THE SAXON AND MEDIEVAL ANIMAL BONES EXCAVATED 1985-1989 FROM WEST COTTON, NORTHAMPTONSHIRE
Author(s): Umberto Albarella, Simon Davis
Over 5000 hand-recovered animal bones and teeth were identified and recorded from West Cotton. The majority derive from four periods: early medieval (1100-1250), mid-medieval (1255-1400), late medieval (1300-1450) and post-medieval (1450-1800) and belonged to cattle, sheep, pig and horse, as well as a small number of other species. Some bones were also recovered by wet sieving. They and the hand-recovered bones include numerous remains of amphibia and some water voles which testify to the wetness of the environment. Sheep were the most common taxon and their numbers increased with time at West Cotton. This increase and a shift towards older sheep culled in the mid-late medieval period probably reflect a countrywide trends towards increased wool production. Dog and cat were fairly common but wild animals such as deer were rare. The bones had been severely fragmented by scavengers, which seems to characterise assemblages of animal bones from rural sites. Cut marks on horse, cat and dog bones as well as on the main food-animal bones probably reflect the importance of animal skins. Several butchered horse bones testify to the consumption of horse flesh. Both cattle and sheep were similar in size to contemporary animals from some other sites in central England but larger than these taxa from outlying regions such as Cornwall and Northumberland. This regional variation in the size of farm anamals may reflect the presence of "improved" animals in the centre of this country. There is no evedence for the size-change of sheep and cattle between Saxon and late medieval times in the West Cotton area.
- Report Number:
- 17/1994
- Series:
- AML Reports (New Series)
- Pages:
- 146
- Keywords:
- Animal Bone Animal Remains
