiable material (10% and 8%
respectively) and those fragments that were identifiable consisted predominantly
of teeth. This suggests that, rather than representing primary refuse,
the material from these trenches had been subject to considerable re-deposition.
Artefacts from Trench 27 suggest the area to have been a circular shrine,
however, animals do no appear to have been incorporated into religious
rituals that might have been carried out: there were no finds comparable
to the pig burial found at the shrine at Bancroft, Buckinghamshire (Williams
and Zeepvat 1994, 109).
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Discussion
One of the questions most commonly asked of zooarchaeological
material from this period is that of ‘Romanization’, in particular whether
the animal bones reflect the socio-economic changes that are thought to
have accompanied the Conquest (for instance Grant 1989; Dobney, 2001).
The Longdoles Field assemblage, spanning the Late Iron Age to Late Romano-British
period, is well placed to allow consideration of this subject. Certainly
the material suggests that many of the factors influencing the assemblage’s
composition altered from the earlier (Phase 2) to later (Phases 3 to 4)
periods but whether these were related to the Romanizing process or resulted
from shifts in settlement structure, function or status is less easy to
determine. At the most basic zooarchaeological level it would seem that,
despite the dramatic structural re-organisation of the settlement, the
site’s function did not change significantly over time: skeletal representation
and ageing data, in particular the presence of foetal and neonatal animals,
suggest that, regardless of phase, the Longdoles Field settlements were
self-sufficient production centres, where animals were raised and consumed
on site.
Relative frequencies of the main domesticates also show
little inter-period variation. In all phases cattle and caprines dominate
the assemblage with pigs being present in low frequencies. The high ratio
of cattle to sheep/goat in the Phase 2 assemblage is perhaps surprising,
since Iron Age sites, especially those located on chalk and limestone,
are usually characterised by a dominance of caprines. Researchers such
as Grant (1984) and Hambleton (1999) have, however, noted that sites along
the Upper Thames Valley do not demonstrate an emphasis on sheep/goat.
This observation is reinforced by the assemblage from Warrens Field (Sykes
n.d) which, according to the NISP count, demonstrates a preponderance
of cattle, perhaps suggesting that the valley environment was better suited
to cattle husbandry. Regional specialisation in cattle farming could explain
the marginal increase in their frequency between the earlier (Phase 2)
and later (Phases 3 and 4) periods (Figures
4.3.4a+b: Relative frequency of the main domesticates according to the
a) NISP and b) MNI counts). Alternatively, this slight rise in
cattle may correspond to the widespread increase in cattle representation
that has been noted across post-conquest Britain (King 1978). King (1991,
17) has suggested that this shift in taxa representation is a feature
of the Romanization process, reflecting the consumption practices of the
invading population and subsequent dietary emulation by the local people.
Certainly cattle tend to be better represented in ‘Romanized’ and central
place sites (in some cases their bones account for more than 90% of the
domestic assemblage), whereas caprine-dominated are more typical of ‘native’
or rural settlements. Since the Longdoles Field assemblage does not contain
cattle bones in the frequency typical of a Romanised site, the settlement
can be classified as ‘native’, the low frequencies of pig bones adding
credence to this suggestion: according to King (1991), pork made an important
contribution to the Roman diet, with pig bones accounting for up to 50%
of the main domesticates from Romanizes sites.
Subsequent to Kings analysis, Hamshaw-Thomas (2000) reviewed
the variations in taxa frequency and suggested that, rather than reflecting
dietary preferences, the shifts in cattle, caprine and pig ratios could
be linked to more complex patterns of economic change. This theory is
upheld by the Longdoles Field assemblage, which indicates that systems
of animal management did, indeed, alter between the earlier and later
phases. In Phase 2, for example, large numbers of cattle were slaughtered
before 15-26 months of age, suggesting a concentration on meat production.
Under such a regime it would be expected that most of the individuals
slaughtered by this point were surplus bullocks; a idea supported by the
sexing information, which indicates a dearth of adult males and a preponderance
of females (Table 14 and Figure
4.3.9: Scatterplot of cattle metacarpels - breath of distal by depth of
distal). Subsequent to Phase 2, the situation appears to have
shifted, with cattle, in particular male individuals, being kept to considerably
older ages. Similar inter-period changes in cattle sex structure have
been noted at other rural sites, such as Barton Court Farm (Wilson 1986)
and Owslebury (Maltby n.d). Maltby (1994, 91; 1998, 426) has linked this
to simultaneous but opposing shifts observed on urban sites: Romano-British
towns such as Exeter (Maltby 1979), Kingscote (Maltby, 1998) and Winchester
(Maltby 1994) have been shown to contain a preponderance of female cattle.
He argues that inter-site variation in sex structure may reflect the provisioning
system, whereby oxen and bulls were retained on the rural sites whilst
cows were deliberately selected to be sent for slaughter within the towns.
If this is the case, it would suggest that the post-conquest period witnessed
an increase in commercialisation, with the development of urban markets
and the standardisation of rural-urban provisioning systems.
The move towards the maintenance of adult males at Longdoles
Field may explain the size increase that occurred between Phases 2 and
3 (Section 12.1), although the fact that the whole size range was affected
suggests that the observed increase was due to genotypic change, rather
than a shift in sex structure. Presence of larger cattle in the Romano-British
period is well documented, both in Britain and across the continent (Maltby
1981; Luff 1982; Teichert 1984; Thomas 1989). Many researchers, for example
Maltby (1981), have argued that the observed size change can be linked
to the importation of new continental stock, whereas others, such as Armitage
(1980) ascribe the shift to the upgrading of existing Iron Age animals.
Viewed in conjunction, the evidence for a shift in cattle
age, sex and size hints at change in animal management beyond that of
simple site provisioning or animal breeding. Why such a shift should have
occurred cannot be stated conclusively but may reflect the widespread
agricultural intensification that occurred during the Romano-British period.
Population expansion following the Conquest increased the demand for food,
causing greater areas of land to be taken into arable production (Dark
2000:82). Need for traction would have seen more cattle used as plough
animals, hence the rise in cattle frequency, and desire for strong individuals
may have dictated the decision to retain male animals on rural sites.
It may also have encouraged the selective breeding for, or importation
of, the larger individuals noted in the Phase 3 and 4 assemblages. Changes
in landscape, with wooded areas being turned over to ploughland, may also
explain the observed decline in the frequencies of pig - an animal suited
to woodland foraging.
Sheep/goat frequencies appear to have remained fairly static
throughout the period under consideration but slight temporal changes
in their age-structure are apparent. In all phases the majority of individuals
were kept beyond 2 years, suggesting that they were utilised as much for
their secondary products (milk, manure and wool) as for their meat. Under
an intensifying agricultural regime, increased requirements for wool and,
more particularly, manure may explain the rise in sheep/goat age that
occurred between the earlier (Phase 2) and later (Phases 3 and 4) periods;
with animals being maintained for these products for several years before
being fattened up for the table. Artefactual evidence from Longdoles Field
indicates that weaving was taking place on site and it seems possible
that desire to improve wool yields may have encouraged selective breeding.
It is known that wool quality improved during the Romano-British period
(Ryder 1983) and if the animals producing these finer fleeces were larger
than the Iron Age stock this could account for the observed increase in
caprine size.
Although there is still considerable debate about whether
the larger livestock of the Romano-British period were selectively bred
from native animals or imported from the continent, presence of donkey
bones suggests that the Longdoles Field assemblage contains some imported
animals. Breeding populations of donkeys are not thought to have been
established in Britain until the Medieval period (Dent, 1978), therefore,
all the specimens pre-dating this period can be viewed as imports. Donkeys
have been recorded on numerous continental sites dating to the La Tene
and Roman period (Luff, 1982) but they are not well documented in the
British zooarchaeological record: whilst hundreds of Romano-British sites
have been excavated, just four – Newstead Fort (Ewart 1911, 371), Frocester
Court, Gloucester (Noddle 1979), Wilcote, Oxfordshire (Hamshaw-Thomas,
1993) and Hunt’s House, Southwark (Bendrey, 1999) – have claimed the presence
of donkey remains. These individuals were, most probably, imported for
use as pack animals.
As is the case with most rural Romano-British settlements,
horses are well represented at Longdoles Field. Although their remains
were generally found incorporated with domestic waste, there is little
evidence to suggest that horse meat was eaten regularly: few specimens
demonstrate butchery marks and most bones were recovered complete, even
articulated, suggesting that horse carcasses were treated differently
to those of the main food animals. Indeed, it has been suggested that
consumption of horseflesh was tabooed during the Romano-British period
(Simoons, 1994:187). Most horses were maintained to adulthood, indicating
that their main function was as providers of transport and perhaps traction;
certainly the few pathological specimens were suggestive of riding-related
conditions. By the later phases, however, a growing number of sub-adult
animals were represented in the assemblage, with two foetal bones being
recovered from a Phase 4 ditch. This inter-period variation in horse age
is well recognised. Few Iron Age assemblages contain the remains of juvenile
animals, which lead Harcourt (1979) to conclude that horses were not reared
at settlements but rather that feral animals were periodically rounded
up and trained. Immature individuals are, however, more commonly represented
in Romano-British assemblages - examples having been noted at Owslebury
(Maltby n.d), Wantage (Maltby 1996) and Agar’s Plough (Sykes n.d) - implying
that, by this period, horses were being bred on site. It seems likely
that this move towards on-site husbandry would have facilitated selective
breeding, which may explain the increase in horse wither height noted
between Phase 2 and Phases 3 and 4.
As with horses, dogs do not appear to have been consumed
at Longdoles field, the number of articulating remains suggesting that
there may have been a taboo against the consumption of their flesh. Instead,
their main use would probably have been as guard dogs or for herding livestock.
Livestock at Longdoles Field were not used only during their
life, their bones, horns and skins all being utilised as raw materials
after their death. Several bone objects were recovered from the site and
one specimen – a drilled sheep/goat metatarsal – represents a discarded
attempt at making a handle, suggesting that small scale bone working was
taking place on site. Antler may also have been used for tool production,
certainly in Phase 2 it is the only cervid element represented, indicating
that shed antlers were collected for purposes of bone working. Bones from
all the main domesticates, including horse and dog, displayed some evidence
of skinning marks, and in the later phases (3/4 and 4) wild animals also
seem to have been exploited for their fur. Other than an increase
in the exploitation of wild animal skins, there is little obvious inter-period
variation in the use of animal bones and hides. Differences in butchery
patterns are also difficult to discern, although in the later phases there
are perhaps greater numbers of cattle scapulae exhibiting the characteristic
marks that can be linked to the curing of beef shoulders (Section 11.1).
Many of these scapulae came from a Phase 4 pit (number 1989), their concentration
suggesting that they may have been deposited on a single occasion, having
perhaps been accumulated by a specialist trader. According to Dobney et
al. (1995, 26), in urban settings cured beef would have been sold
off the bone by specialist butchers. Whilst a different situation might
be expected on a rural site, there is evidence to suggest that salt was
taken in quantity from Droitwich to Claydon Pike (Miles & Palmer 1983)
and it seems possible that shoulders were processed at the Longdoles Field
settlement before being transported to nearby towns for sale. Once the
meat had been sold off the bone, the scapulae may then have been brought
back to the settlement for disposal. Maltby (1994), however, has argued
that such specialist activities rarely took place on rural sites. If this
is the case, the scapulae would have to be seen as representing pre-butchered
joints of meat that were imported to the Longdoles Field settlement. Certainly
such an explanation would account for the over-representation of cattle
scapulae in both the Phase 3 and 4 assemblages (Section 9.1). With the
exception of these scapulae, anatomical representation data for the main
domesticates provides no evidence to suggest that certain elements or
cuts of meat were either imported or exported from the site. If trade
in livestock was taking place, animals were most probably moved on-the-hoof.
There is no indication that the situation changed from the earlier to
the later phases.
It is often argued that discrete deposits of animal bones,
in particular articulated limbs, skeletons and skulls, represent ritual
activity. Whilst this case has been argued convincingly for the Iron Age
(Grant 1991; Hill, 1995 and 1996; Wilson 1999), the Romano-British evidence
is often less compelling. Several sets of articulated remains were recovered
from Longdoles Field but in the absence of a clearly ritual context, it
remains uncertain whether these animals represent symbolic or functional
(for example the burial of natural mortalities) deposits. The articulating
horse limb from context 2804 is perhaps the most promising example of
ritual deposition, since similar examples have been found on several nearby
Romano-British sites. For instance Wilson & Allison (1990, 96) identified
five cases of articulating horse legs at Watkins Farm, and another example
was noted at Frocester Court (Noddle 1979, 243). Furthermore, the body-part
evidence for the Longdoles Field horses (Table 13 and Figure
4.3.22: Inter-site comparison of Romano-British cattle size - breadth
of distal tibia) suggests that deposition of hind limbs may have
been practised more regularly than was recognised during the recording
process. It is possible that the bird skeletons recovered at Longdoles
Farm also represent ritual deposits. Domestic fowl were commonly incorporated
into Romano-British ceremonies and a similar instance of a fowl skeleton
being placed in a post-hole was found at Wavendon Gate, Milton Keynes
(Dobney 2001). The buzzard skeleton may also represent ritual activity,
although Bramwell (1986) interpreted the female buzzard skeleton recovered
from Barton Court Farm as a pest that had been trapped in defence of the
settlement’s poultry.
Perhaps one of the more interesting temporal shifts exhibited
by the Longdoles Field assemblage is that relating to the representation
of the less abundant species. Domestic birds increase significantly after
Phase 2, the same being true of wild birds, game mammals and fish (Figure
4.3.30: Inter-phase variation in the frequency of domestic birds and game
mammals). In any pastoral society, hunting, fowling and fishing
are forms of social action, and it seems possible that the sudden increase
in the frequency of game animals reflects a rise in the site’s social-economic
status. Interestingly, this change does not coincide with the construction
of the villa, which seems to have had little bearing on animal exploitation.
Instead, the settlement reorganisation in Phase 3 seem to have been of
greater significance. It seems possible that from Phase 3 onwards the
sites occupants were more divorced from the agricultural processes and
thus were able to expend greater amounts of time in leisure activities
such as hunting. Another possible explanation for the broadened species
range is that it reflects a change in attitudes towards domestic birds
and wild animals. It may be no coincidence that Julius Caesar, in his
De Bello Gallico (V.12.6), wrote bemused that the people of Britannia
did not eat chickens, geese or hares but kept them for sport. Certainly
these groups of animals are scarce on all Iron Age sites from southern
Britain but appear more regularly within Romano-British assemblages. This
has tempted some researchers to suggest that, in the Iron Age, there may
have been cultural taboos against wild species but that the Romans popularised
their consumption (King 1991, 16).
The range of wild animals represented in the Longdoles assemblage
informs not only about hunting practices and dietary change but also provides
an insight into the types of environment surrounding the settlement. Presence
of woodland is implied by the deer, fox, badger and polecat remains, with
the amphibians, waterfowl and wetland birds indicating proximity to riverine
conditions. It seems likely that the four eel bones came from animals
caught, by trapping, in nearby marshy areas.
When all the evidence from the Longdoles Field assemblage
is considered in conjunction, it suggests that a significant socio-economic
transition occurred between the Late Iron Age (Phase 2) and the Romano-British
(Phases 3 and 4) periods. Not only does the animal economy appear to have
changed, with fluctuation in the frequency, age, sex and size of the animals
exploited, but wider human-animal relationships in general seem to have
shifted. Most apparent of these is the uptake of hunting and the consumption
of domestic birds and game animals. The origins of these shifts are likely
to be multi-causal rather than based on a single factor but it seems probable
that, to some extent, the changes can be linked to the process of Romanisation.
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