THE ANIMAL BONES FROM LA SAGESSE (THE PRESBYTERY) 1988, ROMSEY, HAMPSHIRE.
Author(s): J Bourdillon
Ten boxes of animal bones were examined from a site in or around the former bed of the River Test. The pottery suggests a date in the Early Iron Age or perhaps in the Late Bronze Age; of the two, a date from the Early Iron Age would seem better suited to the bones. There had been some exploitation of wild species - red deer, roe deer and wild pig. Of the domestic species, fragments of cattle dominated the assemblage, and horse was well represented. There was relatively less sheep/goat than has been found on many Iron Age sites from Wessex, and rather more pig; this may reflect the valley environment in contrast to the upland chalk which has more often been studied. Many bones were whole or near-whole but the pattern of butchery and the mixed nature of the bone assemblages suggested domestic food waste: the horse bones in particular showed many light cuts, as from the removal of meat. The only articulated material consisted of one front leg of cattle, parts of two or three dogs, and much of the skeleton of a cormorant. The material was very well preserved and a good corpus of measurements could be taken.
- Report Number:
- 106/1990
- Series:
- AML Reports (New Series)
- Pages:
- 30
- Keywords:
- Animal Bone Animal Remains
