Site, Environment and Economy 9780860542223, 9781407332260

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Site, Environment and Economy

edited by Bruce Proudfoot

Syrriposia of the Association for Environmental Archaeology No.3 BAR International Series 173 1983

B.A.R.

122 Banbury Road, Oxford OX2 7BP, England

GENERAL EDITORS A.R. Hands, B.Sc., M.A., D.Phil. D.R. Walker. M.A.

B.A.R. -S173, 1983: 'Site, Environment and Economy'

©

The Indivictual Authors, 1983

The authors’ moral rights under the 1988 UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act are hereby expressly asserted.

All rights reserved. No part of this work may be copied, reproduced, stored, sold, distributed, scanned, saved in any form of digital format or transmitted in any form digitally, without the written permission of the Publisher. ISBN 9780860542223 paperback ISBN 9781407332260 e-book DOI https://doi.org/10.30861/9780860542223 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library This book is available at www.barpublishing.com

C ONTENTS P age I ntroduction

1

T he a nimal r emains f rommediaeval sites w ithin t hree b urghs o n t he e astern S cottish s eaboard G .W.I. H odgson

3

T he h air a ndw ool f rom t he P erth H igh S treet e xcavation 3 3

M .L. R yder A s patial a nalysis o f the N eolithicchambered c airns o n A rran :

ap reliminary r eport 4 3

C hristine P erry S ites a nd s oils:

p roblems o f i nterpretationas d emonstrated

b y E ast B ennan c hambered c airn o n A rran 5 1

D .A . D avidson P rehistoricm an a nd t he e nvironment o n t he w est o f A rran , S cotland

5 7

D . R obinson ollenP roblems o f r elating s ite a nd e nvironment in p a nalytical r esearch i n S outh W est E ngland

6 1

C .J. C aseldine t M eare V illage W est, R ecent p alaeobotanicalinvestigatIons a S omerset A strid E . C aseldine

7 5

C ereal b ran a nd h nmnn f aecal r emains f romarchaeological d eposits -some p reliminary o bservations A .R . H all, A .K .G. J ones a nd H . K enward

8 5

nvironmenta nd e conomy a t C aerleon A spects o f s ite e went F ortress B aths, G T .P. O 'Connor

105

W hy o n e arththe G uinea-Pig? 15

D . B rothwell H uman b ones a s e nvironmental i ndicators S .W. H illson

121

T arakai Q ila: s ite, e conomy a nd e nvironment K .D. T homas

127

R ecent p alaeoethnobotanical w ork a t t he m ediaeval e xcavations a t B ryggen , B ergen , N orway K . K rzywinski, S . F jelldal, E -C. S oltvedt

111

1 45

L IST O F C ONTRIBUTORS

D on B rothwell, D epartment o f H uman E nvironment, I nstitute o f A rchaeology, 3 1-34 G ordon S quare, L ondon , W C1H O PY A strid C aseldine, S omerset

L evels

P roject,

D epartment

o f

H istory a nd A rchaeology,

T he U niversity, Q ueen's B uilding , T he Q ueen 's D rive, E xeter, E X4 4 QH C hris C aseldine, D epartment o f G eography, U niversity o f E xeter, A mory B uildings, R ennes D rive, E xeter, E X4 4 RJ D onald D avidson , D epartment

o f

G eography,

U niversity

o f

S trathclyde,

L ivingstone

T ower ,

2 6, R ichmond S treet, G lasgow , G 1 1 HX S issel F jelldall, B otanical I nstitute, U niversity o f B ergen , B ox 1 2, N -5014 B ergen , N orway. A lan H all, E nvironmental A rchaeology U nit, U niversity o f Y ork, H eslington , Y ork , Y O1 5 DD S imon H i nson , D epartment o f C lassics a nd A rchaeology, U niversity o f L ancaster , B ailrigg, L ancaster, L A1 4 YN I an H odgson , D uncan o f J ordanstone C ollege o f A rt, P erth R oad, D undee, D D1 4 HT A ndrew J ones, E nvironmental A rchaeology U nit, U niversity o f Y ork , H eslington , Y ork, Y O1 5 DD H arry K enward , E nvironmental A rchaeology U nit, U niversity o f Y ork, H eslington , Y ork, Y O1 5 DD K nut K rzywinski, B otanical I nstitute , U niversity o f B ergen , B ox 1 2, N -5014 B ergen , N orway T erry O 'Connor , E nvironmental A rchaeology U nit, U niversity o f Y ork, H eslington , Y ork, Y O1 5 DD C hristine P erry, D epartment o f G eography, U niversity o f S trathclyde, L ivingstone T ower, 2 6 R ichmond S treet, G lasgow , G 1 1 XH B ruce P roudfoot, D epartment o f G eography, U niversity o f S t. A ndrews,

S t. A ndrews, K Y16 9 AL

D avid R obinson , D epartment o f B otany, T he U niversity o f G lasgow , G lasgow , G 12 8 QQ

M ichael R yder , A nimal B reeding R esearch O rganisation , D ryden F ield L aboratory, R oslin , M idlothian , E H25 9 PS E li-Christine S oltvedt, B otanical I nstitute, U niversity o f B ergen , B ox 1 2, N -5014 B ergen , N orway. K en T homas, D epartment o f H uman E nvironment,

I nstitute o f A rchaeology,

3 1-34 , G ordon S quare, L ondon , W C1H O PY

A CKNOWLEDGEMENTS D uring

t he

s ymposium c olleagues

i n

t he

G eography

D epartment,

W hittington a nd P eter C undill ;

A strid a nd C hris

C aseldine

A ndrews;

a ssisted

e xcursions,

b oth

a nd

E dwina

e nvironment

P roudfoot

a nd

a rchaeology

a t

i n

t he

a v ariety

o f

G raeme

f ormerly a t

s ites.

D uring

p reparation o f t his v olume G raeme S andeman o f t he G eography D epartment, J an M iller a nd M rs.

D .

B lack p rovided

c artographic a nd

o ften u nder r ather d ifficult c ircumstances. i nvaluable h elp d uring t he C onference a nd

S t.

e xpounding

s ecretarial

o n t he

M rs. h elp ,

E dwina P roudfoot p rovided t he f inal p reparation f or

p ublication. T he E xpenses,

B ritish t hus

C ouncil k indly d efrayed K nut K rzywinski's

e nabling h im ,

a nd h is

A ndrews.

v i

w ife

t o a ttend

t he

T ravelling

s ymposium a t

S t.

I NTRODUCTION T he p apers

i n t his v olume w ere p resented a t a s ymposium h eld

R usse/1 H all,

U niversity o f S t. A ndrews,

T his

s econd

w as

t he

A rchaeology,

a nd

t he

s ymposium E ditor

w ere r eady a t t he t ime o f,

o f

t he

a pologises

a t

D avid

o n 5 th t o 8 th S eptember,

1 980.

A ssociation

t o

t hose

o r s hortly a fter ,

f or

E nvironmental

c ontributors w hose

t he s ymposium .

p apers

U nfortunately ,

d elays w ere c aused b y t he l ate s ubmission o f o ther p apers. I n a ttempting t o d efine a nd a nalyse e arly e conomies r epresented b y a rchaeological

s ites a nd

t heir c ontained

c oncerning t he r elationships

f inds,

b etween s ites,

f undamental

e conomies

p roblems

a rise

a nd e nvironments.

A rchaeological f inds, w hether t raditional a rtefacts, l iterally m an-made o bjects, w hose u se i s o bvious, o r a t l east g enerally a greed u pon, a nd e nvironmental

e vidence i n t he b roadest s ense,

l east i n p art,

w hich c an b e i nterpreted,

a s t he o utcome o f h uman a ctivity,

a t

m ay b e u sed t o d efine

a spects o f t he e conomy o f p articular s ites. C onditions o f s ite f ormation , p ost-site d evelopment, p reservation, t ypes o f a rtefacts a nd a nalysis o f m icro-a nd m acro-fossils m ay p rovide i nformation o n t he i mmediate e nvironment o f t he s ite a nd i ts l ocation.

H owever, a ll s uch e vidence i s i nterconnected ,

f or e ach s ite r esults f rom t he i nterplay o f b oth e conomic a nd e nvironmental f actors.

M oreover ,

t his m atrix o f r elationships

c hanges

t hrough t ime a s

r esult o f i nfluences b oth i nternal a nd e xternal t o a ny g iven s ite.

a

C omplex

s ocial f actors, p erhaps e qually i nterconnected w ith e conomic and e nvironmental f actors, a dd a f urther d imension t o t he p roblems u nder c onsideration. T he c omplexity o f t hese r elationships i s s uggested i n t he p apers f ollow.

i n t erms o f t erms

t hat

A nimal r emains f rom m ediaeval S cottish b urghs a re t o b e i nterpreted o f

l egal a nd c ommercial s tatus o f s uch s ettlements,

a t echnology

w orthwhile m aturity. S hetland

a nd

e conomy

t hat

m ade

i t

b oth

a s w ell a s i n

p racticable

a nd

t o o verwinter a h igh p roportion o f l ivestock u ntil t hey r eached F ibres f rom f leeces o f h airy a nd w oollen s heep o f t he O rkneyt ype

i ndicate

t hat

t his

t ype

s eems

t o

h ave

m aintained

i ts

p redominance, a t l east i n e astern S cotland, f rom t he I ron A ge i nto t he M iddle A ges. S tudies p roblems,

o f

a rchaeological

p atterns a t a r egional l evel, t errain T he

i n

s ites

n ot l east t hose o f s cale, g eneral,

c omplexity

o f

t o

t he

c hanges

i n r elation t o e nvironment

p ose o ther

f or r elationships r ange f rom b road

t hrough t he l ocation o f s ites i n r elation t o s pecific

c haracteristics

i n t he p atterns

o f

o f

i ndividual

v egetation a nd s oils

t ime a nd s pace a re i ncreasingly r ecognised. O n A rran , f or i nterference w ith v egetation s tretches b ack i nto M esolithic,

s ites. t hrough

e xample, h uman w hile t here i s

e vidence a t a l ater d ate f or c onsiderable v ariations i n t he i ntensity o f a griculture w ith d iffering e mphases t hrough t ime o n t illage a nd p astoralism . T he e xtent t o w hich s oils i n t his a rea h ave c hanged o ver t ime i s u nclear , s o t hat t he i nevitable u se o f m odern s oil d istributions i n e valuating t he r ole o f s oils a s a f actor i n t he d istribution o f,

f or e xample,

c hambered c airns,

i s u ncertain. D etailed w ork i n o ther a reas, s uch a s t he S outh W est o f E ngland, i s s howing, t hrough a nalyses o f b oth s oils a nd v egetation i n a c hronological f ramework,

t hat a t a ny o ne t ime t here w as c onsiderable s patial

v ariation i n b oth. G eneral m odels o f a c hanging e nvironment b ased o n e arlier s tudies a t r egional s cale m ay p rovide a n i nadequate f ramework f or t he s tudy o f i ndividual s ites a nd t he a ctual p rocesses o f e nvironmental c hange.

1

D etailed u seful

s tudy

o f

c omplementary

m aterial

r esults.

u sing A t

a v ariety o f

M eare

V illage

t echniques

W est,

t ree

c an p rovide

r ing

a nalysis

i ndicating w ood f rom i mmature t rees a ppears t o c onfirm t he s econdary s crubby n ature o f w oodland i ndicated b y p ollen. R ich e vidence h as b een o btained f rom t he

s tudy o f h uman f aecal r emains a t Y ork.

P lant m acro-fossils g ive

s ome i ndications o f d iet, i nsect r emains o f e nvironmental c onditions. G reat v ariation i s f ound i n t he c omposition o f p it-fills c onfidently r egarded a s c ess b ut f urther s tudy m ay s uggest d iagnostic f ossil a nd c hemical c riteria f or t heir i dentification. C lose c o-operation b etween e xcavator a nd b one s pecialist a t C aerleon R oman F ortress e nabled d ifferent a spects o f e conomoy a nd e nvironment t o b e e lucidated -changes i n p arts o f t he d iet a t d ifferent d ates, v arious s tages i n t he b utchery p rocess, o ccupation e nvironment o f t he s ite.

a nd t he n ature o f

t he

p ost-

S imple e xplanations o f b road-ranging p roblems c an m ask t heir c omplexity. S uch

i s

t he

c ase

p alaeoeconomics

w ith

t he

d omestication

o f

t he

g uinea-pig

o f a nimal d omestication i n t he N ew W orld.

a nd

t he

W idely a ccepted

a nd a pparently s imple a ssumptions r un c ounter t o a c onsiderable d iversity o f e vidence. u seful,

N ew

a pproaches

t o

p reviously

e xamined m aterial c an a lso p rove

a s i n t he c ase o f t he r e-examination o f s keletal m aterial f rom E gypt

a nd N ubia i n t he l ight o f r ecent w ork o n b one a nd d ental t issue. B ody g rowth r ates a mong e arly N ubian p opulations s eem t o h ave b een s imilar t o t hose

o f m odern E gyptian p opulations,

l ikely a s a r esult o f s imilar d iets.

C hanges i n d iet, h owever , s eem t o b e r eflected i n t he d ifferent i ncidence o f p laque-related d iseases b etween P redynastic a nd l ater s ites. A t a d ifferent s cale, s tudy o f d istribution o f e arly s ettlements, t heir e nvironmental s etting, a nd t he p lant a nd a nimal r emains r ecovered f rom l imited

e xcavation ,

i ndicate

b oth

t he

p otential

f or,

a nd

t he

p roblems

o f

p alaeoenvironmental w ork i n t he p lains a nd f oothills o f t he N orth-West F rontier a rea o f P akistan.

P resent v egetation p atterns a re c learly a

r eflection o f a l ong p eriod o f h uman u se, b ut t he n ature o f v egetation a nd o ther e nvironmental c hange s ince t he 4 th M illenium B .C. i s u ncertain. E arly a nd p resent s ettlement p atterns a re s imilar , a nd t his m ay s uggest t hat a t l east t he g rosser e nvironmental d ifferences w ithin t he a rea h ave r emained m uch t he s ame o ver t he p ast 5 -6000 y ears. E nvironmental c omplexities o f a d ifferent s ort a re t o b e r ecognised b y t he p alynologist n atural p rocesses

w orking i n s uch m ediaeval u rban s ites a s B ergen. T he o f p ollen d ispersal a nd a ccumulation c ombine w ith h uman

a ctivity t o p rovide a w ide r ange o f m aterials i n t he u rban e nvironment w hich m ay

c ontain p ollen.

P ollen m ay,

f or e xample,

o riginate i n ,

o r a dhere t o,

s oil, p eat, o r p lant m aterials b rought i nto t owns f rom q uite d ifferent e nvironments, a nd t hese m aterials m ay t hemselves b e r e-deposited w ithin t he t own. T he S canning E lectron M icroscope m ay p rovide d irect e vidence o f p ollen a dhering t o p lant s urfaces. T he

d iversity o f

a pproaches,

t he m ultiplicity o f

t echniques u sed,

t he

r ange o f p roblems s olved a nd n ew p roblems r aised, a ll s uggest s omething o f t he b road s pectrum o f i nformation n eeded b efore i t i s r easonable t o a ttempt e xplanations i n a rchaeology i n t he c urrently p opular b ehavioural m ode. C lose c ollaboration b etween a rchaeologist a nd e nvironmental s pecialist b efore, d uring, a nd a fter e xcavation m ay r esult i n e xplanations u nlikely t o b e a rrived a t b y e ither a lone.

B ruce P roudfoot

2

T HE A NIMAL R EMAINS F ROM M EDIAEVAL S ITES W ITHIN T HREE B URGHS O N T HE E ASTERN S COTTISH S EABOARD .

G .W .I. H odgson

S UMMARY T he a nimal r emains f rom s ix m ediaeval s ites i n t hree S cottish b urghs a re e xamined i n r elation t o t he u nique l egal a nd c ommercial s tatus o f t hose b urghs,

and

p resented. c ertain

s ummaries E vidence

m ammalian

o f

i s

m etrical

a dvanced

s pecies

w ere

t o

d ata

d erived

a ssess

e xploited

t he b y

f rom

t he

r elative m an.

r emains

e xtent

t o

D ifficulties

i nterpreting e vidence d erived f rom d omestic a nd i ndustrial r eviewed.

a re

w hich i n

r efuse a re

T he a pparent l ow u ptake o f v enison i s r elated t o t he p rogressive d estruction o f f orest l and a nd t o t he e rosion o f t he J ustinian p rinciple o f r es n ullius i n m ediaeval S cotland . E vidence i s a dvanced w hich s uggests t hat h igh p roportions s heep a nd p igs w ere s ucessfully o verwintered u ntil m aturity.

o f

c attle ,

D ocumentary e vidence i s c ited w hich s uggests t he s tocking r atio o f b ulls t o c ows w as 1 :40 , a nd t hat c astration o f m ale s heep w as c ommonly p ractised. T wo d istinct t ypes o f k illing c urve f or s heep/goat a re r ecognised , b eing c oncerned w ith t he p roduction o f m eat a nd w oolfells,

t he

o ne

o ther b eing

r elated t o t he p roduction o f w ool. E vidence i s p resented W hich s uggests t hat a ttempts t o c onserve s tocks o f r ed d eer w ere m ade b y k illing o nly m ature m ale a nimals. A ttention i s d rawn t o t he f act t hat t he p resence o f c anine t eeth i n h orses i s n ot i ndicative o f t heir s ex .

1 .1

I ntroduction S ince 1 975 a nimal r emains d erived f rom m ediaeval l evels a t s ites w ithin

t he

b urghs

1 979a),

o f A berdeen

a nd P erth a t S t.

a nd J ones 1 978 ,

( Hodgson a nd J ones A nne's L ane ,

1 982),

E lgin

( Hodgson a nd J ones

C anal s treet a nd H igh s treet

( Hodgson

1 979b a nd H odgson 1 981) h ave b een d escribed .

D ata f rom t hese r emains h ave a llowed s ome a ssessment t o b e m ade o f m an 's i nteraction w ith a nimals d uring t he 1 2-15C i n t his p art o f S cotland a nd h ave a dvanced o ur k nowledge o f t he a nimals t hemselves.

3

1 .2

T he s ites T he s ites f rom w hich m aterial w as d escribed w ere:

B urgh

S ite

O S m ap r ef

D irector o f E xcavation

A berdeen ( i)

Q ueen S treet

O S N J943064

J .C. M urray

4 2 S t. P aul S t.

O S N J941065

J .C. M urray

H igh S treet

O S N J214628

W . L indsay

C anal S treet

O S N 0118234

L .M. B lanchard

H igh S treet

O S N O118923

N .Q. B ogdan

S t. A nne's L ane

O S N 0119235

L .M . T hor ns

( ii) E lgin

( iii)

P erth

( iv) ( v) ( vi)

1 .3

T he s amples

T he t otal a ssemblage o f b ones a nd t eeth e xcavated f rom a g iven s ite i s a s ample o f w hat i s b uried . T he w ord s ample i s u sed i n t his c ontext. T he s amples u nder d iscussion c one f rom p rimary d eposits, a re u ncontaminated

b y i ntrusions

d ated t o b etween 1 2 a nd 1 5C.

o f m ore

r ecent

t herefore t hey

m aterial a nd

t hey

a re

a ll

I n s ome c ases t he b ones c ome f rom l iving a reas

w hilst o thers c ome f rom r efuse a reas. B ones f rom r efuse a reas p redominate s o t hat b ones f rom l arge a nimals a re b etter r epresented t han t hose f rom s mall a nimals ( see U erpmann 1 973, 3 08 f or d iscussion). S oil s ieving a nd f lotation t echniques w ere u sed o nly a t t he e xcavation a t E lgin ,

s o t hat t he r emains o f s mall m ammals a re f ully r epresented o nly a t

t his s ite. T he v ariety a nd u ncertainty o f t he s ources o f d umped r efuse m aterial o n a s ite , e ven w hen t he d eposit i s s ealed a nd t he c hronology k nown , r estricts t he v alidity o f u sing i t a s a g uide t o d iet ( Armitage 1 978, 2 0). S pecfically, A lcock ( 1979 , p ersonal c ommunication) h as a rgued a gainst u sing P erth H igh S treet m aterial, w hich s eems t o b e am ixture o f d omestic a nd i ndustrial r efuse , a s a g uide t o d iet. T he s amples a re b one a ssemblages a nd a re t he r esult o f t he i nteraction o f s everal a gencies a part f rom h uman a ctivity a nd a re , i n c onsequence, b iased s amples o f s ome o f t he a nimals w ith w hich m an i nteracted.

1 .4 I nterpretation o f t he s amples i n r elation t o t he e xploitation o f a nimals i n m ediaeval S cottish b urghs T he i nterpretation o f a ssemblages o f b ones f rom m ediaeval S cottish b urghs i s c omplicated , (0

f or a v ariety o f r easons:

T he r oyal b urghs a nd,

l ater,

a ll b urghs,

h ad a

u nique l egal s tatus w hich b rought w ith i t a d ouble c ommercial m onopoly. F irstly, t here w as a m onopoly o f t he

e xport

o f

c attle

h ides,

w ool

4

a nd

w ool-fells.

S econdly,

t here w as a m onopoly a gainst t he a gricultural

h interland a s r egards a nimals.

t he

s laughter a nd s elling

o f

T he n ature o f t he l egal s tatus o f t he b urghs,

a nd o f t he m onopolies w hich t hey d iscussed

e lsewhere

( Hodgson

e njoyed,

1 980).

h as

b een

S pecifically

i t

s hould b e n oted t hat t he r emains o f a nimals f ound i n m ediaeval S cottish b urghs a re n ot n ecessarily t hose o f a nimals e aten b y t he i nhabitants.

I n a w ider c ontext

i t m ay b e u nwise t o e xtend i nter-site c omparisons o f a nimal

r emains

f rom

m ediaeval

S cottish

b urghs

t o

c ontemporary E nglish a nd E uropean s ites o f d ifferent l egal s tatus. ( ii)

S amples a re o ften a scribed o nly b roadly t o a

p eriod o f t ime , f or e xample , P erth H igh S treet 1 2-14C , and E lgin H igh S treet 1 3-161C, y et d uring t hat t ime d ocumentary s ources s uggest t hat b oth n ational a nd b urghal p rosperity m ay h ave d ramatically a ltered, b ringing a bout m arked c hanges i n t he s tandard o f

l iving

o f t he p eople b ut t hese c hanges m ay n ot b e r eflected b y t he s ample a s aw hole. ( iii)

I n t he

1 2C S cottish b urghs t he n obility a nd

a rtisans o ften l ived " cheek b y j owl" , t hereby g iving a m ixture o f d omestic r efuse f rom r ich a nd p oor f amilies. A t P erth, f or e xample, f inds d iscovered i n c lose p roximity t o h undreds o f c attle h orn c ores w hich a re p resumed t o b e i ndustrial w aste ,

i ncluded t wo u npaired

g ilt s purs o f a t ype t hat w ould h ave b een w orn o r e arned b y a k night ( Ellis 1 980 , p ersonal c ommunication), a nd f ragments o f s ilk t extiles a ttributed t o w ealthy, r ather t han

a rtisan ,

h ouseholds

( Bogdan

1 980,

p ersonal

c ommunication). ( iv)

B ehind t he f rontages o f

w ere o ften l ocal i ndustries,

t he b urghal t ofts t here l eading t o am ixture o f

d omestic a nd i ndustrial r efuse. ( v) r ules

W e h ave i nsufficient o r

c ustoms

d ocumentary

c oncerned

w ith

e vidence

t he

o f

c learance

t he o f

m iddens. ( vi)

T he m iddens w ould b e e xposed t o d epletion b y c ats

a nd d ogs a nd w ild s cavengers s uch a s r ats, c rows. s tudy o f

f oxes a nd

O lsen ( 1978 , p ersonal c ommunication), f rom a t he d og/man r atios i n p aintings o f m ediaeval

u rban s cenes,

h as s uggested t hat d ogs w ere s o n umerous

i n m ediaeval t owns t hey w ere l ikely t o c ause a s ignificant d epletion o f a nimal b ones f rom t own m iddens.

2 .1

N umber o f b ones i dentified ( excluding f ish r emains) T he n umber o f b ones i dentified f rom e ach s ite i s g iven i n T able 1 .

T ABLE

1

N umbers o f i dentified S cottish b urghs.

b ones

f rom m ediaeval

o f

B urgh

S ite

A berdeen

Q ueen S treet

1 3C-14C

8 65

A berdeen

4 2,

1 2C-14C

1 ,502

E lgin

H igh S treet

1 3C-16C

5 10

P erth

C anal S treet

1 4C

1 08

P erth

H igh S treet

P erth

S t. A nne's L ane

2 .2

D ates o f m aterial

l evels

S t ,Paul S treet

s ites

i n

N o. o f i dentified b ones

1 2C-14C

2 1,655 1 ,523

S pecies p resent T he s pecies o f m ammals p resent a t e ach s ite a re s hown i n T able 2 , a s a re

t he p resence o f b ird a nd f ish. T he b ird b ones w ere i dentified o nly a s t o b one a nd n ot a s t o s pecies. T he s ize r anges o f t he b ird b ones f rom t he t hree b urghs a re s trikingly d ifferent. T hose f rom P erth H igh S treet r ange i n s ize f rom b irds a s l arge a s g eese a nd s wans t o t hose a s s mall a s s parrows, w hilst t hose f rom A berdeen a nd E lgin a re s urprisingly l imited i n s ize r ange,

b eing ,

f or t he m ost p art,

n o b igger t han a d omestic h en . P ossibly, l arge w ild b irds s uch a s g eese o r s wans w ere n ot r eadily a vailable a t A berdeen a nd E lgin . T he

r emains

o f

b ird,

f ish

a nd

s pecialists i n o ther i nstitutions. h as

i dentified

e agle.

s ome

o f

D r.

t he b ird

r emains

s mall

m ammals

w ere

e xamined

b y

C larke o f t he R oyal S cottish M useum f rom P erth a s

b elonging t o g olden

P resumably t his c ould h ave b een k ept a s ap et o r a s ah unter . C ommon s hrew ( Sorex a raneus), w ater-shrew ( Neomys f odiens),

( Microtis a grestis)

a nd h ouse m ouse

( Mus m usculus) w ere

f ield v ole

r epresented i n t he

r emains o f s mall m ammals f rom E lgin ( Yalden , p ersonal c ommunication). T he

f ish

r emains

f rom

P erth

i nclude

t hose

o f

t horn-backed

r ay

( Raja

c lavata), c od ( Gadus m orhua) a nd s almon ( Salar s almo). S ome o f w aste

f rom

t he c attle ,

s heep a nd g oat r emains a t P erth a re b elieved t o b e

a nimal-based

i ndustries,

p roduction a nd t he p roduction o f

f or

e xample,

n eat's-foot o il,

h orn-working,

h ide

w hile o thers a re d omestic

r efuse. T he

r emains

f rom A berdeen a nd E lgin a re t hought t o b e m ainly d omestic

r efuse w hich i ncludes t he r emains o f f ood , p ests, w orking a nimals a nd p ets. D ogs a nd c ats m ay h ave b een k ept a s w orking a nimals a s r atters, m ousers, g uards

o r h erding a nimals.

S ome

o f

t hem m ay h ave

l ived a s

f eral a nimals

l oosely a ssociated w ith t he c ommunity a nd s urviving m ainly a s s cavengers.

6

T ABLE 2

S pecies p resent i n m ediaeval l evels o f s ites i n S cottish b urghs.

B one

S ite I I I

I II

I V

K ey V V I

C attle

+

+

+

+

+

+

I .

Q ueen S treet, A berdeen

S heep

+

+

+

+

+

+

I I .

4 2 , S t. P aul S treet, A berdeen

G oat

+

+

+

+

+

+

I II.

H igh S treet, E lgin

P ig

+

+

+

+

+

+

I V .

C anal S treet, P erth

H orse

+

+

+

+

+

+

V .

H igh S treet, P erth

R ed d eer*

+

+

+

-+

V I.

S t. A nne's L ane , P erth

R oe d eer

-+

+

D og

+

+

+

+ +

+

C at

+

+

+

+

+

H are F ox

_

_

_

W olf

- -

-

S mall m ammals

- -

+

B ird

+

+

F ish

+

+

+

-+

+

-+

_

-

?

-

+ +

+

+

+

+

+

-+

+

* D eciduous c ast a ntlers a re n ot i ncluded

2 .3

R elative f requencies o f s pecies T he r elative f requencies w ere e stimated b y c omparing

( a)

t he m inimum

n umber o f a nimals p resent ( Table 3 ), a nd ( b) t he p ercentages o f b ones f or e ach s pecies p resent. T he e stimates o f m inimum n umbers a re b ased o n l ong b ones a nd n ot h orn c ores b ecause t he l atter m ay h ave b een i mported i n b ulk w ith a nimal h orns. T he P erth H igh S treet m aterial c ontained 1 ,753 c attle h orn c ores a nd 7 22 g oat h orn c ores, y et o nly 6 c attle a nd 7 g oat s kulls w ere r ecovered

f rom t his

s ite .

P rummel

( 1979) h as

r eported l arge

n umbers

o f

c attle a nd g oat h orn c ores f rom t he e arly m ediaeval p ort o f D orestead a nd t he m id-mediaeval t own o f D en B osch i n t he N etherlands. I n b oth c ases, t here i s a lso a r elative a bsence o f p ost-cranial p arts o f t he s keleton a nd t he a uthor a ttributes t he p reponderance o f h orn c ores t o t he i mportation o f l oose h orns

7

C ' N 1

, 4

e stimated

C • 1

r -4

C \ 1

C N 1

11

C

r ,

01

C r l

P -4

00

C * 11

r ,

C 7 1

f s , 01

, i ( N

1 -4

4 )

C N

$ 4

H igh S treet

C anal S treet

C O

PL 4

H igh S treet

a ) a )

Q ueen S treet

4 . ) ( I D

o r t o t he p ractice o f s ending h ides t o a t annery w ith h orns s till a ttached t o t hem . T here

i s

a d anger

i nherent

i n c omparing

r atios

o f

s pecies

p resent

a t

s everal s ites b y c omparing m inimum n umbers o f a nimals o f l ike n ot b eing c ompared w ith l ike. A lcock ( 1979 , p ersonal c ommunication) h as m aintained t hat t he c omparison i s i nvalid i f t he e stimate o f m inimum n umbers f or a g iven s pecies p resent a t d ifferent s ites i s m ade o n t he m ost n umerous b one f rom e ach s ite a nd n ot o n a b one f or t hat s pecies w hich i s c ommon t o a ll s ites. H is p oint s eems

t o b e s ustained,

f or i f t he c attle:

p ig r atios a t t he

d ifferent s ites a re c ompared b y e stimating m inimum n umbers o f c attle a nd p igs o n t he b asis o f c ounting t he m ost n umerous c attle a nd p ig b ones ( Table 3 ) a t t hese s ites, t he c attle:pig r atios a re , w ith o ne e xception , m uch l ower t han i f m inimum n umbers h ad b een e stimated b y c ounting o nly t he s ame b one f or a g iven s pecies, i rrespective o f s ite. O n t he b asis o f c omparing t he s ame b one f or a g iven s pecies ( Table 4 ), t he t hree s ites w ithin t he r oyal b urgh o f P erth h ave s ignificantly h igher c attle: p ig r atios t han e ither o f t he o ther t wo b urghs. T his m ay w ell r eflect P erth's i mportance a s a c entre f or t he e xport

o f

h ides

w hich

G rant

( 1930,

3 53)

a ssessed

a s

b eing

f ourth

i n

i mportance i n S cotland i n 1 379 . A c omparison o f a nimals,

t he r elative f requencies o f

b ased o n t he t otals o f b ones i dentified f or e ach s pecies

v ertebrae o ther t han t he f irst t wo n eck v ertebrae , c ores),

t he m ain f ood-fcrming

i s g iven i n T able 5 .

r ibs,

T he p arallel i s s triking :

( excluding

l oose t eeth a nd h orn t hese d ata s uggest

h igh r ates o f c onsumption o f b eef a nd m utton a nd l ow r ates o f c onsumption o f p ork a nd v enison . T ABLE 4 M inimum n umbers o f m ain m eat p roducing m ammals f rom m edieval o f s ites i n S cottish b urghs, t o a ll s ites.

S ite

C attle

P ig

( left d istal

( right d istal

m etacarpal)

S heep/goat ( left d istal

h umerus)

t ibia)

4

A berdeen S treet

8

6

4 2 S t. P aul S treet

6

4

6

2

1

3

5

1

E lgin H igh S treet P erth C anal S treet H igh S treet S t. A nne's L ane

l evels

e stimated o n t he b asis o f b ones c ommon

62

2 92

2

1 3

9

1 197 4

T he p ercentage o f s heep b ones a t S t. A nne's L ane ,

P erth i s s ignificantly

h igher t han e lsewhere , a s a re t he f requencies o f p ig b ones a t Q ueen S treet, A berdeen , a nd h orse b ones a t C anal S treet, P erth. A c omparison o f

t he

r elative

f requencies

o f

s pecies

a t

t hese

S cottish

m ediaeval s ites h as n ot b een e xtended h ere t o i nclude o ther B ritish a nd E uropean s ites b ecause t he u nique s tatus o f t he m ediaeval S cottish b urghs m ay m ake t he c omparison i nvalid ( see H odgson 1 980 f or d iscussion).

b y

I n a S cottish c ontext, t he a pparent l ow u ptake o f v enison a s e videnced t he r elative s carcity o f d eer b ones a t S cottish m ediaeval s ites m ay b e

r elated t o t he e rosion o f t he l egal p rinciple o f r es n ullius. G ilbert

( 1975)

h as

t raced

t he

e rosion

o f

t his

p rinciple

i n m ediaeval

S cotland a nd h as a lso e stablished t hat t here w as a r eduction o f t he n umber o f p laces i n S cotland w here c ommon p eople c ould h unt g ame, l ong b efore a n A ct o f 1 621 w hich r esulted i n o nly l and h olders b eing t he p eople w ith t he r ight t o h unt g reater g ame o r v enison .

I n t he p resent s amples t he p ercentage o f d eer

b ones i ncreases t he m ore n ortherly t he s ite; t his m ay b e d ue t o t he f orests r emaining i ntact i n t he N orth a way f rom t he c entres o f p opulation a nd t he d octrine o f r es n ullius r emaining e xtant i n t he f orest l aws o f t hese r egions.

T ABLE 5

P ercentages o f b ones f rom f ood-forming m ammals.

C attle

S ite

S heep

P ig

G oat

H orse

D eer

P erth H igh S treet

6 3.5

2 2.2

8 .3

4 .9

1 .0

C anal S treet

6 3.5

1 9 .2

4 .8

1 .0

1 1.5

S t. A nne's L ane

5 7.6

3 2.8

8 .9

*

0 .4

0 .2

5 6.0

2 2.3

1 0 .3

7 .2

3 .5

0 .7

Q ueen S treet

5 8 .1

2 6.7

1 3.8

*

0 .2

1 .2

4 2,

6 9.1

1 9 .3

8 .4

*

1 .6

1 .5

6 1.3%

2 3.8%

9 .1%

3 .0%

0 .7%

0 .1

E lgin H igh S treet A berdeen

S t. P aul S t.

A verage

*

S heep a nd g oat

a re

e xpressed

a s

o ne

f igure

4 .4%

b ecause

o f

d ifficulties

i n

d istinguishing t he t wo s pecies.

N oddle ( 1975a,

2 50) h as a ttributed t he r elative s carcity o f p ig b ones a t

B ritish m ediaeval s ites t o a d ecline i n w oodland i n w hich p igs w ere r eared.

1 0

C lutton-Brock

( 1979 ,

p ersonal c ommunication) p oints o ut

p ig b ones a t a s ite g ive n o i ndication o f s alt p ork e aten .

2 .4

t he q uantity

t hat o f

t he n umbers o f

b acon a nd b oned

S ize r anges o f b ones a nd c onformity o f s pecies A ppendices

s heep/goat

and

1 ,2,

a nd 3 g ive t he s ize r anges o f t he b ones o f c attle,

p igs

r ecovered

f rom e ach

o f

t he

s ites.

M ost

o f

t he

m easurements o f b ones f rom t he o ther s ites f all w ithin t he r ange o f t he P erth H igh S treet l arge. H odgson

m aterial ,

( 1980 ,

p ossibly

5 2),

b ecause

o n t he

b asis

t he

s ample

o f m etrical

s ize

f rom

e vidence ,

t hat

s ite

i s

s uggested t he

p resence i n m ediaeval S cotland o f c attle w hich w ere s horter a nd m ore g racile t han t heir English c ounterparts, a nd o f s heep w hich w ere m ore ' spindlel egged'.

T he s heep w ere p robably a v ariety o f b reeds.

O ne s kull s pecimen

w as a f our h orned v ariety, w hile a ll t he o thers w ere e ither p olled o r t wo h orned. T he f our h orned v arieties o f s heep a re g eographically a ssociated w ith t he w estern s eaboard o f S cotland a nd a re r epresented b y t he J acob a nd S t. K ilda b reeds t oday. O ne o f t he s heep s kulls r ecovered f rom P erth c losely r esembles a m odern S hetland r am ( Ryder 1 978 , p ersonal c ommunication). M etrical e vidence d erived f rom b ones s uggests t he p resence i n m ediaeval S cotland o f

s maller ,

l ighter b oned p igs t han t hose f ound a t m ediaeval s ites

i n E ngland. O n t he e vidence o f b one s izes a nd h orseshoes, t he h orses a t t he S cottish s ites

r anged i n s ize

f rom s mall p ack a nimals

s uch a s a re r eferred t o b y J ohn M ajor ( 1521,

t o 3 9 ;

s mall h ardy r iding h orses s ee a lso H odgson ,

1 980 ,

5 2

f or d iscussion).

2 .5

A ges o f a nimals o n s laughter

C attle Y ealland a nd H iggs

( 1966,

1 40-142) d emonstrated t hat a k nowledge o f t he

a ge o f d eath o f d omestic a nimals m ay l ead t o a n u nderstanding o f t he e conomy o f a s ite.

T he f actors w hich i nfluenced t he a ge a t w hich a nimals w ere

s laughtered m ay have i ncluded an a bility t o h usband a nimals, c ost a nd a vailability o f f odder i n r elation t o f inancial r eturn f or m eat a nd b yp roducts, a nd f ertility o f f emale b reeding s tock. I n m ediaeval S cotland t he c rown d erived m ost o f i ts i ncome f rom t he e xport o f c attle h ides, w oolfells a nd w ool. A ccording t o C lutton-Brock ( 1976, 2 1), t he a ge b y w hich c attle i n a m ediaeval c ontext m ay h ave r eached a n o ptimum , a s r egards q uality o f h ide , w as f ive o r s ix y ears. T he a nimals f rom w hich h ides w ere p roduced c ould i n S cotland , b y l aw , o nly b e s laughtered w ithin , a nd e xported f rom , a r oyal b urgh ( Hodgson 1 980 f or d etails). A berdeen , E lgin a nd P erth w ere s uch b urghs, t herefore i t s eems w orthwhile t o e xamine t he z oological e vidence a s t o t he a ges a t w hich t he c attle w ere s laughtered. T his e vidence i s d erived f rom t he e ruption a nd w ear p atterns o f t eeth a nd f rom f usion o f e piphyses t o t he s hafts o f l ong b ones. T able 6 g ives t he e stimated p ercentages o f c attle, c lassified b y a ge o n d eath .

1 1

I n t he c ase o f t he Q ueen S treet s ite a t A berdeen a nd t he C anal S treet s ite a t P erth , t he d ental e vidence a s t o a ge o n d eath i s c ontradicted b y t he o steological e vidence , b ut t his m ay b e b ecause t he s ample s izes a re s mall.

T ABLE 6 E stimates o f t he p ercentages o f c attle , c lassified b y a ge o n d eath .

S ite

T eeth 9m ths 1

B one

4 -5 y rs 2

5 yrs 3

n

3 4 y rs 4

A berdeen Q ueen S treet

1 5

n il

6 .7%

9 3.3%

6

S t. P aul S treet

2 4

4 .2%

1 2.5%

8 3.3%

6

n il

3 3.3%

3 3.3%

3

1 00 .0%

3

n il

n il

6 6.6%

2

5 0.0%

2 3

5 0 .0% 9 5.7%

E lgin H igh S treet P erth C anal S treet H igh S treet S t. A nne's L ane

2 16

6 .5%

1 2.0%

6 9 .4%

1 56

8 6.3%

2 5

8 .0%

n il

3 6.0%

1 0

6 0 .0%

1 .

d m3 p resent b ut M 1 u nworn

2 . 3 .

M 3 e rupted I II p illar o f M 3 i n w ear

4 .

d istal e piphysis o f r adius f used

1 , 2a nd 4 a re b ased o n S ilver 's c riteria ( 1963 , 2 50-268) 3i s b ased o n G rigson 's c riterion ( 1974 , 3 58) O verall ,

t he e vidence c learly i ndicates t hat t he m ajority o f t he c attle

w ere s uccessfully o verwintered f or a t l east t hree w inters a nd m any w ere r aised t o a n a ge i n e xcess o f f ive y ears. S heep a nd g oats F igure

1 s hows

t he k ill-off p attern o f s heep a nd g oats f or P erth H igh

S treet, b ased o n P ayne's c riteria ( 1973 , 2 81-303). I n a ll , 6 38 s heep/goat h alf m andibles w ere a ssessed a s t o a ge. U nfortunately, i n o ur p resent s tate o f k nowledge , i t i s n ot p ossible t o d istinguish s heep a nd g oat m andibles , t herefore b oth s pecies a re i ncluded i n t his a nalysis. T he k ill-off p attern a ppears t o s uggest t hat t he a nimals w ere r eared p rimarily f or m eat a nd w oolfells, r ather t han f or w ool o r m ilk. i s s urprising i n v iew o f t he w ell d ocumented e xport o f w ool v ia P erth . p robable k illing s equence i s:

1 2

b eing T his T he

( a)

t he s laughter o f p rime l ambs a nd k ids

( tup h ogs o r u ncastrated

m ales) i n t he f irst y ear b etween w eaning a nd f irst s hearing , ( b)

t he k illing o f s hearling t ups i n t he s econd ,

t hird a nd f ourth

y ears, a long w ith b arren e wes i n t he t hird o r f ourth y ears, ( c)

t he s laughter o f b reeding e wes a nd s he-goats b etween t he f ifth a nd s eventh y ears a s p rogressively t hey b ecame b arren ,

b roken

m outhed o r p oor m others. T he o lder s heep ( nine t o t en y ear o lds) w ould a lmost c ertainly h ave b een " lead w edders",

t hat i s,

m ale c astrates a llowed t o l ive t o a n a dvanced a ge

b ecause o f t heir a bility t o l ead t he f lock t o s helter a nd h erbage. I t i s a m atter o f s peculation w hether t he g oat e quivalent o f " wedders" o r " lead w edders" e xisted . F igures

3 a nd 5 a re

A nne's L ane,

t he k ill-off

P erth a nd 4 2 S t.

p atterns

P auls S treet,

f or s heep a nd g oats a t

A berdeen .

S t.

T hese a re b asically

t he s ame t ype o f c urve a s t hat f or P erth H igh S treet a nd m ay a lso r epresent t he k illing o f s heep f or w oolfells r ather t han f or w ool; m eat b eing a b yp roduct. L ane

T hese t wo c urves d iffer i n t hat

l ies

b etween s econd a nd t hird y ears

t he k illing p eak a t

a nd n ot

b etween f irst

y ears a nd t here i s n o e vidence o f a nimals o lder t han s ix y ears a t

S t.

A nne's

a nd s econd S t.

P auls

S treet. F igures 2 a nd 4 a re t he k ill-off p atterns f or C anal S treet, Q ueen S treet,

A berdeen a nd a re o f a d istinct t ype.

P erth a nd

H ere t he e mphasis i s o n

o lder a dults, w ith m aximum c ulling b etween f ourth a nd s ixth y ears. c urves m ay c orrespond t o f locks r aised p rimarily f or w ool b ut, i f s o , p uzzling t hat n one o f

T hese i t i s

t he a nimals i s o lder t han s ix y ears o ld b ecause o lder

s heep s till p roduce g ood f leeces. P ig S ilver ( 1963 ,

2 64) h as p ublished d ata a s t o t he a ges o f e ruption o f t he

t eeth i n 1 8C d omestic p ig , p laced o n t hese d ates.

b ut

c autions

F rom t hese d ata ,

t hat

o nly

g eneral

r eliance

c an b e

i t i s p ossible t o p ropose a f our-

s tage s cale o f a ge o n d eath.

A ge

D ental c haracteristics

l ess t han 1 y r

d eciduous t eeth p resent, n o m olars e rupted

1 4 -2

2 e rupted b ut 1 3 n ot v isible 1 M 2 i n w ear , 1 3 e rupting b ut n ot i n w ear

2 -3

y rs y rs

o ver 3 y rs

M 3 i n w ear

T able 7 g ives t he f requencies o f e ach a ge g roup p resent. I t

i s,

c onsidered ,

p erhaps,

s urprising t o d iscover t hat,

o ver a t hird o f

t he

p igs w ere

y ears o ld .

1 3

a t f our o f t he s ites

s uccessfully

r eared u ntil

t hree

T ABLE 7

F requencies o f a ge g roups o f p igs, t eeth i n h alf m andibles.

S ite

b ased o n e ruption p attern o f

n

1y r

1-2yrs 1

2 -3 y rs

> 3 y rs

6

-

50 .0%

1 6 .7%

3.3% 3

1 6.7%

2 5.0%

8 .3%

5 0.0%

A berdeen Q ueen S treet S t. P aul S treet

1 2

P erth C anal S treet

1

H igh S treet

-

2 17

S t. A nne's L ane

6

-

-

100 .0%

1 4.8%

1 4.3%

4 7.5%

6.7% 6

1 6.7%

-

2 3.5%* 16 .7%

* I ncludes t wo s pecimens i n w hich t he t hird m olar i s h eavily w orn -these m ay r epresent o lder b reeding b oars, a lthough d ocumentary e vidence i ndicates t hat p igs w ere p ut o ut t o p annage i n t he f orests a nd m ay, b een s erved b y w ild b oars ( l imes 1 872, 4 1).

t herefore ,

h ave

H orse D ental e vidence s uggests t he p resence o f s ingle h orses a ged b etween f ive a nd S t.

s ix y ears ( Silver 1 963 , 2 59) a t A berdeen , S t. P aul S treet a nd P erth , A nne's l ane. A t P erth H igh S treet, w here h orse r emains w ere m ore

a bundant, t here i s e vidence o f o lder h orses. i n T able 8 .

T he a ge d istribution i s g iven

T ABLE

o f

8

P erth H igh

S treet.

A ssessment

a ge

o f h orse s kulls

a nd

m andibles o n d entition .

N umber e xamined

B one

E stimate o f a ge a t d eath

L eft m andible

3

a ll a pprox . 5y rs. o ld

S kull

1

5 -7 y rs.

P remaxilla

1

rs. 1 y

R ed d eer W ith t he e xception o f t wo m etatarsals a t P erth H igh S treet w hich l acked d istal e piphyses,

t he d eer b ones f rom a ll o f t he s ites c ame f rom a dult

a nimals.

1 4

A s kull f ragment f rom E lgin H igh S treet b ears a s ix p oint a ntler a nd i s, t herefore, f rom a n a dult m ale. I t s eems t hat y oung a dult a nd m ature d eer w ere h unted;

t here i s n o

e vidence o f t he k illing o f f awns. D og T hree h alf

m andibles

f rom P erth H igh S treet w ere f rom p uppies.

F rom

t he e vidence o f o ther m andibles a nd s kulls, m ost o f t he d ogs w ere m ature a t d eath b ecause a ll t heir p ermanent t eeth w ere f ully e rupted a nd i n w ear . O steological e vidence a s s ites i n T able 9 . ( 1963,

t o t he a ge o f

d ogs a t d eath i s

g iven f or

t wo

T hese e stimates o f a ge a re b ased o n t he w ork o f S ilver

2 52) a nd g ive c lear e vidence o f p uppies a nd y oung d ogs d ying o r b eing

k illed.

T ABLE 9

N one o f t he d og r emains c ame f rom o ld a nimals.

F requencies o f s elected c anine l ong b ones l acking e piphyses,

a nd

e stimates o f t he a ge o f t he d ogs a t d eath.

B one

S ite

N o. o f b ones e xamined

%l acking

A ge

e piphyses

A berdeen Q ueen S treet

H umerus

1

n il

( prox) P erth H igh S treet

d itto

1 9

5 .3%

4 ;15 m onths

A berdeen S t. P aul S treet

F emur

2

n il

( dist) P erth H igh S treet

d itto

1 8

5 .6%

< 1 4 y ears

C at T he o steological e vidence s uggests c ats.

t he k illing o f k ittens a nd i mmature

T he f requencies o f t ibiae l acking p roximal e phiphyses a re g iven f or

f our s ites i n T able 1 0.

1 5

T ABLE 1 0

F requencies o f t ibiae w ith u nfused p roximal e piphyses.

S ite

N o. o f t ibiae e xamined

%u nfused

A berdeen

S t. P aul S treet

3

3 3.0%

E lgin

H igh S treet

3

1 00.0%

P erth

H igh S treet

P erth

S t. A nne's L ane

2 .6

6 8

6 1.8%

5

2 0.0%

S ex o f a nimals

C attle S tatistical m ethods

o f

d istinguishing t he s exual s tatus o f

t heir m etapodials ( Howard 1 963 , a d oubtful g eneral v alue; m aterial w ere i nconclusive. A ttempts s tatus,

t o

9 1-94; M ennerich 1 968 ,

c attle f rom

1 32-156) s eem t o b e o f

t he r esults d erived f rom S cottish m ediaeval

d iscern d iscrete

g roups w hich m ay

b e a ttributed t o s exual

b y p lotting t he s catter o f s elected m easurements d erived f rom c attle

h orn c ores, w ere a lso i nconclusive. T he s cheme f or i dentifying t he s ex o f c attle b y c lassifying a dult h orn c ores,

p roposed b y A rmitage a nd C lutton-Brock ( 1976,

3 32),

w as m ore u seful.

O n t his b asis, m ost o f t he h orn c ores f rom P erth H igh S treet a ppear t o c ome f rom o xen o r c ows. A bout 4 % w ere a ttributable t o b ulls. A t t he o ther s ites t here w as e ither i nsufficient e vidence t o s ex t he a nimals o r t here w as n o e vidence o f b ulls. O n t he e vidence o f a g rant o f g razing b y H elen d e M orville t o t he C istercian m onks o f M elrose A bbey, i n t he r eign o f W illiam t he L ion ( 1165-1214), t he s tocking r atio o f b ulls t o f ertile c ows w as m aintained a t 1 :40 ( Liber s ancte M arie d e M elros p ersonal c ommunication).

V ol.

1 , 7 2;

B arrow ,

1 979 ,

S heep a nd g oats T he s ex o f t he s heep i s i nferred f rom t he k illing c urves d erived f rom a s tudy o f s heep a nd g oat m andibles.

T he c urve f or P erth H igh S treet i s

i nterpreted a s e vidence o f s heep b eing r aised t o p roduce m eat a nd w oolfells. T his i mplies t hat m ale l ambs w ere r eared a s c astrates o r w edders t o a n a ge w ell b eyond t he l amb s tage, u ntil t hey r eached t he o ptimum f or m eat a nd w oolfell p roduction . H elen d e M orville's g rant o f p asture t o t he m onks o f M elrose A bbey m akes i t c lear t hat l arge f locks o f

uw edders u

( castrated r ams)

w ere r aised w ell i nto m aturity, t hat i s, u ntil t he a ge o f t hree t o f our y ears (B arrow G .W .S. 1 979 , p ersonal c ommunication). I t s eems, t herefore , f rom b oth t hese t ypes o f e vidence t hat i n m ediaeval S cotland m ale s heep w ere c astrated , d espite J ohn M ajor's ( 1521, 3 8) a ssertion t o t he c ontrary. A c luster a nalysis o f d ata d erived f rom 2 16 l eft a nd 2 21 r ight g oat h orn c ores f rom t he P erth H igh S treet, d iscrete g roups

( Woolliams,

F igure 6 ,

p ersonal

s ite s hows t he e xistence o f t wo

c ommunication).

1 6

T hese

t wo g roups

c orrespond t o t he t wo d istinct t ypes

o f g oat h orn c ores r etrieved f rom t his

s ite a nd f rom t hat o f E lgin H igh S treet.

O ne g roup c onsists

o f s pecimens

w hich a re m assive i n s ize, b eing l ong a nd w ide a t b asal c ircumference; t he o ther g roup b eing c omposed o f s pecimens w hich a re a lso l ong b ut w hich a re s maller i n c ircumference.

T he

l arger s pecimens a re b elieved t o c ome f rom

m ales o r c astrates a nd t he s maller o nes f rom f emales. P igs I t

i s

m easurement

n ot

p ossible t o d istinguish m ale a nd f emale p ig b ones b y d irect

( Armitage

1 978 ,

9 5),

m ainly

b ecause

p ig

b ones

r ecovered

f rom

a rchaeological s ites a re e roded. O ften , t he p resence o f l arge p ig b ones i s t aken t o i ndicate t he p resence a t as ite o f m ale d omestic p igs o r w ild b oars. P ig b ones w hich e xtended t he s ize r anges f or P erth H igh S treet w ere f ound a t A berdeen , Q ueen S treet ( 2); A berdeen , S t. P aul S treet ( 1); E lgin H igh S treet ( 2) a nd P erth, S t. A nne's L ane ( 6). A t P erth H igh S treet, s ix m ature p ig c anines w ere d iagnosed a s c oming f rom m ales o r c astrates S chmid's

( 1972 ,

8 1) c riteria.

o n

P erhaps s urprisingly, n one c ame f rom f emales.

R ed d eer T he s kull r emains o f r ed d eer a pparently a ll c ame f rom m ale a nimals, c ontrast t o t hose f ound a t R oman s ites i n B ritain , o utnumber m ales ( Hodgson 1 980 , P art I I: 9 4).

i n

w here f emale s kulls o ften P ossibly t his r eflects a

r eluctance t o k ill f emale r ed d eer i n o rder t o c onserve s tocks. D ogs T he p resence o f m ale d ogs

i s a ttested b y t he d iscovery o f a n o s

p enis

b one a t P erth C anal S treet a nd o f a nother a t P erth H igh S treet. C ats T here i s n o e vidence a s t o t he s ex o f t he c ats a t a ny o f t he s ites. H orses N o a ttempt w as m ade b asis o f S isson 's

( 1950 ,

t o a scertain t he s ex o f

t he h orse r emains o n t he

4 00) w idely q uoted c riterion t hat c anine t eeth a re

l imited t o m ales a nd g eldings,

b ecause t he w ork o f T agand a nd B arone ( 1954 ,

1 31) h as s hown i t t o b e i nvalid ( Ashdown , p ersonal c ommunications).

1 7

3 .1

P ersonal c ommunications w ere r eceived f rom t he f ollowing i n c onnection

w ith t he p reparation o f t his p aper

P rofessor L . A lcock , D ept. o f A rchaeology, U niversity o f G lasgow. D r. R .R . A shdown , R oyal V eterinary C ollege , L ondon . P roffesor G .W .S. B arrow , D ept. o f S cottish H istory, U niversity o f E dinburgh. N .Q. B ogdan , D irector o f P erth H igh S treet E xcavation . D r. A .S. C larke, R oyal S cottish M useum , E dinburgh. D r. J . C lutton-Brock, B ritish M useum o f N atural H istory , L ondon . M rs. B . E llis, C andlespur , R eese L ane , F olkestone. T . O liver , D ept. o f P lanning , U niversity o f D undee. P rofessor O lsen ,

I nstitut f or M iddelolde A rkaeologie, M oesgard, D K 8 271 1 . , 6jbjerg , D enmark.

D r. W . P rummel , B iol-Arch I nst, G roningen , N etherlands. D r. M .L. R yder, A gricultural R esearch C ouncil, A nimal B reeding R esearch O rganisation , E diburgh. D r.

J .

W oolliams,

A gricultural

R esearch

C ouncil ,

A nimal B reeding R esearch

O rganisation , E dinburgh. D r. D .W. Y alden , D ept o f Z oology, U niversity o f M anchester.

3 .2

A cknowledgements T his p aper w as p repared w ith t he f inancial s upport o f t he S cottish

D evelopment D epart m ent

( Ancient M onuments

B ranch),

a nd t he G overnors

o f

D uncan o f J ordanstone C ollege, D undee. M y p resent

t hanks a re c olleague

d ue t o m y f ormer r esearch a ssociate A ngela J ones a nd m y C atherine

S mith w ho ,

o ver s everal y ears,

d eriving m etrical d ata o n w hich t his p aper r ests.

h ave h elped i n

M y t hanks a re a lso d ue t o

t he m any s cholars w ho h ave c ommunicated p ersonally w ith m e a nd w hose n ames a re r ecorded i n p aragraph 3 .2. Iw ish t o t hank R ose S mith,

A dministrator o f t he P erth H igh S treet

A rchaeological E xcavation C ommittee,

f or h elp a nd a dvice i n t he c ompilation

a nd p resentation o f t his p aper.

1 8

3 .3

R eferences A rmitage, P .L .

&C lutton-Brock ,

J .

1 976

' A s ystem f or c lassification

a nd d escription o f t he h orn c ores o f c attle f rom a rchaeological s ites'. J ournal o f A rchaeological S cience. A rmitage ,

P .L .

1 978

3 , p p 3 29-349 .

R eport o n t he m amalian r emains f rom B aynard's

C astle , B lackfriars, L ondon .

P h .D . t hesis, U niversity o f L ondon .

B ogdan , N .Q. & W ordsworth, t he H igh S treet, P erth , 1 975-76

J . 1 978 T he m ediaeval e xcavations a t : a n i nterim r eport. P erth H igh S treet

A rchaeological E xcavation C ommittee. C ramond , W . 1 903

R ecords o f E lgin .

A berdeen

C lutton-Brock, J . 1 976 ' George A gricultural H istory R eview , 2 4 , p p 1 8-29 . D riesch,

A .

v on

d en

b ones f rom a rchaeological

1 976

s ites.

: N ew S palding C lub .

G arrard's

l ivestock

m odels'.

A g uide t o t he m easurement o f

a nimal

P eabody M useum B ulletin N o.

H arvard

1 .

U niversity. G ilbert, t hesis.

J .M.

1 975

H unting r eserves i n m ediaeval S cotland.

P h.D .

U niversity o f E dinburgh.

G rant, I .F. 1 930 T he s ocial a nd e conomic d evelopment o f S cotland b efore 1 603. E dinburgh : O liver a nd B oyd . G rigson ,

C .

1 974

' The c raniology a nd r elationships o f f our s pecies o f

J ournal o f A rchaeological S cience 1 , p p 3 53-379 .

B os'.

H odgson ,

G .W .I.

f rom m ammalian t hesis.

1 980

r emains

Ac omparative a nalysis o f m etrical d ata d erived

f rom

s elected h istoric s ites

i n

H odgson ,

G .W.I.

1 981

P h.D.

R eport o n t he a nimal r emains e xcavated d uring

1 975-76 f rom t he m ediaeval l evels a t H igh S treet, S treet A rchaeological E xcavation C ommittee.

f rom

B ritain.

U niversity o f D undee.

P erth.

P erth H igh

H odgson , G .W.I. & J ones, A . 1 978 S t. A nne's L ane , P erth . ( at p ress).

R eport o n t he a nimal r emains

H odgson ,

R eport o n t he a nimal r emains

G .W.I.

& J ones,

f rom f our s ites i n E lgin . H odgson ,

G .W .I.

A .

1 979a

( at p ress).

& J ones ,

A .

1 979b

R eport o n t he a nimal r emains f rom

t he m ediaeval l evels a t C anal S treet, P erth. H odgson , G .W .I. & J ones, A . m ediaeval s ites a t A berdeen'.

1 982

( at p ress).

' Report o n t he a nimal r emains f rom t wo

I n M urray,

t he m ediaeval b urgh o f A berdeen 1 973-81.

J .C. ( Soc.

( ed)

E xcavations

A ntiquaries

i n

S cotland,

M onograph 2 ) p p 2 29-238 . H oward ,

M .M .

s kulls o f c attle'. L ondon

1 963

' The m etrical d etermination o f t he m etapodials a nd

I n M ourant, A .S ., a nd Z euner ,

: R oyal A nthropological I nstitute.

1 9

F .E.

p p 9 1-94.

( eds.) M an a nd C attle.

I nnes, 1 424.

C .N.

1 868

V ol. I I.

I nnes, D ouglas.

A ncient L aws a nd C ustoms o f B urghs i n S cotland 124 -

E dinburgh : S cottish B urgh R ecords S ociety.

C .N .

1 872

S cotch L egal A ntiquities.

L iber S ancte M arie d e M eiros V ol.

5 6) 1 837. M ajor , J .

S cotland

1 521

H istory

Mennerich,

e d.

I nnes,

G reater A .,

B ritain 1 892

a s

i n

G .

1 968

1 975

( Bannatyne C lub

w ell

a s E ngland

( Publications o f

R omerzeitliche

B ritain'.

2 48-259 .

T ierknochen

P rummel,

W .

S cottish

A us

D rei

endhen U niversity.,

I n

A msterdam

C lason ,

A .T.

( ed)

A rchaeological

: N orth H olland ,

P ayne , S . 1 973 ' Kill-off p atterns i n s heep a nd g oats'. A natolian S tudies 2 3 , p p 2 81-303.

P aper r ead a t

a s

c omparison o f t he a nimal b ones f rom e ight m ediaeval

s outhern P p

C .N .

V ol. X ).

d es N iederrheingebietes. D octoral t hesis.

N oddle , B . S tudies.

o f

T ranslated b y C onstable,

F undorten

I .

:E dmonton a nd

E diburgh.

H istorical S ociety.

s ites

V ol.

E dinburgh

1 979

J ournal

M ediaeval s ites i n t he N etherlands

C B A c onference

o n e nvironmental

a rchaeology

o f

( at p ress). i n

t he

u rban

c ontext, a t U niversity o f Y ork. S chmid,

E .

1 972

A tlas o f A nimal B ones.

A msterdam

: E lsevier

P ub.

I n H iggs,

E .S.

L ondon :

W .B.

C ompany. S ilver , a nd

I .A .

1 963

B rothwell, D . S issons ,

S .

' The a geing o f d omestic a nimals'.

( ed). S cience i n A rchaeology p p 2 50-268. 1 950

T he a natomy o f t he d omestic a nimals.

S aunders C ompany. T agand , 2 .

R .

& B arone ,

F ascicule 1 . T homson ,

S cotland.

T .

L yon & I nnes,

R .

1 954

A natomie d es f quidgs d omestiques.

T ome

: f cole N ationale V eterinaire. C .N .

( eds)

1 844-75

A cts o f

t he

p arliaments

o f

E dinburgh .

U erpmann ,

H .P.

1 973

' Animal b one f inds a nd e conomic a rchaeology:

c ritical s tudy o f o seo-archaeological m ethod'.

W orld A rchaeology

a 4 ,

p 3 12-314. p Y ealland , H ilton ,

R .H .

S .

& H iggs,

a nd R ahtz,

E .S.

P .A .

1 966

I n

T ransactions

S oc. 8 5 , p p 1 39-146.

2 0

' Upton ,

G loucestershire ,

1 959-64'

B ristol a nd G loucestershire A rch.

A B

C

D

E

F G

%

DEATHS

%

SURV IVORS 9 7 .8 9 00 7 6 3 4 7 1 2 6 -4 9 50 3 1

H

I

2 2 6 . 9 1 4 :6 2 9 22 0 7 1 6 .9 6 4 3 0 *0 1 0 1

0

n=638 1 00 9080

SURV IVORS

A .

02 m onths

B .

2 -6 m on ths

C .

6 12 m on ths

D . E . F . G .

1 -2 y ears 2 -3 y ears 3 -4 y ea rs 4 -6 y ea rs

H . I .

6 -8 y ears 8 10 y ears

D EATHS

0 g \D 2 1 0

, Tt ,I

0

1 I I 3 4 5 6 7 AGE I N YEARS

0 H ABC

F ig.

1

D

E

F

G

1

8

9

1 0

1

T he k ill-off p attern o f s heep & g oats a t P erth H igh S treet 7), m ediaeval l ayers. 7

2 1

( 1975-

A B 0 /0

D EATHS

7 . 7

C

D

E

F

G

H

— 2 3 1 1 5 -42 31 3 0 8 —

c / o SURV IVORS 1 0 0 9 2 .3 9 2 .3 6 9 . 2 5 3 -830 7 0 0 n=13 1 00 90-

A , 0 -2 m on ths B . 2 -6 m on ths

SURV IVORS

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r ight

( 1975-77):

h orn

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l ayers

a t

P erth H igh

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m ore

c ommon a t

A berdeen.

P erth a nd g eneralised m edium w ools w ere m ore c ommon a t

F ew o f t he m odern s hortwool a nd m edium d iameter ( longwool) t ypes

h ave e merged,

b ut

t here w as a r elatively h igh p roportion o f t rue h airy

( carpet) t ype. T he f ine-generalised m edium w ool i s af iner v ersion t hat c an b e c onsidered a n i ntermediate t ype. O nly

3 0% o f

t he P erth w ools

l acked p igment,

a nother 3 0% w ere b lack o r

b rown , a nd t he r emainder w ere v arying s hades o f g rey.

E leven o f t he s ixteen

A berdeen y arns w ere l ight g rey. T his h igh p roportion o f c oloured w ools, a nd p articularly g rey f leeces, s upports t he c onclusion f rom d iameter m easurements t hat t he O rkney-Shetland t ype m aintained i ts p redominance f rom t he I ron A ge i nto t he M iddle A ges. T he f our u nspun w ools f rom P erth c omprised o ne h airy m edium w ool ,

2 5 m m

l ong , a nd t hree h airy f leeces, t wo o f w hich w ere 4 0 m m l ong, a nd t he o ther 6 0 m l ong. T hese l engths a re t he s ame a s f ound a mong s taples f rom B aynard's m C astle,

L ondon b ut a re s horter t han t he m odern w oolly S hetland f leece,

o nly h alf t he l ength o f h airy S hetland w ool A s ummary o f a ll t he m edieval w ools

( Ryder ,

a nd

1 977).

e xamined i s

g iven i n T able

3 ,

a nd

t his i ndicates t hat t he r ange o f f leece t ypes f ound a t P erth i s t ypical. O n t he o ther h and a ll b ut t he P erth c ollection a re r elatively s mall s amples, a nd s o s ome o f t he f indings f or o ther s ites m ay n ot b e t ruly r epresentative.

R EFERENCES R yder,

M .L.

d omestication D imbleby,

1 969

' Changes

i n

t he

f leece

o f

( with a n ote o n t he c oat o f c attle).'

G .W.

( Eds).

T he D omestication

s heep i n U cko,

a nd E xploitation

f ollowing P .J.

o f P lants

a nd a nd

A nimals. L ondon : D uckw orth , p p. 4 95-521. R yder, S cottish

R yder, J . A rch S ci.

D .W .

M .L.

1 970

W ild g oats'.

' Structure a nd s easonal c hange o f

J . Z ool.

M .L.

1 977

4 , p p.

1 77-181.

R yder, M .L .

1 981a

R yder,

1 981b

M .L .

1 983

a ncient

f leece

' Wools f rom V indolanda'. J . A rch. S ci. ' Medieval s heep a nd t heir w ool t ypes' L ondon :

S heep a nd M an.

t he c oat i n

1 61, p p. 3 55-362.

' Some m iscellaneous

( Ed.) M edieval I ndustry. R yder , M .L .

L ond.

( in p ress). i n B roadley,

C ouncil f or B r. A rchaeol. L ondon :

3 8

D uckworth.

r emains'.

T ABLE 1 C omparison o f R oman a nd S axon W ools V indolanda

a ll o ther R oman ( incl. E urope) -

S axon ( England o nly

H airy

2 % ( 1)

-

H airy m edium

3 4% ( 19)

1 4% ( 12)

2 3% ( 10)

G eneralised m edium

3 4% ( 19)

1 5% ( 13)

2 3% ( 10)

F ine , g eneralised m edium

1 8% ( 10)

3 9% ( 34)

3 0% ( 13)

T rue m edium

2 % ( 1)

3 .5% ( 3)

S hortwool

4 % ( 5)

1 .5%

F ine

9 % ( 5)

( 2)

1 9%

( 8)

( 1)

2 7% ( 23)

( from R yder , 1 98 1a)

5 %

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7.

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cn I ce J c T

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•

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-0

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cn / 40 1

c o $ . 4

2 ) 2

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l r )

cV

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• -• 1 . 1Cr ) c V

se c V

0 c V 3- Cr )

0 I0 I 1 C r )

c V

c V

cV

0 0 0 /0 i 4 1 l l

c• J L r )

c u C U 1 4 C I )

•

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I 1 I 4 -1 4 / 0 c•I

•

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C O c v

0 en

I. e s s Ie / 0 0

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4 1

• 0

( N I C r )

i n

c V

K c o

c VcV

c V

r I

40 / 1

0

0

4. / 1 0

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m ? '

•• 1

• -1

0

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, 1

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( 1 ) / 4 : El

0 g

co

a

>2

e l

0 CD a )

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g l , a )

e c v . l

( from R yder ,

1 3th14th c ent.

1 2th14th c ent.

a l .1 4) 0 3

p 22 0 0

0 1 , t 4 )

0 dU) d 0 Cl C0 4 i

r c 4 1 1 )

. 0 o

1 5th c ent.

u ) r i

1 4th c ent.

1 3th14th c ent.

1th c ent.

1 2th13th c ent.

• g I

t >e I A •

1 5th c ent.

Cr )

A S PATIAL A NALYSIS O F T HE N EOLITHIC C HAMBERED C AIRNS O N A RRAN : AP RELIMINARY R EPORT C hristine P erry T his p aper o utlines o ne m ethod f or a nalysing t he

d istribution o f

N eolithic c hambered c airns u sing e nvironmental d ata. I t p resents a p reliminary r eport o f a c urrent r esearch p roject w hich a ims t o a nalyse t he s patial d istribution o f t he c hambered c airns o n A rran a nd t o p ut f orward m odels o f s ocial o rganisation f or t he N eolithic o n t he i sland . S ince

t he

b eginning

o f

t his

c entury a rchaeologists

h ave

a ttempted

t o

e xplain t he d istribution o f t he A rran c hambered c airns. B ryce ( 19 10) i n T he B ook o f A rran n oted t he s outhern a nd c oastal d istribution o f t hese m onuments. I n a g eneral s tudy o f N eolithic s ettlement i n S outh-west S cotland C hilde ( 1934) t ried t o c orrelate t he d istribution o f t he c airns w ith a reas o f l ight , e asily, w orked s oils. D avies ( 1946) i dentified a n egative c orrelation b etween t he l ocation o f t he c airns a nd t he o ccurrence o f g lacial t ill. M ore r ecently , i t h as b een s uggested t hat t he e arliest c airns w ere l ocated o n r aised b eaches o r a reas o f a lluvium , w hile t he l ater c airns w ere e stablished f urther i nland a nd a t h igher e levations ( Scott 1 969). R enfrew ( 1973 ,1976) h as r e-stated t he h ypothesis t hat t here i s a r elationship b etween t he d istribution o f l and s uitable f or N eolithic a griculture a nd t he d istribution o f t he A rran c airns. T he e xisting r esearch h as t ended t o v iew t he e xplanation o f A rran c airn d istribution a s as ingle s cale p roblem . T he p resent r esearch p roject w ill t ry t o e xplain t he d istribution o f t he A rran c airns u sing t hree d ifferent s cales o f a nalysis; f irstly, a s cale w hich a ims t o a nalyse t he g eneral d istribution o f s ites o n t he i sland ( a s cale a nalogous t o t hat u sed b y C hilde, D avies a nd R enfrew); s econdly, a s cale d esigned t o a nalyse t he l ocations o f i ndividual s ites a nd l astly , as cale f ocusing o n t he a nalysis o f t he s ite c haracteristics o f i ndividual s ites. T his t hree s cale a pproach w ill h opefully p rovide a r ealistic i nterpretation o f t he d ecisions m ade b y t he N eolithic g roups o n A rran r egarding t heir o ccupation o f t he i sland. T his p aper w ill o utline t he m ethodology b y w hich d ata a re c ollected f or t he a nalysis o f t he l ocations o f i ndividual s ites ( the s econd s cale o f a nalysis), a nd p resent s ome p reliminary r esults f or o ne c airn . T he s ite c hosen a s ac ase s tudy f or t his p aper i s t he c airn a t S liddery W ater ;

t he c airn i s l ocated 1 .6 k m i nland f rom t he s outhern c oast o f A rran ,

o n t he w estern s ide o f t he v alley d rained b y t he S liddery W ater a nd b etween 6 1 a nd 7 6 mO D . A lthough t he s ite h as b een l argely r obbed , i t a ppears t o b e ac lassic e xample o f aC lyde-Group c hambered c airn . U sing m ainly p resent-day f ield d ata t he a rea s urrounding t he c airn i s d escribed a ccording t o t he f actors m ade

l isted i n T able

1 .

T he a ssumption i s

t hat a ll t hese f actors m ay h ave h ad s ome i nfluence o n t he d ecision t o

s ite a c airn i n t his p articular a rea. T he r eason w hy p resent-day e nvironmental d ata a re u sed f or t his s tudy i s t he l imited a vailability o f

4 3

p ublished p alaeoenvironmental

d ata f or A rran .

D avidson e lsewhere i n t his

v olume d iscusses t he p roblems o f p alaeoenvironmental r econstruction f or t he i sland o f A rran . A s ampling g rid w ith a n a rea o f 2 .2 k m .

s q.

i s u sed a s a b ase f or d ata

c ollection w ith s ample p oints l ocated a t i ntervals o f 0 .2km. s pecially d esigned d ata r ecording e ach p oint,

s heet, h eight

a nd a spect

a re

U sing a r ecorded a t

w hile d ata f or e ach o f t he o ther f actors l isted i n T able

1a re

r ecorded f or a n a rea 2 00m . s q. s urrounding e ach p oint.

T ABLE 1

T he f actors a nd f actor s ub-classes u sed i n t he S liddery W ater S urvey.

F ACTOR

H EIGHT ( Metres)

S UB-CLASS

N UMBER

0 -15

1

1 6-30

2

3 1-46 4 7-61 6 2-76

3 4 5

7 7-91

6

9 2-107 1 08-122

7 8

1 23-137

A SPECT

S LOPE ( Degrees)

9

1 38-152

1 0

1 52-

1 1

N W-NE N E-SE

1 2

S E-SW

3

S W-NW

4

0 -2

1

3 -10 1 1-20

2 3

2 0S ITE D RAINAGE

V ISIBILITY

G EOLOGY

4

W ELL D RAINED • I MPERFECTLY D RAINED

1 2

P OORLY D RAINED V ERY P OORLY D RAINED

3 4

C AIRN N OT V ISIBLE

1

C AIRN V ISIBLE

2

F RESHWATER A LLUVIA

1

P RESENT B EACH

2

' 25 f t' B EACH I NTERMEDIATE B EACHES

3 4

' 100 f t' B EACH

5

44

T ABLE 1 c ontinued F ACTOR

S UB-CLASS

G EOLOGY

M ORAINE

6

S AND A ND G RAVEL

7

B OULDER C LAY B EDROCK

8 9

R OCKINESS

N UMBER

P RESENCE O F B EDROCK A T/NEAR

S OIL T EXTURE

S URFACE

1

A BSENCE O F B EDROCK A T/NEAR S URFACE

2

S AND L OAMY S AND

1 2

F INE S ANDY L OAM

3

V ERY F INE S ANDY L OAM

4

L OAM

5

S ILTY L OAM

6

S ILT C LAY L OAM

7 8

S ANDY C LAY L OAM

1 0

S ANDY C LAY

1 1

S ILTY C LAY

1 2

C LAY P EAT/ORGANIC M ATERIAL

1 3 1 4

T he c ontours o n t he s ample p oints.

9

S ILTY C LAY L OAM

S lope,

1 :50,000 O S m ap a re u sed t o c lassify t he h eight o f s oil t exture,

a nd s ite d rainage a re c lassified

a ccording t o m odified v ersions o f t he c lassifications g iven i n t he S oil S urvey F ield H andbook ( Hodgson 1 976). T he g eology o f t he a rea i s c lassified u sing t he 1 :50 ,000 D rift G eology m ap o f t he i sland. A lthough t he d ata a re c ollected f or a n a rbitrarily d efined a rea o f 2 .2 k m s q.,

t he a nalysis

o f

t he d ata i nvolves

d efining t he l ocation o r

' cairn

a rea' o f t he c airn i n a n umber o f d ifferent w ays t o t est t he h ypothesis t hat t he b oundary u sed t o d efine t he a rea s urrounding a c airn h as n o s ignificant e ffect o n t he f inal r esults. A c omputer p rogram i s i n t he p rocess o f b eing w ritten t o c ompare t he r esults o btained u sing a n umber o f d ifferent b oundaries v arying in s ize and f orm. T he e ventual a im i s t o b e a ble t o c ompare t he a reas s urrounding s ix o f t he c airns o n A rran and t o s uggest r easons f or t heir l ocation w ithin t hese p articular a reas.

T he m ajor

a dvantage o f t his a pproach i s i ts r elative f lexibility s ince a ny s ize o r f orm o f c airn a rea c an b e d efined w ithin t he l imits o f t he s ampling g rid. F or t his p reliminary r eport t he r esults f or S liddery W ater a re b ased o n d ata f rom f our d ifferently d efined a reas o f a pproximately t he s ame s ize. T he c airn a rea s hown i n F igure 1 i s d efined u sing n atural b oundaries, t hat i s, b reaks o f s lope a nd s tream c ourses, w hile t he c airn a reas s hown i n F igures 2 4 a re d efined u sing p urely a rbitrary b oundaries. T he c onclusions f rom t his o ne s ite m ust b e t reated w ith c are s ince a f uller i nterpretation w ill o nly b e p ossible w hen d ata f rom o ther s ites a re a vailable.

4 5

Km •

C A IRN C A IRN A R EA L AND ANN E7 9 1 .

F ig.

1

C airn a rea of

S liddery W ater d efined

b y n atural

b oundaries

( above).

F ig.

2

C airn

a rea of

S liddery W ater

( below).

4 6

d efined

b y

a n

a rbitrary

b oundary

KM

•

C A IRN C A IRN A R EA L AM A B C b / F7 5M .

F ig.

3

C airn

a rea of

S liddery W ater

d efined

b y

a n

a rbitrary

b oundary

S liddery W ater

d efined

b y

a n

a rbitrary

b oundary

( above).

F ig.' 4

C airn

a rea

o f

( below).

4 7

8 0

4 0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

1 0

H E IGHT

8 0

-

4 0

1

2

3

4

5

S I TE D RA INAGE

1

2

3

1

V I S I B I L ITY

2

3

4

G EOLOGY

5

2

3

R OCK INESS

S O IL T EXTURE

F ig.

5

S liddery W ater :

d istribution o f s ample p o ints a ccording t o t he

f actor s ub—classes l isted i n T able 1 .

4 8

K endall's

C oefficient

o f

C oncordance

( Siegel

1 959)

t he e xtent o f a ssociation b etween t he d ata o n h eight,

i s

u sed

a spect,

t o m easure

s ite d rainage

a nd s oil t exture f or e ach o f t he a reas s hown i n t he f igures.

T hese

p articular f actors w ere c hosen f or c omparison b ecause t hey a ppeared t o s how t he g reatest b etween-area v ariation . T he r esults o btained ( see b elow) a ll s uggest a v ery c lose m easure o f a ssociation b etween t he d ifferent a reas a nd s upport t he h ypothesis t hat t he b oundary u sed t o d efine t he a rea s urrounding ac airn h as n o s ignificant e ffect o n t he f inal r esults. V alues o btained f or W ( Kendall's C oefficient o f C oncordance) H eight:

0 .93

p

. 001

A spect:

0 .93

p

. 01

S ite d rainage:

0 .91

p

. 01

S oil t exture:

0 .91

p

. 001

K endall's b est

e stimate

C oefficient o f

o f

C oncordance

t he " true" r anking o f

c an a lso

b e u sed

t o

s uggest

t he

t he f actor c lasses a nd t herefore i t

c an p rovide a c onsensus v iew o f t he " true" a rea s urrounding t he c airn .

T he

r esults

t he

o btained u sing a b oundary

1 .8 k m s q.

w ith t he c airn l ocated a t

c entre ( Fig. 3 ) m ost c losely m atch t hose g iven b y t he b est e stimate a nd w ill, t herefore , b e u sed t o e xamine s ome o f t he e xisting h ypotheses r elating t o t he d istribution o f t he c hambered c airns o n A rran . T he

r esults

a vailable

f or

t he

c airn a rea s urrounding

t he

s ite a t

S liddery W ater d o n ot s upport C hilde's h ypothesis t hat t he c hambered c airns w ere e rected o n t he s lopes i mmediately a djacent t o t racts o f l ight s oil. I n t he a rea s urrounding t he c airn o nly 1 6% o f t he s ample p oints a re c lassified a s h aving l ight,

w ell-drained s oils

( Fig.

5 ).

S imilarly,

t he d ata d o n ot

s upport D avies' a rgument t hat a n egative c orrelation e xists b etween t he d istribution o f t he c airns a nd t he a rea o f g lacial t ill; 8 5% o f t he s ample p oints a re l ocated o n a reas o f g lacial t ill a nd o nly l ocated o n a lluvium o r r aised b each d eposits ( Fig. 5 ).

5 % o f t he p oints a re A lthough t he a rea i s

r elatively w ell-drained i n c omparison t o t he r est o f A rran , t he h igh p ercentage o f s ample p oints f ound o n c layey s oils c asts d oubt o n t he a rgument t hat t he c airns a re l ocated i n a reas a griculture.

s uitable

p rimarily f or N eolithic

O ne i nteresting p oint a rising f rom t his a nalysis o f t he a rea

s urrounding t he c airn a t S liddery W ater i s t hat t he s ite i s o nly v isible f rom 2 4% o f t he s ample p oints. T his r esult w ould a rgue a gainst t he i dea s uggested b y D avidson e t a l. p ositions.

( 1976) t hat t he c airns a re l ocated i n d ominant

I t i s p ossible t o a rgue t hat i n t he c ase o f S liddery W ater t he

s ite w as c hosen b ecause o f i ts l imited v isibility . I f t he c airn a t S liddery W ater i s u sed a s e vidence f or t he o ccupation o f t he v alley d uring t he N eolithic t he r esults o f t his a nalysis w ould s uggest a f ar m ore m ixed e conomy t han h as b een e nvisaged b y p revious r esearchers.

T he

u ndulating a nd r elatively w ell d rained n ature o f t he a rea m ay s uggest t hat s ome s ort o f p astoral e conomy s upplemented b y t he e xploitation o f n atural r esources a nd t he f arming o f t he v ery r estricted t racts o f l and s uitable f or a griculture w ould h ave b een m ost v iable. T he r esults f rom t he a rea s urrounding t he c airn a t S liddery W ater i ndicate t he v alue o f u sing f ield d ata i n a ddition t o d ata f rom p ublished s ources f or a nalyses o f t he d istribution o f a rchaeological s ites.

49

T he g eneral a pproach

o utlined

i n t his

p aper

o ffers

a p ossible

s olution t o

t he p roblem o f a rea

d efinition , a nd m ay h ave o ther a pplications i n a rchaeology , f or e xample , t he a nalysis o f p rehistoric p atterns o f r esource e xploitation .

i n

R EFERENCES B ryce,

T .H.

( 1910)

T he B ook o f A rran : D avidson ,

' The

A rchaeology.

D .,

R icher ,

S .

S epulchral

R emains'.

a nd

R ogers, A .

( 1976)

f or t he a nalysis o f a rchaeological d istributions'. A rchaeology 2 ( 4) p p 1 -10. D avies,

M .

( 1946)

B alfour,

J .A .

9 £ s imulation p rogram

N ewsletter

o f C omputer-

' The d iffusion a nd d istribution p attern o f t he

m egalithic m onuments o f t he I rish A ntiquaries J ournal 2 6 , p p 1 25144. H odgson , J .M .

I n

G lasgow , p p 3 3-156.

( 1976) S oil

S ea a nd N orth

S urvey

C hannel

c oastlands.'

F ield H andbook , S oil S urvey T echnical

M onograph N o. 5 , H arpenden . R enfrew ,

C .

( 1973)

B efore

C ivilization :

a nd p rehistoric E urope , H armondsworth : R enfrew , C . ( 1976)

t he r adiocarbon

P enguin .

' Megaliths , T erritories a nd P opulations'.

A cculturation a nd c ontinuity i n A tlantic E urope m ainly d uring t he p eriod a nd t he B ronze A ge. D issertationes A rchaeologicae V ol. 1 6. S cott,

J .G.

( 1969)

e t. a l. M egalithic U niversity P ress. S iegel, N ew Y ork :

S .

' Clyde C airns o f S cotland'.

E nquiries p. p

i n

r evolution

t he

W est

o f

I n D e L aet, N eolithic G andenses

I n P owell, T .G.E.

B ritain.

L iverpool

1 75-222.

( 1956) N onparametric S tatistics o f t he B ehavioral S ciences.

M c -Graw H ill.

5 0

S ITES A ND S OILS:

P ROBLEMS O F I NTERPRETATION

A S D EMONSTRATED B Y E AST B ENNAN C HAMBERED C AIRN O N A RRAN

D onald A . D avidson

A c ommon p roblem p osed

b y a rchaeologists

i s

t he

e xtent

t o w hich

s oil

c onditions h ave h ad a n i nfluence o n t he d istribution o f a rchaeological s ites. T he u sual a pproach i s t o s uperimpose a n a rchaeological d istribution o n as oil m ap and t hen t o d etermine i f a ny s patial c orrelation c an b e e stablished b etween s ites a nd s oils. A n e arly e xample o f s uch a n a nalysis i s p rovided b y G rimes ( 1945) w ho d emonstrated f or A nglesey t hat t he m ost d ensely p opulated

a reas

i n

p rehistory w ere

t hose w ith

l ight-medium t extured

s oils

d eveloped f rom t he A nglesey s hales a nd s chists. G rimes s tressed t he u sefulness o f s oil m aps a nd t heir s uperiority o ver g eological o nes f or t he a nalysis o f a rchaeological d istributions. A nother W elsh e xample i s p rovided b y C rampton a nd W ebley ( 1963) w ho o bserved , f or e xample , t hat B ronze A ge r ound b arrows i n G ower o ccur m ostly w ithin a reas o f f reely o r i mperfectly d rained p odzols w hilst I ron A ge f orts o ccur c hiefly o n t he a cid b rown s oils a round t he s outh a nd s outh w est o f G ower. M any s tudies o f t his t ype c ould b e q uoted t o i llustrate t he a pproach. T he a im o f t his p aper i s t o e xamine s ome o f t he p roblems i n s uch a n a nalysis b y d iscussing t he s etting o f o ne a rchaeological s ite , n amely t he n eolithic c hambered c airn a t E ast B ennan n ear t he s outhern c oast o f A rran ( Fig. l a). T his t omb i s t he o nly i ndicator o f n eolithic a ctivity i n t his a rea a s n o s ettlements a re k nown h ere , o r e lsewhere , o n A rran . O ne r eason f or t aking E ast B ennan i s t hat i t i s s ituated i n ad istinct t opographic u nit, a s hallow b asin ( Fig.

l b).

T he q uestion i s

t o a ttempt s ome e valuation o f

t he s oils i n t he b asin i n t erms o f t heir s ignificance t o t he n eolithic c ommunity. T his i s o nly p ossible i f t he f ormer s ignificance o f s oil a ttributes

i s a ssessed w ith

r eference

t o

s pecific

h uman a ctivities.

T he

i mplication i s t hat a b road s pectrum o f d ata a bout f ormer s ocieties o ught t o b e a vailable b efore a ttempts a re m ade t o i dentify t he b ehavioural i mpact o f s oil c onditions. I n p ractice ,

o f c ourse ,

t he a rchaeological

r ecord

i s

v ery

f ragmentary

a nd o ften v irtually n o i nformation i s a vailable f or s pecific s ites. T his i s t he c ase w ith t he E ast B ennan c airn a nd i t i s n ecessary t o t urn t o r ecently e xcavated a nalogous s ites s uch a s Q uanterness i n O rkney. Q uanterness

a s

p roposed

b y

R enfrew

( 1979)

s uggest

T he

r esults

f or

a r ather v aried e conomy

b ased o n g rowing s om e c ereals ( probably b arley), h erding o f c attle, s heep a nd p igs,

f owling -especially f or g annets,

f ishing a nd h unting ( deer).

S uch a

m ixed e conomy i s p robably a lso a pplicable t o t he s ociety w hich b uilt t he E ast B ennan c hambered c airn o n A rran . O n t he b asis o f t he O rkney f indings, t he A rran c airn w as p robably t he t erritorial t omb f or a l iving p opulation o f t he o rder o f 2 0 p eople.

R enfrew v iews s uch c airns a s r eflecting s mall s cale

a utonomous s egmentary s ocieties.

5 1

F or A rran p alaeobotanical e vidence i s p resented b y R obinson i n a nother p aper i n t his v olume

( below , p age 5 7).

I n v ery g eneral t erns t here a ppears

t o h ave b een a g radual d ecline o f f orest

( especially o ak a nd b irch) o ver t he

f irst t hree m illennia B C w ith t he c orresponding i ncrease i n p ollen f rom h eathland and p lantains i ndicating a gricultural c learance. S o a t E ast B ennan i t i s n ecessary t o e nvisage a s mall g roup o f p eople w hose e conomy i s b ased o n a r ange o f l and a nd s ea r esources o perating w ithin a l argely f orested t erritory. A r econnaissance s oil s urvey w as e xecuted f or t he E ast B ennan b asin a nd t he r esults a re g iven w ith i nterpretation o f g roups u sing t he S oil b e s een f rom t he m ap ,

i n F igure l c. E xamination o f s oil p rofiles c ombined a erial p hotographs p ermitted t he m apping o f m ajor s oil S urvey f or S cotland's c lassification s ystem . A s c an g ley s oils a re d ominant, a r esult o f t he h igh r ainfall

( of t he o rder o f 1 500 m m p er a nnum), t he p resence o f g lacial t ill a nd t he g entle s lope o f m ost o f t he l and. T he s ignificance o f t hese s oil t ypes c an n ow b e e xamined w ith r eference t o t he p ostulated m ixed n eolithic , b ut s ome i mmediate p roblems b ecome a pparent.

e conomy

d uring

t he

T he f irst d ifficulty c entres o n t he i ssue o f s oil c hange s ince t he n eolithic p eriod. T he s oil m ap ( Fig. l c) i s o bviously a s tatement o n t he p resent d ay d istribution o f s oils. D irect e vidence o f f ormer s oils a s e xpressed i n b uried s oils i s m issing t hough t here a re i ndications t hat t he m agnitude o f

s oil c hange o ver t he l ast f ive m illennia h as b een l arge.

t he M onamore c hambered c airn s ite o n A rran ,

A t

t here w as e vidence f or s oil w ash

i nto t he f orecourt d uring t he p eriod t he s ite w as i n u se ( Mackie 1 963).

I t

i s d uring t he m ost r ecent h istorical p hase ( post 1 800 A D) t hat s oil c hange i s m ost

e vident.

B anking u p

o f

s oil

t o

t he

o rder

o f

1m a gainst

f ield

b oundaries c onstructed d uring t he i mprovement p eriod i ndicates t he m agnitude o f s oil w ash p rocesses. T he i nstallation o f f ield d rainage s ystems h as m arkedly i mproved s oil c onditions w hilst c ultivation h as r educed t he s patial o ccurrence o f p eaty g leys ( now g leys). I t i s b eing i ncreasingly r ealised t hat f armers, e specially o ver t he l ast t wo c enturies, h ave h ad a m ajor b eneficial e ffect o n s oils t hrough d rainage, s tone c learance, c ultivation a nd t he a pplication o f o rganic m atter.

Q uestions a bout t he e ffect o f c limatic

c hange o n s oil c onditions f ade i nto i nsignficance c ompared t o t he e ffect o f m an .

I n e ssence t hen ,

t he p resent d ay s oils o n t he m iddle a nd l ower s lopes

o f t he E ast B ennan b asin h ave b een m uch i mproved b y m an 's a ctions. t he p resence

o f

a f orest

c over d uring

t he

n eolithic ,

i t

D espite

c an b e p ostulated

t hat t he m ajor r estriction o n c ultivation w ould h ave b een d rainage. P eaty g leys w ould h ave b een m ore e xtensive o n t he l ower s lopes a nd t he s ame w ould h ave a pplied t o g roundwater g leys o n t he b asin f loor a rea b efore s ome c ontrol w as

e xerted o n t he

c ourse

o f

t he

b urn .

B rown e arths m ay h ave o ccurred o n

m iddle s lopes u nder a f orest c over. A s econd p roblem r elates t o t he a rea w hich h as t o b e e valuated i n p alaeoenvironmental t erms. T he n eolithic s ociety a t E ast B ennan i s c onsidered t o h ave b een v irtually s elf s ufficient i n r esource r equirements, t hus i t i s n ecessary t o a ttempt t o d efine i ts s phere o f r esource u tilization . T his i s a p roblem e xamined b y C . b ecome v ery m arked w hen s ites

P erry i n t his v olume a nd t he d ifficulties

o ccur

i n v ery

c ontrasting p hysical

s ettings.

I n e ssence t he p roblem a t E ast B ennan i s t o k now t he a rea w hich o ught t o b e m apped i n t erms t erritory.

o f s oils a nd s uch a d ecision d emands

T he m ixed n ature o f

p atterns o f e xploitation m ay h ave v aried a ccording a nd t he t ime o f t he y ear ,

c onsideration o f

t he e conomy p oses f urther p roblems,

f or e xample ,

f ishing,

t o

t he

f owling ,

t ype

o f

s ince

a ctivity

c ereal c ultivation .

T he d ecision a bout c airn t erritory a t E ast B ennan i s e asier t han f or m any o f

5 2

SO ILS P ea t P ea ty g l ey R ock a t o rn ea r t he s u r face P ea ty p odzo l S u r face w a te r g l ey H um ic g roundwa te r g l ey G roundwa te r g l ey

R ock o u tc rops _

S t ream I n c ised s t ream C l i fed c oas t f EAST B ENNAN CA IRN

a

B ennan H ead

F ig.

l a. b .

L ocation o f B ennan H ead o n A rran T opography o f t he F ast B ennan b asin ( contours i n m etres)

c .

S oil m ap o f F ast B ennan b asin

53

t he s ites o n A rran s ince t he c airn i s l ocated w ithin a d istinct t opographic u nit ( Fig. l b). D espite t his f eature, t he n eolithic c ommunity w ould a lmost c ertainly h ave t apped r esources o utside t his b asin, b ut i t c an b e h ypothesised t hat t he m ain f ocus o f a ctivity w ould h ave b een w ithin i t. T he

c ritical

i ssue

b ehavioural p atterns.

i s

t he

e xtent

t o w hich s oil

c onditions

F or t he h unting a nd f owling a spects,

i nfluenced

l ittle c an b e

s tated g iven t he p aucity o f b one e vidence, t hough i t c an b e s uggested t hat t he g roundwater g ley a rea w ould h ave p rovided a d istinctive w etland h abitat. T his

b asin f loor a rea m ay h ave b een o f v alue f or f owling a nd p ossibly a lso

f or f ishing. A nother i nteresting q uestion i s w here, o r i ndeed i f, c ereal c ultivation w as p ractised. F or p resent d ay a griculture, p rime s ignificance i s g iven t o s oils w hich a re o f r easonable d epth a nd d rainage a nd w ith n o m ajor p roblems o f s tone o r r ock. P resent d ay f armers f ocus t heir a rable a ctivities o n t he m iddle a nd l ower s lopes o f t he b asin , o n s oils m apped a s s urface w ater g leys.

T hus i t c ould b e h ypothesised t hat t he n eolithic g roup

a scribed a gricultural s ignificance t o t he s ame s oils a nd s uch a v iew h as b een e xpressed b y C hilde ( 1942) f or O rkney; h e s tressed t he c orrelation b etween c hambered c airns a nd p resent d ay a rable a reas. A n a lternative v iew i s t hat

t he a reas o f a rable c ultivation w ould h ave

b een o n t he s teeper s lopes -a reas m apped i n F igure l c a s h aving r ock a t o r n ear t he s urface.

I t i s i nteresting t o o bserve t hat i t i s o n t hese s teeper

s lopes t hat r emnants o f c ultivation r igs a re p reserved. T hus s ignificance w as a scribed t o t hese s teep a nd i rregular a reas i n t he p re-agricultural i mprovement s ituation . O f c ourse i t i s p ossible t hat e vidence f or r igs h as b een l ost i n t he p resent d ay a rable a rea. T he c airn i s c entrally l ocated w ithin t he a rea w here r igs a re i n e vidence a nd t here a re n earby i nstances o f r igs o n s lopes o f 3 6 °.

A s a lready s tated t he m ajor a gricultural d ifficulty

i n t his a rea i s d rainage a nd t he r esponse t o t his b efore t he n ew t echniques o f t he a gricultural r evolution w as t o s elect s teep l and a nd t o r idge t he s oil i nto r igs i n o rder t o f acilitate g ood d rainage. T wo h ypotheses t hus e merge.

I n t he f irst,

t he c airn i s v iewed a s b eing

l ocated o n t he m argin o f t he a rea o f g ood a rable l and , t he a rea w hich i s a lso o f a gricultural i mportance t oday. I n t he s econd , t he c airn i s v isualised a s b eing c entral t o av aried a rea w here t he s teepness o f t he l and o ffered a s olution t o t he d rainage d ifficulties.

P rior t o e nclosure t his a rea w as o f

a gricultural

o f

t echniques

v alue,

m eant

b ut

t he

t he

a rrival

a bandonment

o f

n ew

s uch

d rainage

i rregular

a nd

c ultivation

t errain

a nd

t he

i llustrates

t he

d evelopment o f t he s urface w ater g leys. T he

s pecification

d ifficulties i n t he a rchaeological s ites.

o f

t hese

t wo

c ontrasting h ypotheses

i nterpretation o f a s oil m ap w ith r eference t o T he i ssue w hich i s e mphasised i n t his p aper i s t he

i mportance o f a ssessing s oil c onditions i n t he l ight o f

f ormer e conomic a nd

t echnological s ituations. T hus t he s ignificance o f s oil c haracteristics w ill h ave v aried a ccording t o s pecific l and u ses a nd m anagement t echniques. T his a pproach t o s oil, o r t o l and i n ab roader s ense , i s n ow b eing a dopted t o m odern p lanning i ssues a nd i s s pecified i n t he F AO E valuation

( 1976).

D avidson

( 1980) h as

F ramework

r eviewed s uch t echniques,

t o

L and

m any o f

w hich a re a pplicable t o p alaeoenvironmental a ssessment. I n p ractice , t his m eans t hat a s oil s urveyor i nvolved w ith a n a rchaeological p roject h as t o b e t horoughly i ntegrated w ith t he

s tudy a nd h e

i nformation a bout f ormer l and u ses,

r equires

a g reat

d eal

o f

t echnologies a nd s patial p atterns b efore

h e c an b egin t o s uggest i nterpretations o f h is s oil m ap.

T hus t he s tudy a t

E ast B ennan c hambered c airn r aises m ore p roblems t han s olutions,

54

b ut a s tart

t o

t he

s olution

o f

t hese

s oil

i nterpretational

d ifficulties w ill

o nly

b e

p ossible w hen a rchaeologists b egin t o t hink i n l andscape e cological t erms.

R EFERENCES

C hilde , V .G.

1 942 ' The c hambered c airns o f R ousay'. A ntiquaries J ournal

2 , p p 1 39-42. 2 C rampton ,

C .B.

a nd W EBLEY ,

D .P.

1 963

' The c orrelation o f p rehistoric

s ettlement and s oils: G ower and t he S outh W ales B ulletin o f t he B oard f or C eltic S tudies 2 0 , p p 3 26-37. D avidson , D .A . 1 980 F AO 1 976

S oils a nd l and u se p lanning .

' A f ramework f or l and e valuation '.

c oalfield'.

L ondon :

L ongman .

F AO S oils B ulletin N o. 3 2 ,

( Rome). G rimes,

W .F.

1 945

' Early m an a nd t he s oils o f A nglesey'.

A ntiquity

1 9 , p p 1 69174. M ackie ,

E .W .

1 963

' New e xcavations o n t he M onamore c hambered c airn ,

L amlash , I sle o f A rran '. P roceedings o f S cotland , 9 7, p p 1 -34. R enfrew , C . 1 979

I nvestigations

o f

i n

t he

O rkney.

S ociety

A ntiquaries

( Reports o f t he R esearch

C ommittee o f t he S ociety o f A ntiquaries o f L ondon , N o. 3 7).

5 5

o f

P REHISTORIC M AN A ND T HE E NVIRONMENT O N T HE W EST O F A RRAN ,

S COTLAND

D avid R obinson T his w ork s tems d irectly f rom e xcavations a t T ormore w est o f A rran c arried o ut b y E xcavation U nit i n J une 1 978.

( NR 7 96372) o n t he

t he S cottish D evelopment D epartment's C entral T hese f ollowed a s urvey o f t he a rea b y R oger

M ercer o f E dinburgh U niversity i n 1 976

( Mercer

a fforestation b y t he F orestry C ommission .

1 978) p rior t o p loughing a nd

T he s urvey r evealed a c ollection

o f m onuments r anged a long t he e ast-facing s lope o f T or R igh t he w estern s ide o f t he b asin e nclosing M achrie M oor. a nd 1 00 m c ontour t here w ere e ight h ut c ircles, m etres o f t raceable p re-peat f ield b ank. O f

M or w hich f orms

L ying b etween t he 6 0 m

t wenty c airns a nd a bout 1 500 t hese, t wo h ut c ircles, t wo

c airns a nd s everal s ections o f t he f ield b anks w ere e xcavated S uperficially t he m onuments a ppeared t o r epresent a n I ron A ge s ettlement s ite.

H owever ,

o n e xcavation a d ifferent p icture e merged.

O ne h ut c ircle

h ad b een r epeatedly r ebuilt a nd a n a ll-over-cord b eaker w as r ecovered f rom i ts e arliest u se.

I ts l atest p eriod o f o ccupation w as r adiocarbon d ated t o

1 020 + 9 0 b .c. T he o ther c ircle a ppeared t o h ave b een o ccupied o nly o nce w ith p erhaps s light e vidence f or i ts r e-use. O ne o f t he c airns y ielded a q uantity o f

f lint i mplements,

s everal o f

t hem w orked,

a nd t he o ther l ay o n

t he l ine o f a f ield b ank w hich a ppeared t o h ave b een r epeatedly T he m ajority o f t he f ield b anks p ostdate t he o ther m onuments a nd , t heir p recise d ating i s u nclear ,

r ebuilt. a lthough

t hey p robably r epresent r e-use o f t he s ite

i n t he I ron A ge. T he

w hole

o f

t he

h illside,

i ncluding

t he

m onuments,

i s

c overed w ith

b lanket p eat r anging i n d epth f rom 2 0 c m t o 2m etres a nd d uring t he c ourse o f t he e xcavation s ections w ere c ollected f rom t he d itch a ssociated w ith o ne o f t he m ain f ield b anks a nd f rom a s addle-type d epression 4 0 m etres t o t he w est o f t he m ain h ut c ircle. T he d itch s ections v aried f rom 3 2-70 c m i n d epth a nd t he m ain s ection f rom t he d epression ( TM1) w as 1 85 c m d eep. I t w as h oped

t hat

p ollen a nalysis o f

t hese s ections w ould t hrow s ome l ight o n t he

c omplex c hain o f e vents w hich h ad o bviously t aken p lace a t t he s ite s ince i ts f irst o ccupation d uring t he B eaker p eriod.

U nfortunately,

a nalysis o f t he

b ase o f T M1 s howed t hat t he v egetation h ad a lready b een c onsiderably i nterfered w ith a nd t here w as a bundant e vidence o f a gricultural a ctivity s uggesting t hat t he s ection p ostdated s ome , i f n ot a ll, o f t he o ccupation p eriod.

T his w as l ater c onfirmed b y a r adiocarbon d ate f rom t he b asal p eat

o f 1 080 + 7 0 b .c., w hich w as s tatistically i nseparable f rom t hat f or t he l ast o ccupation o f t he s ite. D ating o f t he d itch s ections s howed t hat t he d eposits b egan f orming a t a n e ven l ater d ate a nd w ere

s imilarly o f

l imited

u se a s r egards t he i nterpretation o f t he m ain b ody o f a rchaeological e vidence. I t w as o bvious t hat a l onger , o lder s ection w as n eeded i f t he w ork w as

t o

c ontinue

and

t his w as

f ound o n M achrie M oor,

1 km t o t he

n ortheast. T his s ection ( MML80) w as 4 .5 m etres i n d epth a nd w as f ound t o r epresent t he w hole o f t he p ost-glacial p eriod a part f rom a f ew r ecent c enturies

5 7

w hich

a re a bsent,

p robably a s a r esult o f p eat c utting.

r epresented

t he w hole

o f

t he

A ccordingly t he s ection

o ccupation p eriod,

f ashion , a nd h ad t he a dded b onus o f p roviding a rea.

a lbeit

i n a m ore

g eneral

r egional p ollen c urves f or t he

R ESULTS W ork o n a ll t he s ection i s

s till i n p rogress a nd t he r esults p resented

h ere a re, o f n ecessity , p rovisional. T he f ollowing i s a n o utline o f t he f indings s o f ar , w ith t he s ection i n w hich t hey a re r epresented b eing s hown i n b rackets. D uring

t he

c ourse

o f

t his w ork

t he

c harcoal

c oncentration o f

t he p eat

s ections h as b een m easured a t r egular i ntervals b y an umber o f m ethods. T he r esults h ave p roved v ery i nteresting a s t he c harcoal c urves m irror v ery c losely t he l evel o f h uman a ctivity s uggested b y t he p ollen c urves.

S UMMARY 1 .

T he p eat o n M achrie M oor b egan f orming a bout 1 0000 b p.

T here a re

s ome i ndications o f M esolithic i nterference w ith C alluna p ollen a nd a c ontinuous c harcoal c urve b eing p resent f rom a bout l atter m ay b e d ue t o n atural c auses. ( MML80). 2 .

T here

i s

a c lear

e lm

d ecline

d ated

8 000 b p

t o

4 740+

o nwards.

8 5

b p,

T he

w ith

P lantago l anceolata a nd o ther c ultural p ollen p resent p rior t o t his, r epresenting a p eriod o f e arly N eolithic a griculture w hich h ad l ittle o verall e ffect o n t he w oodland c anopy. T he a bsence o f t he p ollen o f c ereals a nd a rable w eeds s uggests a p astoral e conomy. C harcoal l evels a re h igh a t t he e lm d ecline. 3 .

( MML80).

A s econdary e lm r ise o ccurs a t 4 310+ 1 55 b p a nd t here i s a s light

r eduction i n p ollen f rom s pecies a ssociated w ith a griculture , i ndicating a l ess i ntense p eriod o f a ctivity i n t he l ater N eolithic. C harcoal l evels a re l aw .

( 4ML80). 4 .

A r esumption i n a ctivity i s i ndicated b y a s econdary e lm d ecline

a nd g eneral f all i n t ree v alues d ated t o 3 535+ 15 b p. T he e arly s tages o f t his m ay h ave b een c ontemporary w ith t he f irst o ccupation o f t he s ite o f T ormore. D uring t he B ronze A ge t he t ree v alues f all t o l evels f rom w hich t hey n ever r eally r ecover a nd t he c harcoal c urve r ises i n a r eciprocal f ashion .

Ap eak i n a gricultural i ndicators i s s een i n t he l ater B ronze A ge

( 2880 ± 8 0bp) w ith P lantago l anceolata m aking u p 4 8% o f t otal p ollen i n M ML80. P eat f ormation a nd t he l ast o ccupation o f t he T ormore s ite o ccurred s lightly b efore t his a nd t he p eak i n a ctivity a ppears t o b e a lso r eflected i n T M1. P ollen f rom c ereals a nd a rable w eeds n ixed f arming s ystem . ( MML80 , ml). 5 .

E vents

s ubsequent

t o

t his

a re

i s a lso p resent

s omewhat

r epresenting a

e rratic w ith f luctuating

l ow l evels o f t ree p ollen a nd a s imilar b ehaviour o f t he c urves f or i ndicator s pecies a nd f or c harcoal.

T his c ulminates i n w hat a ppears t o b e a n I ron A ge

p astoral p hase w ith s ome c ereal c ultivation. T his p hase p robably c orresponds t o t he r e-use i n t he I ron A ge o f T ormore a nd t he b ases o f t he d itch s ections

h ave

b een

d ated

t o

a pproximately

( MNL80 , T MI, D itch s ections).

5 8

t his

t ime

( ca.

2 100

b p).

6 .

F ollowing t he I ron A ge t here a ppears t o b e a v ery o bvious l ull i n

a ctivity w ith v ery l ittle i ndication o f h uman a ctivity , a nd t he t rees s tage a m inor r ecovery. C harcoal l evels a re c orrespondingly l ow. ( MML80 , NI, D itch s ections). 7 .

A d efinite

r esurgence

i n

a ctivity

c orresponds r oughly t o t he V iking i nvolvement w ith a n i mprovement i n c limate , T ree v alues f all a nd t here c harcoal c urve.

t he s o-called a s harp

a rable

a nd p astoral

a t ime

' little o ptimum '

( Lamb 1 977).

p ollen a nd

( MML80,

NI,

A ctivity a pparently d eclines a gain f ollowing t his p hase ,

m aintained t o t he t op o f t he s ections.

( enso ,

w hich

t he

100 b p a nd a ppears t o r epresent

a griculture.

a s a r esult o f a d eterioration i n c limate. v alues.

a t

r ise i n a gricultural

T his h as b een d ated t o c a.

b oth e xtensive s ections). 8 .

i s

o ccurs

i n t he W estern I sles a nd a lso

T his l ow ,

D itch

p robably

f luctuating l evel i s

T he c harcoal c urve r eaches v ery h igh

T MI D itch s ections).

A CKNOWLEDGEMENTS Iw ish t o t hank m y s upervisor ,

D r. J .H. D ickson ,

f or h is h elp,

s upport,

a nd e ncouragement a nd f or h is c ritical r eading o f t his m anuscript. a lso l ike t o t hank M r.

J .

B arber ( Central E xcavation U nit) a nd D r.

Iw ould D .

B reeze

( S.D.D. ( AM)) f or t heir c ontinued c o-operation r egarding t he a rchaeology o f T ormore. T his f indings

p aper w as w ritten m idway m ust

b e

r egarded a s

t hrough

p rovisional.

a r esearch s tudentship a nd t he I n t he

c ourse

o f

f urther w ork ,

i deas a nd i nterpretations h ave c hanged s o t hat c ertain a spects o f t his p aper a re n ow o ut o f d ate. t hesis a ccepted b y

T he w ork h as b een c ompleted a nd i s t he s ubject o f a t he U niversity o f G lasgow f or t he d egree o f P h.D.

S everal p apers a re f orthcoming o r i n p reparation .

R EFERENCES B arber , J .

1 978

' Tormore'. D iscovery a nd E xcavation i n S cotland ,

1 978 ,

p . 2 8. B arber,

J .

1 979

E xcavations a t T ormore, A rran .

U npublished i nterim

r eport. L amb, H .H . M ercer , a reas o f

1 977

R .J.

C limates:

1 978

' Field

t he I sle o f A rran ,

p resent, p ast a nd f uture. s urvey i n t he

B ute'.

B lackwaterfoot

1 33-136.

59

( Oxford:

L ondon .

a nd M ächrie

I n B owen , H .C. a nd F owler ,

E arly L and A llotment i n t he B ritish I sles p p.

V ol. 2 .

B .A.R.

P .J.

( eds.)

N o.

4 8)

P ROBLEMS

O F

R ELATING

S ITE

A ND E NVIRONMENT

I N P OLLEN-ANALYTICAL

R ESEARCH I N S OUTH W EST E NGLAND

C . J . C aseldine

T he r elationship b etween a s ample s ite a nd i ts s urrounding e nvironment i s

p erhaps

f orm o f

o ne

o f t he m ost d ifficult a nd i ntractable p roblems f aced i n a ny

p alaeoenvironmental

r esearch.

U sually a ny i nterpretation o f

r elationship i s b ased l argely o n t he e mpirical d ata,

t his

t he m icrofossils,

e specially p ollen , f ound a t t he s ite i tself, w hich, w hen s een i n t heir e cological c ontexts, a re r elated t o t he s urrounding e nvironment i n a l ogical m anner.

S o

i nterpretation ,

l ong

a s

t he

t hat i s,

i nternal

t hrough t ime,

l ogic

i s

s ound

t hroughout

t he

t hen s uch a n a pproach c annot b e

d irectly q uestioned u nless t he o riginal p remises a re f ound t o b e f alse. A s imple e xample w ill s uffice t o d emonstrate t his p oint. I f a p articular w oodland t ype i s i nferred f or a d efined p art o f t he p roposed p ollen c atchment a round a s ite , t hen c hanges s een i n t he p ollen r ecord t hrough t ime h ave t o b e i nterpreted o n t he b asis o f t hat f orm o f w oodland b eing t here a nd r esponding t o a ny e nvironmental c hanges a ccording t o a r ational e cological p rogression . W here, a s i n m ost p alaeoenvironmental a nalyses, n either t he a rea c ontributing f ossil e vidence t o a s ite n or t he n umber a nd v ariety o f c ontrasting a reas c an b e a scertained a ccurately ( Oldfield, 1 970), i t i s e ssential t hat s itee nvironment r elationships a re c onsidered i n s ome d eta il. O nly b y d etailed k nowledge o f s ite v ariations a nd t he l ikely e xtent o f t he i nfluence o f s urrounding v egetation c an t he p alaeoenvironmentalist b egin t o a nswer s ome o f t he f undamental q uestions o f h ow r epresentative a ny s ample s ite i s o f am uch l arger a rea o r c atchment. U ntil p ollen w ork , e specially t hat i nvolved i n u nderstanding t he i mpact o f e arly h uman c ommunities o n t he l andscape , h as a s ounder c onceptual b ase ( Edwards, 1 979), o r u ntil e xperimental w ork o n t he p resent r elationship b etween p ollen s ource a rea a nd s ample s ites i s e xtended ( Caseldine, 1 981), i t i s n ecessary t o t ake c are i n e valuating e ach s ite b efore a ttempting t o g eneralise a bout e nvironmental c hange o ver r elatively l arge r egions. T he S outh W est,

a nd i n p articular D artmoor ,

h as p erhaps s uffered f rom a

l imited a mount o f p ollen a nalytical r esearch b eing i nvoked o ver a w ide a rea a nd a l ong t ime s cale t o s uggest a n e nvironmental h istory w hich , a t b est, c an b e n o m ore t han a p reliminary o utline o f l ikely p atterns. v aluable w ork o f S immons

( 1964a,

T he i nitial

b ) i s o nly n ow b eing e xtended b y t he u se o f

r adiocarbon d ating y et c hronological i nferences h ave b een d rawn f rom t his w ork o n a r egional s cale. T he s uggested c hronology o f v egetation c hange w as b ased o n o ur u nderstanding o f b oth v egetation c hange a nd a rchaeological s equences o f a lmost t wo d ecades a go , a nd t here h ave b een s ignificant a dvances a nd a lterations i n t hinking i n b oth t hese f ields s ince t hen . S imilarly s ome o f t he p atterns a t i ndividual s ites m ay h ave r eflected l ocal c hanges w hich w ere n ot s ynchronous a cross D artmoor ,

a s d iscovered b y P ears

( 1968,

1 969) i n

a nother e arlier b ut s omewhat a nalagous s ituation i n t he C airngorms. T he " rich c orpus o f i nformation o n t he p rehistoric a nd m odern e cology o f D artmoor" ( Hammond, 1 979, 1 46) j ust d oes n ot e xist, a t l east f or t he p rehistoric p eriod.

T he g roundwork h as b een d one b ut a l ot o f

6 1

t he d etail

r emains t o b e d iscovered a nd t he o verall s tory c ould c hange c onsiderably. I n c omparison w ith m ost u pland a reas o f t he B ritish I sles t he S outh W est i s r emarkably p oorly u nderstood i n t erms o f i ts p rehistoric e cology. r easons f or t his, t o al arge e xtent,

T he

l ie i n t he n ature o f t he a vailable

e vidence i tself a nd e specially i n c ertain s ite l imitations.

S ITE P ROBLEMS I N T HE S OUTH W EST T hose p roblems w hich c an b e a ttributed t o s ite c haracteristics f all i nto s everal c ategories a nd s hould b e s een w ithin t he m ore g eneral c ontext o f t he l ack o f r adiocarbon d ates a nd t he p aucity o f p ollen w ork s o f ar c arried o ut. i ) A bsence o f l akes -The l ack o f n atural l akes i n t he S outh W est m eans t hat m any o f t he r ecent d evelopments i n p alaeoecology a nd t he u se o f c atchment-based s tudies ( Pennington e t a l. 1 972 , O ldfield , 1 977, E dwards, 1 978) a re p recluded. T he d egree o f d etail a bout t he s oil a nd v egetation h istory w hich c an b e d educed f rom l ake s ediments c annot t herefore b e o btained f or t he S outh W est. T he o nly n atural u pland l ake, D ozmary P ool o n B odmin M oor , i s s hallow a nd h as a v ery r estricted c atchment. S ediments f rom t he s ite h ave b een a nalysed b y B rown ( 1977) b ut p roved o f l imited v alue i n u nderstanding t he p attern o f l ater P ostglacial e nvironmental c hange. i) i

L ack o f l owland s ites -There a re v irtually n o l owland c ontinuous

s edimentary r ecords i n t he S outh W est.

P eat , w ith t he e xception o f o ffshore

p eat b eds ( Pascoe , 1 970 , C larke, 1 970), i s l argely r estricted t o t he u plands o f D artmoor a nd B odmin M oor, a nd l arge t racts o f D evon a nd C ornwall a re a lmost c ompletely l acking i n s ites h aving p otential f or p alaeoenvironmental a nalyses. T his i nvariably m eans t hat a ny p icture o f e nvironmental c hange i s c oncentrated o n w hat w as h appening o n h igher g round. T his i s n ot a p roblem u nique t o t he S outh W est a nd m ay n ot b e i mportant f or t he e arliest p rehistoric p eriods b efore h eavier s oils c ould b e u tilised , b ut d oes m ean t hat i nterpretation o f w idespread v egetation c hanges h as t o t ake p lace i n s omething o f a v acuum . T he e xtensive p eat s preads o f t he S omerset L evels a re t otally a typical o f t he r est o f S outh W est E ngland a nd a s s uch w ill n ot b e d iscussed a t a ll h ere. ii) i

C haracter

o f t he a vailable s ites -The c haracter o f t he p ollen

s equence a lso p resents d ifficulties i n i nterpretation. T his i s a gain h ighlighted o n B odmin M oor w here l ocal p ollen i s o ften d ominant a nd t he v ariety f ound i n t he p ollen r ecord r eflects v ariations i n t he b og c ommunities r ather t han i n t he s urrounding e nvironment. P ollen c oncentrations a nd t ree p ollen c ounts a re l ow i n t he d eepest s ites a nd t he d istance o f t hese s ites f rom t he e dges o f t he g ently s loping b asins i n w hich t hey a re f ound p revents t he d erivation c ommunities.

o f

a n

u nambiguous

p icture

o f

s urrounding

v egetation

I n v iew o f t he d ifficulties o utlined a bove i t i s p erhaps n ot s urprising t hat m any o f t he p roblems w hich a re c haracteristic o f p alaeoenvironmental r econstruction i n t he p rehistoric p eriod h ave y et t o b e s olved.

T he

d istribution o f w oodland o ver D artmoor h as b een q uite l ogically i nferred b y S immons ( 1964a), b ut t he l ocation o f t he t reeline a nd i ts r elationship t o t he m ain v alleys w hich i ntrude i nto t he g ranite m assif i s n ot c lear . O n B odmin M oor t he o nly r eal e vidence f or t he p osition o f t he t reeline q uoted b y B rown ( 1977) i s t he f inding o f t ree r emains i n a t inning s ection a t 2 44m . T he s tatus o f w oodland c over, k nown ,

e specially t he o penness o f t he c anopy,

i s n ot

a nd w ith t he c onsiderable d epression o f t he t reeline t owards t he w est

6 2

w ith

i ncreasing e xposure,

t he

c haracter o f

t he u pland w oodland w hich f aced

e arly c ommunities a nd t he m osaic o f p otential e nvironments r emains o nly u ncertainly k nown. T he s tatus o f t he s oils w ithin t hese w oodland c ommunities

i s

s till

a m atter

f or

d ebate,

e specially

t he

e xtent

a nd

d urability o f b rown e arth t ype p rofiles i n t he u plands. U ntil b uried f ossil p rofiles a re d iscovered d ating f rom t he e arly P ostglacial a ny i nterpretations w ould b e s peculative.

R ecent w ork b y S taines ( 1979) w hich i ncluded t he

e xamination o f s oils o n D artmoor b uried b elow p eat d eposits, d id n ot p rovide c onclusive e vidence o f s oil p rofile c haracteristics p redating t he a ppearance o f h uman c ommunities. T hus i n S outh W est E ngland t he p otential f or t raditional a pproaches t o p alynological r esearch u tilising p eats

o r

l ake

s ediments

i s

l imited.

A ny

s tudy u sing p eat p rofiles h as t o s how a n a cute a wareness o f p ossible s ite i diosyncracies a nd w ill b e l imited b y t he s patial a nd t emporal v ariations o f t he d eposits.

I t i s n ecessary, t herefore, t o u tilise a ll s orts o f a vailable

e vidence a nd, i n p articular, t o t urn t o s ediments a nd s oils f ound i n a ssociation w ith a rchaeological s ites. T he a nalysis o f s uch m aterials i nvolves f urther i nterpretive d ifficulties b ut,

f or a l arge p art o f D evon a nd

C ornwall t hese a re t he o nly l ikely s ources a nd t hey w ill h ave t o b e u sed a nd t he c onsequent d ifficulties o vercome. T he t wo e xamples o f p alynological w ork f rom t he S outh W est d iscussed b elow i llustrate t he t wo t ypes o f d eposits w hich a re c entral t o o ur u nderstanding o f

t he e nvironmental h istory

o f

t he r egion .

B oth e xemplify

s ome o f t he p roblems a lready n oted , b ut n evertheless g ive v aluable i nsights i nto h ow t he u pland a reas o f D artmoor a nd B odmin M oor h ave c hanged d uring d ifferent p eriods w ithin t he P ostglacial. N ORTHERN D ARTMOOR -PEAT P ROFILES F ROM T HE W EST O KEMENT V ALLEY T he n orthern e xpanse o f D artmoor i s c ut b y s everal v alleys a nd a v alley p eat f rom o ne o f t he m ajor n orth-south t rending v alleys w as c hosen f or a nalysis

( Fig.

p roximity ,o f

1 ).

B lack T or

T he c hoice o f s ite w as l argely d etermined b y t he C opse,

f ound o n D artmoor ( Simmons a rea

w as

m ade

o n

t he

o ne

1 964b ,

r elative

o f

t he t hree r elict o ak w oodlands

B arkham ,

a bsence

o f

1 978),

t o b e

b ut t he o verall c hoice o f

a rchaeological

e vidence

i nception a nd c ontinuity o f s ettlement o n n orthern D artmoor.

f or

t he

A fter a n

i nitial b rief s urvey o f t he a rea o f t he v alley f loor c overed b y p eat, p reliminary d iscovered.

c ore w as

t aken b y R ussian b orer

f rom

t he

d eepest

T he p ollen d iagram c overing t he b asal 7 0 c m o f

a

p rofile

t his s ection ,

n amed O kement 1 ( altitude 4 11 m , r ef. S X574800), i s p resented i n F ig. 2 .

I t

w as o nly a fter t he o riginal c ore w as t aken t hat a m ore d etailed s urvey o f t he c haracter o f t he p eat d eposit w as m ade a nd t he r econstructed s ub-peat s urface a scertained ( Fig. 3 ). T he h igh c ounts f or A rboreal P ollen ( A .P.) a nd s hrub p ollen , e specially Q uercus a nd C orylus/Myrica, i n t he b asal s ediments a ppear t ypical o f a f orested l andscape w hich w as p resumed t o h ave c overed m uch o f D artmoor b efore t he a ppearance o f e arly h uman c ommunities, b ut p ercentages o f h erb p ollen a re g enerally l ower t han a t a ny o f t he s ites a nalysed b y S immons ( 1964a). C onsidering

t he

v alley

l ocation

t his

d ifference

i s

p erhaps

n ot

s urprising

s ince m any o f S immons' s ites l ay a bove 1 500' ( 457 m ) a nd w ere i n m ore e xposed l ocations. S immons f ound n o d irect e vidence f or w oodland i n t he f orm o f b uried t ree r emains a bove 3 66m

( Simmons 1 964a,

1 969),

b ut i n s heltered

v alley f loors w oodland m ust h ave e xtended a bove t his l evel. A bove t he b asal s ample w ith i ts h igh a rboreal e lement t here i s a s equence s howing a d ecline

6 3

O keha mp ton

L A S t udy a r eas B ODM IN MOOR

E L and o ve r 8 00 f t B od m in

COLUFORD

0

P l ymou th

i pM ILES 21 0K I LOMETRES

0

O KEHAMPTON

1M ILES

o

K I LOMETRES

1 000 t >1 250 F ee t 1 250 t >1 500 1 500 r >1 750 1 750 r >2 000 2 000

; e1 3/

S ou r tone 5

/ 0 L yd fo rd

g F ig.

• • 1

••• A )

S outh-West

E ngland ,

D artmoor s howing t he

l ocation o f

s tudy a reas.

W est O kement v alley .

B )

N orthern

S po res E t A qua t ics

9 -o

Co Co 9

11111111111

P ollen d iagram f rom O kement 1 .

-o

[:

9

-2

a )

— 2 2 -o 1

1 1 .

11 1 1

1:

11 . 1 1

1 :

e,

e e s b ,

9

3 E L 1 . 2 L . 1 0

E

. E

. 0 E.

I 8 r y

I oI Z

1

N 0N

I

C I 0 N

1

1

0 a N

a : . 0

6 5

1

i n

A .P.

a nd

s hrub

C orylus/Myrica ,

p ollen ,

e specially

B etula,

U lmus,

f ollowed e ventually b y a r ecovery i n B etula ,

Q uercus

a nd

C orylus/Myrica

a nd U lmus, w ith l ess o f a r ecovery i n Q uercus. W hile t he p ollen o f w oody s pecies i s d epressed t here i s a n i ncrease i n G ramineae a nd C alluna a nd p eaks f or L otus t ype, P otentilla t ype, R osaceae a nd R ubiaceae, a s w ell a s a n oticeable i ncrease i n F ilicales s pores.

T he b ase o f t he p eat s tratigraphy

i s c haracterised b y t he p resence o f f aint b ands o f s iliceous m aterial a nd f lecks o f c harcoal i ntercalated w ithin a g enerally a morphous d ark p eat. T he n ature o f t he p ollen c hanges i n t he l owest p art o f t he O kement p rofile a ppears t o i ndicate a p eriod o f w oodland c learance c oncomitant w ith t he i nception o f t he p eat.

B irch , o ak a nd h azel w ere a ll a ffected b ut t here

i s a lso a c lear d ecline i n v alues f or e lm .

E lm v alues

f rom s ites

o n t he

g ranite o f D artmoor a re n ever h igher t han t hese f ound i n t he O kement v alley, p robably i ndicating a p rincipal s ource o ff t he M oor , b ut i t i s i nteresting t hat v alues f or e lm d o m irror t hose o f o ther w oody t axa i n t he w ay t hey v ary. T he h erb t axa w hich b enefit f rom t he r eduction i n t ree s pecies, a part f rom C alluna a nd G ramineae a re n ot t hose s uch a s P lantago a nd R umex w hich a re o ften f ound i n s imilar c ircumstances,

b ut a re p lants c haracteristic o f r ough

u pland

p robably

p asture

o r w et

b oggy

a reas,

P otentilla,

G alium a nd L otus

s pecies. I t i s n ot p osible , t herefore, t o a rgue t hat l ocal c learance l ed t o t he e xtension o f g ood p asture o r a rable a griculture, f or t he v egetation r ecord o f t he s urrounding s lopes i s i ntimately t ied u p w ith t he r ecord o f t he e xtending b og i n t erms o f t he p ollen a ssemblage t hat i s p reserved. W oodland c learance o n a s ignificant

s cale w as t aking p lace b ut t he

c learance a nd t he s ubsequent

r easons

f or t his

r egeneration a re n ot i mmediately o bvious.

I t

i s t empting o n t he b asis o f t he e vidence f rom O kement t o a ssign t he i nception o f t he p eat t o i ncreased r un o ff f rom t he s urrounding s lopes f ollowing c learance f or t here w as o bviously s ome l ocal s lope i nstability a nd s oil d isturbance. A s t o t he d ate o f t he c learance e pisode i t w ould a ppear t hat i t t ook p lace a t t he s ame t ime a s a d ecline i n e lm p ollen a nd w as c learance o f

a p rimary w oodland

c over.

A lthough

S immons

o nly

i nterpreted s poradic

c learances f rom t he N eolithic p eriod , t he r elatively h igh v alues f or e lm f ollowing t he c learance p hase ( much h igher t han a t o ther s ites o n D artmoor d uring V IIb f or i nstance),

t he

o verall

h igh

f requencies

f or

A .P.

a nd

t he

n ature o f t he c learance s equence a ll s eem t o p oint t o ad ate a t l east a s e arly a s c .5000b.p. r ather t han a l ater c learance a ssociated w ith t he q uite w idespread B ronze A ge o ccupancy o f D artmoor ( Simmons 1 964a, F lem ing 1 979). I n v iew o f t he r esults f rom t he O kement c ore a s econd s ite w as a nalysed a t S andy F ord

( Fig.

3a nd F ig.

4 ).

H ere w here t he p eat w as t hinner ,

o n a

s imilar p oint o n t he s ub-peat s urface t o t hat o f t he O kement s ite a h ole w as e xcavated a nd a m onolith r ecovered f rom t he s tratigraphy w as

b ase

o f

t he p eat.

T he b asal

s lightly d ifferent f rom t hat a t

O kement w ith a s ilty p eat

o verlain b y a morphous p eat a nd t hen a w ood l ayer ,

w ith n o s igns o f i nwashing

o r c harcoal. o f

A 1c m t hick s ample f rom t he b ase o f t he m onolith a nd s amples

S alix a nd B etula f rom t he w ood l ayer w ere s ent t o G lasgow U niversity f or

r adiocarbon d ating. a t

O kement.

T he p ollen d iagram i s c learly v ery d ifferent f rom t hat

O verall A .P.

a nd s hrub p ollen f requencies a re s lightly l ower

b ut t hey a re f ar m ore c onsistent t hroughout t he s ampled p eriod a nd t here a re n o o bvious c learance p atterns. T he h erb p ollen c ounts a re d ominated b y G ramineae a nd C yperaceae w ith o ther p ollen t ypes o f s pecies p robably g rowing l ocally o n t he n ew w et b og s urface. T here i s o bviously a d iscrepancy i n a ge b etween t he i nception o f

p eat

g rowth a t

t he

t wo s ites

a nd t he

r adiocarbon

d ates c onfirmed t his w ith t he l owermost s ample b eing d ated t o 7 410 + 7 0 b .p. D .P. ( GU-1241). A ssuming t he ( GU-1242) a nd t he w ood b eing d ated t o 7 370 ±65 1 s uggested d ate o f t he b ase o f t he O kement p rofile t o b e c orrect, a lthough i f

6 6

Wes t O kemen t V a l ley ,D ar tmoo r

o /

9

1 4 1,-

\

67

m ap o f s ub-peat s urface f rom t he W est O kement v alley .

T ransec ts o f b o r ings S amp l ing s i tes

---

I I / I I 1‘,_

S po res 8 A qua t ics

II

W1 1, 1 1 111 I 1 1 111_

II l

_ -8

0

8 8

. [:

1 . .11.i.

t

![: .

I

S andy F ord 1 .

ii

.1

.I .

+ , e, ' L1 1,1111 1 1

I

= .

C o

g

I

: g 56 b 4 .

i ll

II I

I W AL M '

\

I I

1 -- 1 d

II

S ANDY F ORD

N „ , Hi m h ill '

2 d_

-

6 8

II e2 c > :

c r sp 1 • fc r sp 2

C RV C R .1 1*

F ig. 5 L ocation o f s ub-barrow p of l ies a t C olliford , B odmin M oor.

69

s oil d escription a nd

3 -§

— 9

i I

2 1

.• . 0

0

0 4 -

0 )

• -

_

9 Pollen

I 4 [. -OD

COLL IFORD C R W A

B UR IED P ROF ILE

No

-

- 9 ., 0 7

a e

-g

-

0 c n

-e

-

— 2 , — . 9

N . If l f i

, 0

se

E

— —

(wo)

-c o

+ c ,

9

v p 0

1 1. ( wo)

q 4c laa

7 0

-e

q ;c laa

-0

• • r I

a nything i t c ould b e l ater t han s uspected,

t here i s ad ifference i n a ge

b etween t he t wo b asal p eat d ates o f u p t o 2 500 y ears, d espite t heir o nly b eing 7 0m a part a nd o ccurring a t a s imilar r elative h eight.

T he c hange i n

t he p ollen c urves t owards t he t op o f t he m onolith s ample a t S andy F ord s hows s ome i ncreased o pening o f t he l ocal w oodland , e specially b irch a nd o ak, a nd i t m ay b e t hat t his r eflects t he e arliest h uman i nterference i n t he l andscape o f n orthern D artmoor w ith m esolithic g roups u tilising t he a rea a round t he f ord. S imilar c hanges a t B lacklane ( Simmons 1 964a, 1 975) h ave b een i nterpreted

a s

t he

r esult

o f

M esolithic

a ctivity

a nd

t he

f ord w ould

h ave

p rovided a n atural f ocus f or a nimals, e specially i f t he v alley f loor w as m ore o pen a round t he f ord a s i ndicated i n t he p ollen r ecord. S tudies a re n ow c ontinuing i n a n a ttempt t o c orrelate t he t wo d iagrams w ith

t he

f urther e xcavation o f m onolith s amples.

O f e special i nterest i s

t he a pparent d iachroneity o f p eat d evelopment; i t m ay b e t hat p eat d id b egin t o d evelop o ver t he w hole a rea b efore 7 000 b .p. a nd w as s ubsequently r emoved b y e rosion b ut t his i s c onsidered u nlikely. T he c omparison o f t he t wo p ollen d iagrams d oes, h owever , i llustrate t he d anger o f d eveloping g eneral i deas o f p eat i nitiation a nd t he r ole o f m an i n e arly v egetation c hange f rom t he e vidence o f a s ingle p rofile,

a nd a lso o f a ssuming t hat t he d eepest p eat

a reas h ave t he b est r ecords. I n t he O kement v alley i t i s p roving n ecessary t o understand t he i diosyncracies o f t he d eposit b efore a ttempting t o r econstruct t he l andscape o f t he v alley a s aw hole. B ODMIN M OOR -SUB-BARROW S OILS A T C OLLIFORD S oils

b eneath

B ronze

A ge

b arrows

a nd

o ther

p rehistoric

a nd

h istoric

f eatures a t t he p roposed r eservoir s ite a t C olliford o n B odmin M oor ( Fig.1) h ave b een t he s ubject

o f

r ecent

M altby a nd t he p resent w riter.

p edological a nd p ollen a nalyses

b y D r.

E .

F our B ronze A ge b arrows h ave b een e xcavated

b y F rances G riffith , e ach u ncovering ' in s itu' p alaeosols a nd a ll t hese s oils h ave

b een a nalysed.

w ill b e

T he p ollen r esults f rom o nly o ne o f

d iscussed i n d etail h ere a s

r eports

o n t he

t hese p alaeosols

f ull s ite

a re

i n

p reparation . U nder t he o uter t urf s tack o f b arrow C RIV ( Fig.5) a b uried p eaty i ron p an p odsol w as d iscovered ( Maltby 1 980). S amples f or p ollen a nalysis w ere t aken f rom t hroughout t he t urf s tack a nd t he b uried s oil,

a nd

t he p ollen d iagram f rom t he s oil i s p resented i n F ig.6 ( Caseldine 1 980a). T he b arrow w as c onstructed a round 1 560 + 100b.c. ( HAR2994) a ccording t o r adiocarbon d ating o f c harcoal f ound o n t he o ld l and s urface. T he

p ollen r esults

f rom t he b uried s oil s how a p attern o f

w as p erhaps e xpected g iven t he n ature o f t he s oil.

c hange t hat

T here i s l ittle e vidence

f or w idespread w oodland c over p rior t o t he b uilding o f t he b arrow ; t he s ite i s q uite e xposed a t a n a ltitude o f 2 40m, a nd o nly s cattered w oodland o f s crubby o ak a nd h azel i s i ndicated. T his i s i n l ine w ith t he f indings o f B rown ( 1977) a nd o f o ther C ornish p ollen a nalytical s tudies o f b uried s oil h orizons r ecently s ummarised b y C aseldine p eaty

p odsol

h eath

d ominated

a ppears b y

t o

h ave

C alluna ,

t aken

( 1980b).

p lace

e ither a s

a s

T he d evelopment o f t he

g rassland w as

a r esult

o f

s ubstituted

d eteriorating

b y

c limate ,

e specially i ncreased p recipitation a nd a r eduction i n t he p recipitation: e vaporation r atio , o r d ue t o t he m ismanagement o f t he l and b y B ronze A ge c ommunities.

T his s oil c hange w as n ot a n i mmediate r esult o f w oodland

c learance b ut r eflected s ome e xternal c hange i n e ither c limate o r l and u se. T he t ransition f rom g rassland t o h eath w as q uite s traightforward a nd m ay b e i ndicative o f aw idespread c hange i n t he l andscape o f B odmin M oor d uring t he B ronze A ge.

7 1

H ere a gain h owever , d oubt

o ver t he

v alidity

a nalyses

o f a djacent d eposits a nd s oils h ave c ast

o f a ccepting t he

r esults

r epresentative o f aw ider s patial p attern.

f rom a s ingle

p rofile a s

P ollen a nalysis t hrough a

s imilar s oil b uried b eneath t he c entre o f t he s ame b arrow s hows d ifferences i n t he r ecord f ound i n t he u pper o rganic h orizons. T here i s n o s traight f orward t ransition f rom g rassland t o C alluna h eath f or, C alluna ,

t here i s a r eduction i n i ts v alues,

a fter a p eak i n

w ith a s econd p eak i n G ramineae

t owards t he s urface o f t he s oil a ssociated w ith h igh c ounts T he u pper s oil h orizons a lso h ave c harcoal w ithin t hem. A t

o f P teridium . t his p oint i n

t he B ronze A ge l andscape t here a ppears t o h ave b een s ome b urning o f t he C alluna w hich a llowed a n i mprovement i n s oil n utrient s tatus, b riefly, a nd h ence a r eturn , g rassland.

p rior t o b arrow c onstruction ,

p erhaps o nly

o f am ore d iverse

T he p ollen w ork a t C olliford s hows t he i mportance o f i nvestigating m ore t han o ne p rofile w hen t rying t o d etermine a v egetational s equence f rom s oil p ollen r ecords. I t i s p ossible t o p ick o ut l ocal c hanges i n t he v egetation c over , e ven t hough t he d uration o f s uch c hanges r emains u nknown . T his w ork a lso e mphasises t he n eed t o c ombine p ollen a nalysis w ith p edological r esearch. f ramework

H ere t he p edological r esearch b y M altby p rovides w ithin which t o i nterpret t he p ollen r ecords,

a pproaches

a re

c omplementary ,

p roviding

t he

t ype

o f

a n i mportant a nd t he t wo

d etailed

e vidence

o f

e nvironmental c hange o ften l acking i n a reas o utside t he S outh W est. L ack o f s uch d etail h as o ften l ed t o t he p erpetuation o f c ertain ' myths' a bout m anl andscape i nteractions. T he t endency t o a ssume u nidirectional a nd e nvironmentally d eterministic m odels o f l andscape c hange d ue t o t he e ffects o f c limate a nd t he a ctivities o f e arly p rehistoric c ommunities s hould, t herefore , p erhaps b e a voided. S oils a nd v egetation s howed c onsiderable s patial v ariation d uring t he B ronze A ge o n B odmin M oor a nd t here i s l ittle r eason a t p resent t o s uspect t hat o ther u pland a reas i n t he S outh W est b ehaved d ifferently. O n t he b asis o f t he a vailable s ites a nd t he c haracter o f t he d eposits a nd o f

t he p ollen a ssemblages

f ound w ithin t hem i t would

a ppear

t hat

t he

d ifficulties f acing s uccessful p ollen a nalytical r esearch i n t he S outh W est m ay p revent t he e stablishment o f s ound c ontinuous d etailed c hronologies o f e nvironmental c hange d uring t he p rehistoric p eriod. L inks b etween s ite a nd e nvironment r emain t enuous a nd , a s y et, a ny e stimation o f p rehistoric e conomy a nd l and u se b ased o n p alaeoenvironmental e vidence r emains s peculative. A s F leming h as r ecently c ommented i n t he c ontext o f h is w ork o n s outhern D artmoor , " it w ould b e p remature t o p roduce a m odel o f c hanging l and u se p atterns o n p rehistoric D artmoor" ( 1979 , 1 30). Y et, p aradoxically , t he l ack o f s uitable d eposits, a nd t he n eed t o w ork e xtensively o n s ediments s uch a s b uried s oils, m uch

s maller

m ay p rovide a n i mpetus t o i mprove t echniques a nd t o w ork o n a s cale.

S uch

s tudies

c ould

d iscover

a s m uch ,

i f

n ot m ore ,

a bout t he p rocesses w hich d etermine e nvironmental c hange a nd a lso s eriously q uestion g eneral m odels

c onstructed o n t he b asis

o f e arlier r egional s cale

s tudies.

A CKNOWLEDGEMENTS Iw ould l ike t o t hank T im J ohns w ho d id m uch o f

t he e arly w ork o n t he

O kement s ite , D iane L owery f or h er l aboratory w ork , T erry B acon f or d rawing t he d iagrams a nd A ndrew T eed f or p roducing t he f inal p rints o f t he d iagrams. P edological a nalyses a t C olliford w ere c arried o ut b y D r. r esponsible

f or s etting u p

t he

o verall p roject,

7 2

E .

a nd w ho h as

M altby w ho w as p rovided m uch

v aluable

i nformation

o n

t he

h istory

o f

s oils

a t

t his

s ite.

M uch

o f

t he

b rief i nterpretation o f t he p ollen h ere r ests o n e xtensive w ork c arried o ut o n a r ange o f s ites t hroughout t he a rea. P ermission t o w ork o n t he O kement s ite w as k indly g iven b y t he D uchy o f C ornwall, a nd o n t he C olliford s ite b y t he S outh W est W ater A uthority.

R EFERENCES B arkham ,

J .P.

1 978

' Pendunculate

B rown , A .P.

1 977

C .J.

P hil.Trans.R .Soc.Lond. 1 980a

' Buried s oil

r econstruction a t C olliford , ( ed.)

Q uaternary

M eeting.

R esearch

e nvironment:

B 276 , p p 2 51-320.

f eatures a nd p alaeoenvironmental

A ssociation

F ield

H andbook ,

I n S ims, W est

P .C.

C ornwall

p p 1 1-12.

C aseldine , C .J.

C aseldine,

1 980b

C .J.

S cotland.' C larke,

Q uart.

a s evere

B odmin M oor -Pollen A nalysis,'

' Environmental c hange i n C ornwall d uring t he l ast

1 3000 y ears.' C ornish A rchaeol.

F ife,

i n

' Late-Devensian a nd F landrian v egetational h istory o f

B odmin M oor, C ornwall'. C aseldine,

w oodland

J . E col. 6 6 , p p 7 07-740.

B lack-a-tor c opse, D artmoor.'

1 981

R .H.

1 970

K .J.

1 978

p ollen

s tudies

a cross

B ankhead

M oss,

8 , p p 7 -25.

' Quaternary

s ediments

o ff

s outh-east

D evon.'

t he

p rehistoric

p eriod.'

1 25 , p p 2 78-313.

' Environmental

i mpact

i n

9 , p p 2 7-42.

S cott. A rch. F orum E dwards,

' Surface

J our. o f B iogeogr.

J . G eol. S oc. L ond.

E dwards,

1 9 , p p 3 -16.

K .J.

1 979 ,

c ontext o f P rehistory,

' Palynological a nd t emporal i nferences i n t he

w ith s pecial r eference t o e vidence f rom l ake a nd p eat

d eposits.' J . A rch. S ci. 6 , p p 2 55-270. F leming,

A .

1 979

' The D artmoor R eaves:

B oundary p atterns a nd

b ehaviour p atterns i n t he s econd m illennium b .c.' P roc. D evon A rch.

S oc. 3 7,

p p 1 15-131. H ammond ,

F .W .

1 979

' Settlement ,

e conomy a nd e nvironment o n p rehistoric

D artmoor.' P roc. D evon A rch S oc. 3 7, p p 1 46-175. M altby,

E .

r econstruction

1 980 a t

' Buried

C olliford,

s oil

f eatures

B odmin

a nd

M oor.'

I n

p alaeoenvironmental S ims,

P .C.

Q uaternary R esearch A ssociation F ield H andbook , W est C ornwall M eeting.

( ed). p p

9 -

1. O ldfield ,

F .E.

1 970

' Some

a nalytically b ased p alaeoecology.' O ldfield, s ediment b ased

F .E.

1 977

a spects

o f

s cale a nd c omplexity

P ollen S pores 1 2,

i n p ollen

p p163-171.

' Lakes a nd t heir d rainage b asins a s u nits o f

p alaeo-ecological s tudy.'

P rogr. i n P hys. G eogr.

5 04.

7 3

1 ,

p p 4 60-

P ascoe,

C .

1 970

' Peat

r emains

o f

P ortmellon a nd M aenporth.'

J our. C amb. R edruth N at. H ist. S oc. 2 , p p 1 8-21. P ears,

N .V .

1 968

' Post-glacial t ree-lines o f t he C airngorm M ountains ,

S cotland.' T rans. B ot. S oc. E dinb. 4 0 , p p 3 61-394. P ears, S cotland:

N .V.

1 969

' Post-glacial t ree-lines o f t he C airngorm M ountains,

s ome m odifications b ased o n r adiocarbon d ating.' T rans.

B ot.

S oc. E dinb. 4 0 , p p 5 36-544. S immons,

I .G.

1 964a

' Pollen d iagrams f rom D artmoor.' N ew P hytol.

6 3,

p p 1 65-180. S immons, I .G.

( ed.)

I .G.

1 964b

S immons,

I .G.

' An e cological h istory o f D artmoor.'

1 969

' Environment a nd e arly m an o n D artmoor,

S immons,

I .G.

S taines,

S .

1 975

' Towards a n e cology o f M esolithic m an i n t he u plands

J . A rch. S ci. 1 979

D evon ,

3 5 , p p 2 03-216.

E ngland'. P roc. P rehist. S oc

o f G reat B ritain .'

I n S immons,

E ssays, D evonshire A ssociation S uppl., p p 1 91-215.

D artmoor

2 , p p 1 -15.

' Environmental

D evon A rch. S oc. 3 7, p p 2 1-47.

7 4

c hange

o n

D artmoor.'

P roc.

R ECENT P ALAEOBOTANICAL I NVESTIGATIONS A T M EARE V ILLAGE W EST ,

S OMERSET

A .E. C aseldine

T he I ron A ge L ake V illage s ites o f M eare a nd G lastonbury a re s ituated i n t he S omerset L evels, a n e xtensive a rea o f l ow-lying l and i n s outhwest E ngland. T he L evels c onsist l argely o f p eat a nd a lluvial d eposits o f H olocene a ge,

b ut t here a re a lso

( the B urtle B eds),

' islands'

a nd r ock o utcrops.

o f P leistocene s ands a nd g ravels

T he s ettlement a t M eare c onsists o f

t wo s ites, M eare V illage E ast a nd M eare V illage W est, o f M eare ' island' ( Fig. 1 ). T he

s ites

w ere

o riginally

e xcavated

G eorge C ray ( Bulleid a nd G ray 1 911, 1 966),

a nd m ore

H owever ,

A rthur

1 948 ,

r ecently f urther e xcavations

M ichael A very ( 1968). w ork w as

b y

1 917,

w hich l ie t o t he n orth

B ulleid a nd H arold

G ray a nd B ulleid

a t M eare w ere

1 953,

S t. G ray

c arried o ut

b y

o nly a v ery l imited a mount o f e nvironmental

u ndertaken i n a ssociation w ith

t hese

e arlier e xcavations.

R eid

( 1917) e xamined f ossil p lant r emains f rom G lastonbury, P ercival ( 1934) i dentified c arbonised g rain f rom M eare a nd G lastonbury , a nd l ater H elhaek ( 1952) a lso e xamined c arbonised m aterial f rom b oth s ites a s p art o f a s urvey o f

p rehistoric

c rop

h usbandry

i n

s outhern E ngland.

P ollen a nalysis

w as

c arried o ut b y G odwin a t M eare V illage E ast ( 1941) a nd i n t he M eare P ool a rea ( 1955). I n M arch

1 978 f our s mall t renches a t t he e astern e nd o f M eare V illage

W est w ere e xcavated b y t he S omerset L evels P roject, w ith o ne o f t he p rimary a ims b eing t he r ecovery o f m aterial f or e nvironmental a nalyses a nd r adiocarbon d ating ( Orme, C oles a nd S turdy 1 979). T he

e xcavation a t

t he w estern e nd o f M eare

1 979 w as a gain a imed a t c ollecting s amples

V illage W est

i n S eptember

f or e nvironmental i nvestigations

a nd r adiocarbon d ating. T he r ange o f b otanical m aterial r ecovered f rom t he s ite i ncluded p ollen , w aterlogged a nd c arbonised s eeds, w ood a nd c harcoal.

S ITE D ETAILS T he s urface ,

' villages' a nd

t he

a re r epresented b y a s eries o f m ounds o n t he f ield

s ite

e xcavated w as

w estern e nd o f M eare V illage W est.

t he

p enultimate

v isible

m ound

a t

t he

T he b asic s tratigraphy a t t he s ite w as

g rey s ilty c lay c ontaining l umps o f L ias b elow p eat, c ontaining o ccupation d ebris), c lay, t opsoil a nd t urf.

b lack e arth ( peat R adiocarbon d ating

o f t he o ccupation d eposit s uggests o ccupation o f t he s ite c irca 3 00 h .c. T he f ound

i n

e xcavated m ound w as m ade i t

o r a ssociated

o ccupation d ebris.

w ith

o f

c lay b ut

i t

a part

B elow t he m ound ,

n o

f rom

s tructural

f eatures w ere

l enses

c harcoal

o f

a nd

b ut s lightly o ffset t o t he s outhwest,

w as a n a rea o f c ompacted p eat r eferred t o a s t he c entral f loor ( Fig. 2 ). T o t he n orth o f t he c entral m ound a s econd m ound , n ot v isible o n t he s urface, w as

f ound d uring e xcavation ,

t he n orthern m ound.

7 5

T his m ound c onsisted

o f

THE SOMERSET L EVELS las tonbu ry oG

a nd Meare V i l lages

C on tours a t 8 ,2 3 a nd 3 8 me tres S I B u r t le B eds 0

F ig.

1

I .

2

3k m

L ocation o f t he I ron A ge s ettlement s ites o f M eare a nd G lastonbury .

7 6

t wo h earths a nd c lay i nterspersed w ith c harcoal l oosely a ssociated w ith t he h earths. d eposit

I n t he n orthwest a rea a s light o f

c harcoal ,

w ood a sh ,

b ump p roved t o b e a n a rtificial

b lack e arth ,

L ias a nd w ood .

B etween t he

m ounds a g ully c ontained w ood , s tone , p otsherds a nd b lack e arth , a nd t he d ebris w as p ossibly d eposited i n a n a ttempt t o h elp c onsolidate t he s urface. L enses o f b lack e arth a lso o ccurred i n t he p eat. A f uller d escription o f t he f eatures i s g iven i n S omerset L evels P apers 7 ( Orme, C oles , C aseldine a nd B ailey , 1 981). D uring t he e xcavation a v ery d istinctly f issured p eat s urface w as f ound ( Plate 1 ). B ulleid a nd G ray i n t heir r eport r eferred t o b oth ' placed p eat' a nd ' natural c racked p eat'. A very a lso f ound a p eat s urface w hich h e i nitially i nterpreted a s

' placed p eat', b ut l ater d escribed a s an atural p eat

s urface w hich h ad c racked a s ar esult o f d esiccation . V arious s uggestions h ave b een m ade r egarding t he c ause o f t he s urface , i ncluding s oil p ipes , d rying o ut , f ire a nd m ole a ctivity . I t s eems l ikely t hat t he m ain p rocess i nvolved w as d esiccation , a nd a s imilar p henomenon h as b een r ecorded i n p eat b eneath c lays i n t he N etherlands ( Edelman , 1 950). H owever , o ther p rocesses m ay a lso h ave b een i nvolved. I t i s, f or e xample , e vident t hat m oles a re e xploiting t he c racks a t t he p resent t ime. T he s tratigraphical a nd a rchaeological e vidence i ndicates t hat t he c racks f ormed a fter o ccupation .

E NVIRONMENT A ND E CONOMY E nvironmental

c hanges

i mmediately

p rior

t o

a nd

d uring o ccupation a re

i llustrated b y r eference t o a p ollen d iagram f rom t he c entral f loor a rea ( Figs. 3 a nd 4 ). T ree p ollen v alues a t t he b ase o f t he d iagram a re r elatively l ow a nd d ominated b y A lnus a nd B etula. s mall

a mounts

a nd U lmus,

F raxinus

a nd

T axus

a lso

p ollen v alues a re l ow i n c omparison t o l ater p ercentages a re r elatively h igher t han l ater , P ollen ( T.L .P). T he a rboreal p ollen r ecord w oodland c omprising a lder , b irch a nd w illow p robably a long t he e dge o f M eare ' island'. o f f en w oodland , i s a lso p resent.

Q uercus o ccur.

i s

p resent

i n

C orylus/Myrica

i n t he d iagram , b ut S alix r eaching o ver 5 % T otal L and t herefore s uggests t hat f en w as g rowing n ear t he s ite,

F rangula a lnus, a nother s pecies

R eference t o t he s ummary d iagram, w hich i s b ased o n ap ollen s um o f U lmus, o ther d ry-land t rees, c learance h erbs a nd P teridium ( thereby r emoving t he i nfluence o f b oth a rboreal a nd n on-arboreal l ocal p ollen), l and c lose t o t he s ite w as c leared f or a griculture a t t his t ime. h erbs

i n

t he

n on-arboreal

d iagram

i ndicate

a m ixed

s hows t hat C learance

a gricultural

e conomy ,

a lthough t here a re s lightly h igher v alues f or w eeds o f g rassland , s uch a s P lantago l anceolata , R umex a cetosa t ype a nd P teridium . C ereal p ollen i s n ot r ecorded b ut A rtemisia,

aw eed s pecies a ssociated w ith c ultivation ,

i s

p resent. F ollowing t his

c learance e pisode p ollen o f

t rees o f

d ry-land h abitats

i ncreases i n t he c omposite d iagram , a nd i n t he m ain d iagram F raxinus i ncreases t o 5 % T .L .P., s uggesting t hat i t e xpanded i nto r ecently a bandoned a reas. T his i s a ccompanied b y i ncreased r epresentation o f Q uercus a nd U lmus, a lthough v alues a re l ow . C learance h erbs a lso d ecrease , i ndicating r educed a ctivity. T he p resence o f p ollen o f a quatic s pecies a s w ell a s p ollen o f s edges ,

7 7

F ig. 2 .

M eare V illage W est 1 979 .

S ite p lan .

7 9 t he s ite

t he S omerset L evels P roject).

i s v isible

D ETR ITUS MUD

B LACK E ARTH

0

S PHAGNU M

, 1 1 ,1 o i n d i e l l 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

m W I P

8

J ik . % " 1 1 1 1

T rees a nd s hrubs.

0

o c s :

b 70 0 . 9 0 e

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er t ,

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+-+ -+ -+-+ - -+ +

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ANAL . A .E .C . 1 980

f )7 7/ .

C oo

P ERCENTAGES O F T OTA L L AND POLLEN

MEARE V ILLAGE WEST

0 I N

b e . 74" c h

+

ANAL . A .E .C . 1 980

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—

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0

c L„ . ( 24 , 42 — +- +

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+

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+ . 4 4 v

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▪

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J k P' ) / v oc

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4,

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MEARE V ILLAGE WEST

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C O

. 1

c r ,

c o

O D

C V

C V

C V

P ollen d iagram f rom M eare V illage W est 1 979 .

_ i i

f r /

•

+

1 /

a lder , b irch a nd w illow i ndicates a f en e nvironment w ith a reas o f o pen w ater. A fter a

p eak i n a quatics,

c hanges i n t he e nvironment a re s hown b y a n

i ncrease i n S phagnum s pores f ollowed b y am arked r ise i n E ricaceae a nd C orylus/Myrica p ollen , i n t he a rea. C oinciding

w ith

s uggesting t he d evelopment

t he

e stablishment

o f

o f

r aised

r enewed o r i ncreased a gricultural a ctivity.

o mbrogenous r aised b og

b og

t here

a ppears

t o

b e

I n t he c omposite d iagram t here

i s a d ecrease i n d ry-land p ollen a ccompanied b y a n i ncrease i n c learance h erbs, i nitially p articularly R umex a cetosa t ype, P lantago l anceolata a nd P teridium . F rom t his t ime o nwards t he e vidence i s p erhaps b est i nterpreted a s r eflecting a c omplex l andscape , w ith w idespread c learance h aving t aken p lace , b ut w ith s ome r egeration b eing a llowed t o o ccur g iving r elatively p oor s econdary w oodland. T ree-ring a nalysis ( Morgan 1 981) o f o ak s amples f rom t he s ite i ndicates t hat t he w ood w as f rom i mmature t rees, p robably l ess t han a h undred y ears o ld , a nd t his, t herefore , a ppears t o c onfirm t he s econdary s crubby n ature o f t he w oodland a s i ndicated b y t he p ollen r ecord. A h igh d egree o f s ensitivity i n g rowth r ate d isplayed i n t he a nnual r ings o f t wo a lder b oards, l ikely t o b e b oth f rom t he s ame t ree , s uggests t hat t he t ree p ossibly g rew i n a n a rea s ubject t o m arked e nvironmental c hange, p erhaps a long t he e dge o f t he ' island'.

I dentification o f w ood a nd c harcoal

( Orme,

C oles,

C aseldine a nd

B ailey 1 981) f rom t he s ite a grees w ith t he p ollen e vidence a nd p rovides f urther i nformation a bout t he c omposition o f t he w oodland c ommunities e xisting i n t he a rea a t t he t ime o f o ccupation. O ak a nd a lder o ccur f requently i n b oth t he w ood a nd c harcoal s amples, s pecies

a re w ell

r epresented

i n t he

w hile a n umber o f s hrubby

c harcoal r ecord ,

p articularly

C orylus

a vellana a nd P runus s pinosa. T hroughout

t his

r epresentation o f

p eriod

C ompositae T ubiflorae t ype , p ollen a re f requent. i s

a lso

o f

a ll h erbs,

p resent.

c learance

a ctivity

t here

i ndicating a n e xtension

C ompositae L iguliflorae t ype ,

i n

i s

i ncreased

o pen

g round.

a nd C henopodiaceae

C ereal p ollen , p roviding f irm e vidence o f c ultivation , C harcoal

i n

t he

s tratigraphy i ndicates

o ccupation v ery

c lose t o , i f n ot a ctually a t, t he s ite e xcavated. A f urther m arked r ise i n w eed p ollen c oincides w ith t he c hange t o b lack e arth

i n

t he

s tratigraphy.

I t

m ay

b e

t hat

s ome

o f

t he

p ollen w as

c ontributed b y w eed s pecies g rowing o n t he s ite r ather t han o n t he

' island',

b ut i t i s a lso p ossible t hat s ome o f t he p ollen w as b rought o n t o t he s ite b y m an o r a nimals, r ather t han b y a tmospheric m ovement. C henopodium s eeds ( details o f m acrofossil a nalysis i n S omerset L evels P apers 7 a nd u npublished) a re f requent i n m acro s amples f rom t he s ite, and w hilst t he c arbonised C henopodium w as p ossibly b rought C henopodium s eeds m ay p ollen o f

C ompositae

i n w ith

r epresent w eeds s pecies m ay

b e

s pecies s uch a s E upatorium c annabinum , c ultivation o n t he

' island'.

t he

c arbonised

g rowing o n t he d erived

f rom

g rain ,

s ite.

l ocally

t o t he s ite.

t he

g rowing w et-land

o r f rom o ther s pecies a ssociated w ith

C ereal p ollen a lso s hows a s harp i ncrease a nd

a gain m ay h ave b een t ransported b y a ir m ovement o r b y m an , c ereal g rain ,

w aterlogged E qually ,

p erhaps w ith

F urther r esearch i n t he f uture m ay h elp t o

d etermine t he s ource o f p ollen r ecorded a t t he s ite. A lthough r aised b og s pecies a re w ell r epresented i n t he p ollen r ecord, m acrofossil r emains a re s parse d uring t he p eriod o f o ccupation. c ontrast p resent

t he s eeds o f J uncus, t he p ollen o f w hich d oes n ot i n s ubstantial a mounts, s uggesting d isturbed

8 2

I n

p reserve , a re a nd p ossibly

p eriodically w etter g round.

F urther e vidence f or w etter c onditions i s

p rovided b y f ruits o f T ypha, s eeds o f L emna a nd o ogonia o f C hara. I n g eneral t he r esults a re i n a greement w ith t hose o f G odwin ( 1941, 1 955) a nd B eckett ( 1978) t hat t he s ite w as o n t he m argin o f ar aised b og . F inally , c arbonised p lant r emains ( Jones 1 981) a nd b ones ( Bailey , L evine a nd R ogers 1 981) r ecovered f rom t he s ite p rovide f urther i nformation a bout t he m ixed f arming e conomy i ndicated b y t he p ollen r ecord . P ossible c ultivars r epresented i n t he c arbonised p lant s pelt,

e mmer,

s ix-row h ulled b arley,

r ye, o ats,

r emains

i nclude

C eltic b ean a nd c hess.

H owever , t here i s n ot p ositive e vidence f or t he d eliberate c ultivation o f r ye, o ats, C eltic b ean o r c hess, a lthough t hey c ould h ave b een g rown a s s eparate c rops. T he m ain f aunal r emains p resent a t t he s ite ,

i n o rder o f p riority ,

a re

s heep/goat, c attle , p ig , d og a nd h orse. T he f aunal s pectrum i s g enerally c onsistent w ith a f airly o pen l andscape , a s i ndicated b y t he p ollen e vidence , w ith e xtensive c learings a nd p erhaps s ome a reas o f s crub a nd w oodland. F urther i nvestigation o f t he b otanical r emains f rom M eare , p articularly t he c arbonised r emains, m ay p rovide e vidence o f t he s tatus o f p otential c rops, f arming p ractice , c rop p rocessing a nd t he u se o f d ifferent a reas o f t he s ite , a nd h ence w ith t he w aterlogged r emains p rovide a d etailed p icture o f a l owland l andscape a nd e conomy i n s outhwest B ritain d uring t he I ron A ge.

A CKNOWLEDGEMENTS I t hank P rof. J .M. C oles a nd M iss B .J. O rme o f t he S omerset L evels P roject f or t heir h elp , M rs. S . R ouillard a nd M r. S . G oddard f or d rawing t he d iagrams, a nd M r . A . T eed f or p roducing t he f inal p rints o f t he d iagrams.

B IBLIOGRAPHY. A very,

M .

1 968

a nd d iscussion '. B ailey,

G .N .

' Excavations a t M eare E ast ,

S om . A rch. & N at. H ist. S oc L evine M .A .

1 966.

A n i nterim r eport

, p p 2 1-39 . 12

a nd R ogers S .J .Q .

1 981

' The f aunal r emains'

S omerset L evels P apers 7 , p p 3 8-44. B eckett,

S .C.

1 979

' The p alaeobotanical b ackground t o t he M eare L ake

V illage s ites' S omerset L evels P apers 5 , p p 1 8-24 . B ulleid, A . a nd G ray, H .

S t. G .

1 911

T he G lastonbury L ake V illage

V ol. 1 ( Glastonbury A ntiquarian S ociety). B ulleid ,

A .

a nd G ray ,

H .

S t.

G .

1 917

T he G lastonbury L ake V illage

V ol. 2 ( Glastonbury A ntiquarian S ociety). B ulleid, A . a nd G ray, H . S t. G .

1 948 T he M eare L ake V illage V ol.

( Taunton C astle , T aunton). E delman , C .H .

1 950 S oils o f t he N etherlands ( Amsterdam).

8 3

1

G odwin ,

H .

1 941

' Studies o f t he p ost-glacial h istory o f B ritish

v egetation V I C orrelations i n t he S omerset L evels' N ew P hytol 4 0 , p p 1 08-132. G odwin ,

H .

1 955

' Studies o f t he p ost-glacial h istory o f B ritish

v egetation X III T he M eare P ool r egion o f t he S omerset L evels' R oy. S oc. L ondon B 239 , p p 1 61-190. G ray ,

H .

S t.

G .

1 966

T he M eare L ake V illage V ol.

P hil. T rans.

3 ( edited

b y M .A .

C otton) ( Taunton C astle , T aunton). G ray,

H .

S t.G.

a nd B ulleid,

A .

1 953 T he M eare L ake V illage V ol.

2

( Taunton C astle , T aunton). H elbaek ,

H .

1 952

' Early c rops i n s outhern E ngland '

P roc P rehist S oc.

1 8 , p p 1 94-230. J ones , G . p p 3 3-35. M organ , V illage W est,

1 981

' The c arbonised p lant r emains' S omerset L evels P apers 7 ,

R .A .

1 981

' Tree-ring s tudies i n t he S omerset L evels:

1 979 ' S omerset L evels P apers 7 , p p 3 6-37.

O rme, B .J ., C oles , J .M ., C aseldine , A .E. a nd B ailey , G .N . V illage W est 1 979 ' S omerset L evels P apers 7 , p p 1 2-69 . O rme, B .J ., C oles , J .M . a nd S turdy , C .R .

P ercival , J . C .

1 934

1 9 17

1 979 .

1 981.

' Meare

' Meare V illage W est:

a

S omerset L evels P apers 5 , p p 6 -18 .

r eport o n r ecent w ork '

R eid ,

' Meare

W heat i n G reat B ritain

' Plants ,

( Reading).

w ild a nd c ultivated' i n B ulleid a nd G ray ,

6 25-630 .

8 4

p p.

C EREAL

B RAN A ND H UMAN F AECAL R EMAINS F ROM

A RCHAEOLOGICAL D EPOSITS -SOME P RELIMINARY O BSERVATIONS

A .R . H all, A .K .G. J ones a nd H .K . K enward

I NTRODUCTION D ickson ,

D ickson a nd B reeze

( 1979)

h ave

d escribed o rganic d ebris f rom

t he f ills o f a d itch a ssociated w ith t he R oman f ort o n t he A ntonine W all a t B earsden , S cotland, w hich a ppeared t o b e t he r emains o f f lour o r w holemeal b read.

B iochemical t ests ( Knights e t a l.

1 983) s howed t he p resence o f

c oprosterols, a nd e ggs o f a n i ntestinal n ematode w ere r ecorded f rom p ollen p reparations, s uggesting t hat t hese d ebris w ere f aecal i n o rigin. I nvestigations o f av ariety o f a rchaeological c ontexts o f R oman a nd m ediaeval d ate i n Y ork a nd e lsewhere h ave n ow l ed t o t he w hich m ay b e f lour ,

b read,

i dentification o f m aterial

o r t heir u ndigested r emains.

r esults o f t hese i nvestigations i nto d eposits

S ome p reliminary

c onfidently i nterpreted a s

h uman f aecal m aterial a re p resented h ere. T he p resence o f c ereal b ran i n d eposits f rom Y ork w as f irst b rought t o o ur a ttention b y M .A . ' flot' ( Kenward , H all

R obinson i n 1 976 ; h e o bserved b ran f ragments i n a a nd J ones 1 980) f rom p araffin-flotation o f a s ample

f rom t he 4 th c entury f ills o f t he R oman w ell i n S keldergate ( Carver , D onaghey a nd S umpter 1 979 ; H all , K enward a nd W illiams 1 980). S imilar m aterial w as l ater r ecorded f rom t he m ajority o f s amples o f t he s ame f ills d uring s orting f or p lant m acrofossils. R emains o f i nsects a ssociated w ith s tored g rain a nd o ther s tored p roducts w ere v ery a bundant i n t hese f ills. T his c omponent o f t he i nsect a ssemblage w as m uch l ike t he f auna r ecorded f rom t he R oman g rain w arehouse a t C oney S treet,

Y ork,

i n d eposits w hich w ere u ndoubtedly t he

r emains o f a l arge q uantity o f b eetle-infested g rain ( Hall , 1 976;

K enward a nd W illiams 1 979).

R .A .

a nd K enward

I t t hus s eems t hat s poiled g rain ( rather

t han f lour) w as t hrown i nto t he S keldergate w ell.

S eeds o f w eeds o f a rable

c ultivation s uch a s c orncockle ( Agrostemma g ithago) w ere a lso r ecorded f rom t he w ell f ills a nd p robably e ntered w ith g rain r esidues. S imilar a ssociations o f r emains h ave s ince b een f ound i n t he f ills o f a s econd t imber-lined R oman w ell a t a s ite a t t he B edern ,

Y ork ,

a lthough g rain p ests

w ere l ess a bundant t han a t S keldergate. C ereal b ran h as a lso b een r ecovered f rom p its o f v arious d ates f rom e xcavations a t T he B edern a nd 1 6-22 C oppergate, Y ork , a nd f rom m ediaeval H ull ( Scale L ane,

U nderdown

1 980;

Q ueen S treet s ite ,

u npublished) a nd R ichmond ,

N . Y orkshire ( Bailey H ouse s ite , u npublished). T he f ills o f t he B edern a nd C oppergate p its i ncluded o rganic d ebris, o ften c oncreted , w hose n ature w as a t f irst e nigmatic. T he c oncretions w ere d isaggregated b y d ilute o r c oncentrated h ydrochloric a cid g iving, i n a ddition t o a r esidue o f f ine o rganic d ebris,

s light e ffervescence a nd a y ellow s olution .

T heir c hemical

n ature h as y et t o b e i nvestigated b ut p reliminary X -ray d iffraction a nalysis o f s imilar m aterial f rom C oppergate h as s hown t hem t o b e c emented b y a f orm o f

c alcium p hosphate.

M acroscopically,

h owever ,

85

t he b ulk o f

t he m aterial

p roved t o b e c ereal b ran . D ETAILED A NALYSES M ore

d etailed a nalyses w ere m ade o f m aterial f rom t wo p its a t

t he t wo

s ites i n Y ork. 1 6-22 C oppergate A s ample w as 2 0178)

t aken o f

t he a pparently

r ather h omogeneous f ill

o f a s mall u nlined p it p rovisionally d ated t o

c entury.

S ub-samples

o f

t his

f ill e xamined i n t he

t he

( context

1 0th o r

1th 1

l aboratory h ad a

y ellowish-brown c olour ( Munsell c olour 2 .5Y 5 -3/1-4, ' dark g rey' t o ' olive b rown'), b ecoming m uch d arker o n e xposure t o a ir ( 10YR 2 /1, ' black'). T he c olour i n s itu w as r ecorded a s 1 0YR 3 /3

( 'dark b rown').

I t s hould b e n oted

t hat t his m aterial d id n ot a ppear i n t he f ield t o b e t he t ypical

' green c ess'

c ommonly r ecorded b y e xcavators. I t c onsisted o f s oft, a lmost w holly o rganic m aterial w ith b rittle c oncretions, e specially t owards t he m arg ins o f t he p it. T he m aterial w as s omewhat r eminiscent o f f ine-textured h erbivore d ung, a nd i n p laces l arge f ragments o f g rass-like p lant m atter w ere o bserved, s ometimes a s i mpressions i n t he c oncretions. o f w ood a nd s mall s tones, p it d uring u se.

T here w ere a lso s ome f ragments

t hese p robably h aving f allen f rom t he w alls o f t he

P lant m acrofossils F or a m ore d etailed e xamination ,

2 50 g o f t he s oft, u nconcreted f ill w as

w ashed o nto a 3 00 m icron-mesh s ieve a nd d isaggregated i n w ater. S mall a mounts w ere s canned u nder a s tereo m icroscope a nd t he b ulk o f t he m aterial f ound t o b e f ragments

o f

b ran a bout

1 -2 m m i n l argest

w ith s ome w hole o r n early w hole c ereal p eriderm s acs. a s g lossy f ragments o n s plit s urfaces i dentification o f

o f t he c oncretions.

t he m aterial i s c onsidered b elow ,

t he b ran t here w ere ( corncockle) s eeds.

d imension ,

t ogether

B ran w as a lso v isible p .

T he m icroscopic

9 3.

T ogether w ith

n umerous f ragments o f t he t esta o f A grostemma g ithago T he l argest w ere a bout 2 m m s quare a nd i t w as e stimated

( by s canning i n ap etri d ish o ver s quared p aper) t hat t hey f ormed a bout 4 % b y v olume o f c orncockle B achem

t he r esidue a fter s ieving. s eeds a s a f lour c ontaminant

( 1961),

K nörzer

( 1967)

T he p ossible s ignificance o f h as b een d iscussed b y G odwin a nd

a nd W ilson

( 1975).

T hese a uthors

t hat p oisonous s apotoxins i n t he s eeds m ay r ender f lour ,

i ndicate

a nd f ood m ade f rom

i t, i njurious t o h ealth. A lthough i t h as b een s uggested t hat c ooking m ay a ffect t he p oisonous p rinciple , t his a ppears n ot t o h ave b een i nvestigated r igorously.

I n a ddition t o A grostemma ,

t here w ere s maller n umbers o f s eeds

o r s eed f ragments o f o ther a rable w eeds

s uch a s

c otula),

c onvolvulus),

b lack

b indweed

( Polygonum

s tinking m ayweed a nd

c orn

( Anthemis m arigold

( Chrysanthemum s egetum). S mall n umbers o f s eeds o f w aterside a nd m arsh p lants w ere a lso p resent. T hese

i ncluded

s pike-rush

( Eleocharis

p alustris),

m arsh

( Hydrocotyle v ulgaris) a nd m arsh m arigold ( Caltha p alustris). v ery l ikely t o h ave b een c onsumed i ncidentally w ith f ood, e ntered t he f ills s urrounding s oil. d eposits o f

o f

p ennywort

T hey a re n ot b ut m ay h ave

t he p it i n a n umber o f o ther w ays, p ossibly f rom t he T he r emains o f s uch p lants a re a bundant i n m ediaeval

t he k ind i nto w hich t he p it w as c ut a nd a re d iscussed,

e xample, b y H all, K enward, W illiams a nd G reig

f or

( 1983).

L arger p lant r emains w ere r epresented b y o ccasional f ruitstones o f

8 6

P runus s p.

( probably a p rimitive p lum , P .

f ragments o f a pple , M alus. w hich

i t

h as

p robably

s o

L otus

r emains h ave

f ar

b een

( birdsfoot

d omestica), a nd s eeds a nd e ndocarp

T here w ere a lso m any c orollas o f l egume f lowers, i mpossible t refoils)

t o o r

b een r ecorded f rom h orse

i dentify

f urther.

T rifolium

( clovers,

d ung f rom a w ell

T hey a re m ost e tc.).

S uch

i n R oman L ancaster

( Wilson 1 979), a pparently h aving s urvived p assage t hrough t he e quine g ut. W hilst t he f lowers r ecorded f rom t he C oppergate p it f ill w ere s eemingly r ather b etter p reserved t han t hose f rom L ancaster,

t hey l acked c alyces,

p erhaps s uggesting t hat t hey h ad b ecome d etached f rom t he h eads b efore e ntering t he f ills. I t i s, h owever , n ot a t a ll o bvious h ow t hese f lowers c ame t o b e i n t he p it.

A c omplete l ist o f p lants r ecorded i s g iven

i n T able 1 . I nsects B esides p uparia ,

p lant

r emains,

b eetles a nd a phids,

t here

w ere

m any

i nvertebrates,

i ncluding

f ly

a nd a lso s mall u nidentifiable f ragments o f f ish

b one. A f urther i nvestigation w as c arried o ut o n t he i nsect r emains e xtracted f rom 1 .25 k g o f t he d eposit, u sing a s hort t reatment i n d ilute h ydrochloric a cid t o b reak u p c oncretions. T he s ample w as s ieved t o 3 00 m icron , a nd t he r etent b oiled t o p revent p lant m aterial f rom f loating. ( Kenward e t a l.

1 980) w as t hen c arried o ut, t he

P araffin-flotation

' f lot' b eing s orted u nder t he

l ow p ower o f a s tereo m icroscrope. A v ariety o f i nvertebrate f ossils w as r ecovered, i ncluding a n a ssemblage o f b eetles a nd b ugs ( Table 2 ); t he l atter a ssemblage i s t oo s mall f or d etailed i nterpretation b ut s ome t entative c onclusions m ay b e d rawn , u sing t he m ethods d escribed b y K enward ( 1978). T he v alue o f t he i ndex o f d iversity ( Fisher's a lpha; F isher, C orbet a nd W illiams ( 1943), c alculated u sing a c omputer p rogram w ritten b y A RH) i s 8 3.6 , w ith a t wo s tandard e rror r ange ( that i s, 9 5% c on fidence l imits) o f 4 9 .41 17.8. T his i s a r ather h igh v alue, a s i s t hat f or t he p ercentage o f ' outdoor' i nsects ( OB = 1 7.0%) ( compare w ith t he r ange o f v alues g iven b y K enward 1 978). I t a ppears, t herefore, t hat t he a ssemblage o riginated i n a r andom w ay ,

r ather t han a s a b reeding c ommunity i n o r n ear

t he p it.

T he

i nsects m ay b e ' background' f auna, o r a m ixture o f t his w ith r emains i ntroduced w ith r ubbish o r s oil. T he p it w as d ug i nto d eposits l ikely t o h ave b een r ich i n i nsect r emains, a nd f rom w hich s ome m ay h ave b een d erived. I t i s

e vident f rom T able

2 t hat

a nd a lthough a l arge p roportion o f

n o

s pecies

a re p articularly a bundant,

t he f auna c omprises s pecies o bligatorily

o r f acultatively a ssociated w ith f oul r otting m atter a nd d ung , t here a re n o m ore t han a re f ound i n m ost w aterlogged u rban d eposits o f t he e arly m ediaeval p eriod.

I ndeed , t he a ssemblage a s aw hole i s t ypical o f t hat t ime.

I t

t hus a ppears

l ikely t hat w hile s ome o f t he C oleoptera m ay h ave b een

a ttracted t o t he f oul o dour o f t he c ess-pit, a ccidentally o r i ncidentally.

t he g reater p roportion e ntered

T his i s n ot s urprising -if t he p it c ontained

l iquid w aste o r a s lurry i t i s u nlikely t hat b eetles c ould h ave b red i n i t a nd t he e ntire a ssemblage w ould,

i n t he m ost l iteral s ense,

c onsist o f

' background f auna'. I t

i s,

o n t he o ther h and ,

q uite p ossible t hat t he f lies w ere a ttracted

t o , o r b reeding i n , c ess. A f ew p sychodid f ly w ings w ere r ecorded , b ut while t hese i nsects h ave g ained t he c ommon n ame ' sewage f lies' a nd a re a bundant i n s ewage, r ange

o f

h abitats.

t he f amily a s aw hole m ay b e e ncountered i n a v ery w ide T he r emaining D iptera

8 7

( Table

2 ) w ere a ll p uparia

( identified b y P .

S kidmore) a nd i t

i s q uite l ikely t hat

t he l arvae o f

s ome

f ound s uitable c onditions f or d evelopment i n t he p it. O f t he r ecorded s pecies, t he ' latrine f ly' F annia s calaris i s o ften a ssociated w ith h uman f aeces, a lthough i t w ill d evelop i n o ther m aterials. M uscina s tablulans i s a lso s trongly a ssociated w ith m an , w hile S epsis p unctum a nd C opromyza e quina a re a ssociated w ith h erbivore d ung. I t s eems l ikely t hat b ran-rich h uman f aeces, o f t he k ind b elieved t o h ave c onstituted t he f ill o f t his p it, w ould h ave p rovided a h abitat m ore l ike h erbivore d ung t han w ould t he f aeces r esulting f rom t he t ypical 2 0th c entury w estern ' trash f ood' d iet. T he

s mall g roup o f

a ssemblage.

a phids

f orm a n i ntriguing

T hese h ave b een e xamined b y D r.

O 'Donnell w ho o bserved ( in

c omponent V .F.

o f

t he

i nsect

E astop a nd M r D .J.

l itt.) t hat t he a phids c ontained t he s ilken

c ocoons o f p arasitic w asps, a nd i n s ome c ases t he r emains o f t he p arasite l arvae. T he r ecorded a phid s pecies, t ogether w ith t heir p arasites, a re l isted i n T able 2 . H olcaphis a phids f eed o n g rasses, w hile t he o ther s pecies a re a ssociated w ith

c rucifers

p iece

o f

a nd

f requently o ccur

e vidence.

T he a phids

o n c abbages.

c ontained m ature

T his

i s

p arasites,

a n

i nteresting

a nd

t hus w ere

i mmobilized a nd p robably a ttched t o t heir p lant h ost. M oreover , t hey w ere h ardly l ikely t o h ave l ived l ong a fter e ntering t he p it, s o t hat i t s eems p robable t hat t hey a rrived o n l eaves. P erhaps t he c rucifer a phids h ad p assed t hrough t he h uman g ut a fter h aving b een a ccidentally e aten w ith g reens. I f

g roups

o f

s pecies

o f

a phids

o r o ther p ests

s pecific

t o

s oft

f oods

l ike b rassicas c an b e f ound , t his m ay p rove t o b e t he o nly e vidence f or t heir c onsumption .

T he s eeds o f s uch p lants a re o ften a bundant i n u rban m ediaeval

d eposits ( Hall e t a l. 1 983) ( and i ndeed a re r epresented i n t he p resent a ssemblage) b ut s eem u nlikely t o h ave b een u sed a s f ood , u nless i ncidentally a s g rain c ontaminants. A lthough , i n t he p resent c ase, i ntroduction o f t he a phids b y o ther m eans c annot b e r uled o ut, t here i s c learly s cope f or f uture w ork o n t hese h itherto n eglected r emains. M ention m ay b e m ade o f a s ingle b eetle w hich m ay h ave o riginated i n f aeces:

av ery s mall a nd c leanly b roken f ragment o f a n a dult h ead o f a

m ealworm ,

T enebrio s p.

f lour. r egions;

I t i s q uite p ossible t hat t his h ad b een m illed w ith

I nsect f ragments a re o ften f ound i n f lour ( especially i n t ropical s ee H all 1 955, a nd R aymond , S pickett a nd W ard 1 954 f or e xamples)

a nd w ere n o d oubt e ven m ore p revalent i n t he p ast. I t i s, i ndeed, s urprising t hat m illed i nsect f ragments a re n ot c ommonly f ound i n c ess d eposits b earing i n m ind t hat t he h uman g ut p roduces n o e nzymes d igesting c hitin a nd

t hat

i nsect

f ragments

t he g uts o f i nsectivorous v ertebrates. o f

e xample, a bundant

S itophilus

p ass v irtually u nchanged t hough

i n t he R oman p eriod ,

t here i s a

t he c haracteristic p ests o f s tored g rain

g ranarius

o f

O ne r eason m ay b e t hat t he m ajority

c ess p its s o f ar e xamined h ave b een o f e arly m ediaeval d ate:

g rowing b ody o f e vidence t hat

c apable

and O ryzaephilus

s ubsequently b ecame

s urinamensis), r are

( for

a lthough

o r e ven e xtinct

i n

B ritain , o nly r eappearing i n l arge n umbers i n p ost m ediaeval t imes ( Kenward , u npublished). P ollen A ttempts w ere a lso m ade t o i solate p ollen f rom t he C oppergate p it f ill. T he p ollen a nalyses ( Table 3 ) r evealed t hat a bout 7 0% o f t he t otal s um w as o f C erealia t ype; p oor p reservation m ade f urther i dentification i mpossible,

8 8

m ost

o f

t he

g rains o bserved b eing

' crumpled'

( sensu C ushing

1 967).

T hat

c ereal p ollen m ay b e e asily t ransported w ith c ereals a fter h arvesting h as b een s hown b y R obinson a nd H ubbard ( 1977), a lthough t he q uantity l ikely t o r emain o n t he g rains a fter t hreshing i s u nknown . M oreover , e xperiments b y G reig ( 1982) a nd K rzywinski ( 1979 a nd p ers. c omm .) h ave p roved t hat c ereal p ollen c an w ithstand b oth c ooking a nd p assage t hrough t he h uman g ut. W ith

t he

c ereal

p ollen w ere s mall a mounts

o f

a v ariety o f h erbaceous

t ypes, n otably g rasses ( Gramineae), r ibwort ( Plantago l anceolata), C ruciferae , R anunculaceae , c ornflower ( Centaurea c yanus), a nd v arious o ther p ollen t axa o f C ompositae. L ike t he w eed s eeds, t hey m ay h ave e ntered t he f lour a t t he t ime o f m illing f rom w eed f lowers a nd s eeds u navoidably r etained w ith t he c leaned g rain , o r a s c ontaminant p ollen o n t he g rains ( cf. d ata o f R obinson a nd H ubbard l oc. c it., t able 1 ), a lthough i t i s p ossible t hat a p roportion o f t his c omponent o riginated i n p lants g rowing o n t he s ite , o r e ven o ther i mported m aterial s uch a s s traw f or t hatch. O f a ll b iological r emains , p ollen s eems t he m ost l ikely t o h ave f ound i ts w ay i nto a c ess p it c ompletely b y a ccident, w hether t he p it w as c overed o r o pen t o t he s ky. P arasite e ggs T he p ollen p reparations

c ontained a bundant w hipworm e ggs

( Trichuris

s p.). W hipworms l ive i n t he l arge i ntestine a nd c aecum o f a r ange o f m ammals i ncluding m an , e ggs b eing s hed i nto t he l umen o f t he g ut a nd p assed w ith f aeces. a rchaeological

T richuris e ggs h ave b een r ecorded f rom a n umber o f s ites ( for a r eview , s ee J ones 1 982) a nd c learly h ave

c onsiderable s ignificance i n u nderstanding p ast h ealth a nd h ygiene. T richuris e ggs p reserve r emarkably w ell.

I n t he p resent c ase , t he e ggs

h ad w ithstood t he r igours o f p ollen p reparation , c onfirming t he o bservations o f J .H . S pecific ( Soulsby

D ickson ( pers.

i ncluding a cetolysis, c omm .) a nd G reig ( 1981).

i dentification r elies u pon t he s ize a nd p roportions o f t he e ggs 1 965). M easurements o f 1 00 e ggs f rom t he C oppergate m aterial ,

e xtracted a nd m ounted i n w ater f ollowing a m odified S toll t echnique ( MAFF 1 977), g ave m ean v alues f or l ength a nd b readth w ithin a m icron o f t hose f or T . t richiura. T his i s t he s pecies p arasitizing m an a nd ( experimentally) p igs ( Table 4 , s ample C l, a nd d ata f rom B eer 1 976). B y c ontrast,

e ggs i n t he p ollen p reparation ( C2) f rom t he s ame s ample

w ere s maller t han t hose o f a ny t richurids l ikely t o b e r ecorded i n a bundance f rom a rchaeological d eposits. A n i ntuitive e xplanation o f t his d isparity i s t hat t he e ggs h ave s hrunk d uring p ollen p reparation . F urthermore , w hile A scaris ( maw w orm ) e ggs w ere a bundant i n s ample C l, n one w as o bserved i n t he s ample p repared f or p ollen , s uggesting t hat t hey h ad b een d estroyed b y a cetolysis. H owever, l ater e xamination o f a nother s ample p repared f or p ollen a nalysis p roved t hat A scaris e ggs m ay w ithstand t his t reatment. H aving

d iscovered

t hat

t he

d imensions

o f

a ncient

t richurid

o va

a re

a ffected b y c hemical t reatment, i t w as d ecided t o t est i f m ounting m edium a ffects e ggs s ize a s i s t he c ase w ith p ollen ( Moore a nd W ebb 1 978 , 2 7). T o t his e nd , a f urther s ubsample w as t reated f or p ollen a nalysis a nd w as d ivided a fter a cetolysis; p art w as m ounted i n g lycerine j elly ( Table 4 , s ample C 3) w hile t he o ther s ubsample w as d ehydrated i n t ertiary b utyl a lcohol a nd m ounted i n s ilicone o il ( C4). F igure 1 g ives a p lot o f t he m eans, r anges a nd o ne-standard-error-ranges o f t he m eans f or t he l ength a nd w idth o f e ggs f or t hree s amples ( C1, C 3 , C 4).

89

C • 1

C

U )

^ I

U ) › ,

e -N

2g •

1 (

c o (a i - c a f s I t ), w

••••

0

0 C )

P

1 4 i

4 -

0

. c

e t . e ,. . . „ . ) o . . ,t 0

1

a )

c4 1 / 1

c n

a c i

c u

0

4t e4 i 1E i u u ), t o 1

c L )

.. .. g

0

ei

g

)

"

0 N

l

*

.,

e

V

W

4

0

..

4

g

C

e

.

r 0"4

7

9

. 4 r j w82 ( 1)

C V 4 ) ( t i

( I)

• ri 4 1

0

.c l i

t r)

I

t

0

i f C . )

4 I 0

fo 1 4

C l ) " 0 a ) a . ) T — i

. . . ., c o RC.) 4

• r I 4 i N 4 Q . ) • . • . . .

M 4 . 1 ( 4 1 c p N 4 4 1

. ( 1 )

g

' V 4 I

C i 2

I 1 0

C D

) 4' 4 a 4 T i 3 1 I i C U C C U 4 4 0

4 / 1

0

i r z

• ) 1

-0

Q J

Z /

c i p

. C I )

A J i c )

T he p ollen p reparation t reatments

c aused

c onsiderable

s hrinkage,

s uch

t hat

t he t reated a nd n on-treated e ggs w ere s ignificantly d ifferent i n s ize. W ithin t he t reated s amples t here w as a s ignificant d ifference b etween t he t wo s amples

m ounted i n s ilicone o il ,

s uggesting t hat

s mall

d ifferences

t echnique o f p reparation m ay h ave a m arked e ffect o n e gg s ize, C 2 ( silicone o il) a nd C 3 ( glycerine j elly), T hese

r esults

s uggest

t hat

i n

t he

w hile s amples

p roduced s imilar s ized o va.

s pecific

i dentification o f t richurid o va

f ound i n p ollen p reparations c annot b e b ased o n e gg d imensions a nd , a s t here a re f ew m orphological c haracteristics, s pecific i dentification s hould n ot b e a ttempted.

H owever ,

o nly s mall n umbers o f o va h ave b een m easured i n t hese

t ests, a nd d ata p ublished f or m odern o va ( Beer 1 976) a re a lso b ased o n s mall p opulations, s o f urther w ork i s c ertainly r equired. B edern p it-fill P ollen a nalysis o f a p iece o f c ontext B edern,

1 505, Y ork,

s trongly c oncreted m aterial f rom a p it,

d ated b y p ottery t o t he 1 4th c entury, a t t he s ite a t T he r evealed a s pectrum e ssentially s imilar t o t hat f rom t he

C oppergate s ample.

C ereal p ollen h ere f ormed 6 0% o f

t he a ssemblage.

P oorer p reservation m eant t hat t he p ollen w as m ore d ifficult t o c ount, h owever , n oting

a nd a s um o f o nly 1 79 g rains i s g iven ( Table 3 ).

t hat,

w hilst

t he b ulk o f

a ssemblages c onsits o f h erb p ollen , r ecorded,

I t m ay b e w orth

t he p ollen f rom t he C oppergate a nd B edern s mall a mounts

p resumably r epresenting a ir-borne

o f t ree p ollen w ere a lso

' background ' p ollen r eaching t he

s ites. T richuris

e ggs w ere a bundant

p opulation m easured

( Table 4 ,

i n t he

s ample B )

B edern p reparations,

b ut t he

g ave r ather l arger v alues

f or m ean

l ength a nd w idth t han t hose f or t he e ggs f rom t he C oppergate p ollen s ample ( C2), a nd c loser i n s ize t o t hose o f t he w ater-disaggregated p opulation ( Cl). T he n ature o f t he m aterial f rom t he p it a t t he B edern u nfortunately r endered w ater-disaggregation i mpracticable a nd t reatment w ith d ilute s odium h ydroxide a nd h ydrochloric a cid w as n ecessary. T he d ifferences i n e gg s ize i n t hese t wo g roups

a lmost

c ertainly r elate

t o

b oth

c onditions

o f

p reservation a nd

m ethod o f p reparation . U nfortunately,

t he

B edern m aterial

w as

n ot

s uited

t o

s eed

o r

i nsect

a nalysis.

D ISCUSSION

t hese

T he h igh

c oncentration a nd

l arge

o verall q uantities

o f

c ereal b ran i n

s amples

f rom Y ork c learly

p oint

t o

o f

c ereals

d iet o f

t he

i mportance

t wo q uite s eparate g roups o f m edieval t ownspeople:

i n t he

1 0/11th c entury

a rtisans a t C oppergate a nd 1 4th c entury V icars C horal a t t he B edern. H owever , i t s hould b e r emembered t hat t he s amples r epresent o nly t hat p ortion o f t he f ood w hich w as r esistant b oth t o d igestion a nd t o s ubsequent a ttack b y m icro-organisms a nd c hemical c onditions i n t he g round.

A spects o f t his h ave

b een d iscussed b y C alder ( 1977) w ith r espect t o c omponents o f t he p rehistoric M aori d iet. I t

i s

i nteresting

t o

n ote

t he

g reat

v ariation

c omposition o f p it f ills c onfidently r egarded a s n umbers o f

' cess'.

o bserved

i n

t he

F or e xample ,

t he

r emains o f e dible f ruits v ary f rom i nsignificant

o f t he C oppergate p it) t o i mmense;

( as i n t he c ase

a n e xample o f t he l atter i s a fforded b y a

9 1

s econd ,

l ate-mediaeval

p it

f rom t he

B edern s ite

( unpublished

d ata),

w hich

y ielded a v ariety o f s eeds o f f ruits s uch a s f ig ( Ficus), g rape ( Vitis), s trawberry ( Fragaria) a nd b lackberry ( Rubus f ruticosus), a s w ell a s b ran , b oth f ree a nd c oncreted.

W hen c arried o ut o n a l arger s cale,

a nalyses

o f

t his k ind w ill s urely p oint t o i mportant s ocio-economic d ifferences. I nsect

r emains

m ay

a lso

v ary

g reatly

i n a bundance

w hile t hose i n Y ork s o f ar e xamined y ielded f ew i nsects,

b etween

c ess-pits;

s amples f rom s everal

p its i n O slo , N orway, c ontained i mmense n umbers ( Kenward f orthcoming). S uch d ifferences m ay p rovide u seful c lues a s t o c onditions i n p its d uring t heir u se a nd t hus, f or e xample, t o t heir i mportance a s a s ource o f d isease, i f n ot o f s tench. A nother n otable o bservation i s

t hat n either o f

t he p its c onsidered i n

d etail y ielded a ny g ood e vidence f or t hat w hich i s e uphemistically t ermed t oilet t issue. L arge q uantities o f w oven w ool f abric o r m oss ( mainly T huidium t amariscinum a nd H ylocomium s plendens) h ave b een r ecorded v ariously f rom p its

i n m ediaeval B ergen ( Krzywinski

1 979 a nd t his v olume),

O slo a nd

D ublin ( Hall u npublished) a nd t here s eems l ittle d oubt t hat t hey s erved h ygienic p urposes. T he C oppergate p it f ill c ontained s ome g rass r emains ( and g rass-feeding a phids), h owever , w hich m ay h ave o riginated i n h ay o r f resh g rass u sed a s a nal w ipes. T he r esults o btained d uring t he p reliminary i nvestigations c learly d emonstrate

t hat

a rchaeological

f aecal

d eposits

m aterial b y

c an

r elatively

b e

p ositively

s imple m eans.

i dentified

f rom

T his m ay p rove

p articularly u seful w here p reservation i s l ess g ood t han a t t he s ites d iscussed h ere. T aken s eparately , t he r esults o f p ollen , p lant m acrofossil a nd p arasite e gg a nalyses m ay n ot p rovide u nambiguous i ndications o f t he n ature o f t he d eposits b eing e xamined , b ut t ogether t hey a ppear i ndisputable. A n e xample o f t he a pplication o f s uch c ombined a nalyses h as b een i n t he i dentification o f a c oncreted s tool , a lmost c ertainly h uman , S candinavian d eposits a t 6 -8 P avement, Y ork ( Jones 1 983). N ot s urprisingly,

p erhaps,

f rom A nglo-

t he i nsect r emains s how l ittle p romise a s a

m eans o f r ecognizing h uman e xcreta, a lthough f lies a nd a phids c ertainly w arrant f urther i nvestigation a nd t he r emains o f b reeding c ommunities o f i nsects m ay b e i mportant i ndicators o f p recise c onditions w ithin p its. A lthough i n t he i nstances c ited h ere t he e xcavators s trongly s uspected t hat t he p it f ills w ere f aecal, t he r esults c an n ow b e a pplied t o d eposits w here f aeces m ay h ave b een i ncorporated w ith o ther m aterial o r w here t he a rchaeological e vidence i s i nadequate.

I nvestigations o f p it f ills c learly

h ave a n i mportant r ole b oth a t t he i nterpretive l evel, i n d etermining t he u se o f p its, a nd m ore b roadly f or t he s tudy o f p ast d iet, h ygiene a nd p ublic h ealth.

A PPENDIX A n ote o n t he i dentification o f c ereal T here

i s

n o

l arge

and

' bran'

r eadily

a ccessible

l iterature

o n

t he

i dentification o f p lant t issues s uch a s t hose f rom c ereal g rains s o i t m ay b e u seful t o o utline h ere s ome o bservations m ade d uring t he i nvestigation o f t he c ereal

' bran ' d iscussed i n t his p aper .

9 2

A ll

t he

f ossil m aterial

e xamined

c onsisted

o f

i rregular

f ragments

o f

r eddish-brown o r s traw-coloured t issue, m ostly 1 -2 mm i n t heir l argest d imension . A t m agnifications o f x 400 , t he f ragments w ere f ound t o c omprise t wo l ayers o f n arrowly e longate-rectangular t o s omewhat p olygonal c ells, c rossing e ach o ther o bliquely o r a pproximately a t r ight a ngles. T hese f ormed a c haracteristic c riss-cross p attern r ather l ike a ' chain-link f ence' w hich ,

o nce r ecognized,

w as r eadily s een a t l ow m agnifications a nd o n b roken

s urfaces o f t he w hole c oncretions. T he

f ragments w ere

c ompared w ith b ran m aterial

f rom a v ariety o f

w holemeal f lours a nd b aked p roducts,

i ncluding b read a nd

' biscuits',

a s w ith o atmeal a nd p earl b arley,

a lthough t he c omparison w as f ar f rom

a s w ell

e xhaustive. T wo w orks o n t he a nalysis o f c attle f ood c omponents ( Morris 1 917; F ielding a nd P arkinson 1 929) a nd a r ecent s tudy o f t he p ericarp o f c arbonized a nd n on-carbonized c ereals a lso

f ound u seful

f ossil m aterial. b y E sau ( 1965,

( Körber-Grohne a nd P iening

i n u nderstanding t he

c ell

s tructure

o f

1 980) w ere

b oth m odern a nd

T he s tructure o f t he m ature k ernel i n w heat i s c onsidered 5 91-2) a nd B radbury, C ull a nd M acMasters ( 1956 a , b ).

H owever , t here i s c onsiderable v ariation i n t he n omenclature u sed f or t he n umerous l ayers o f t issue d istinguishable i n t he f ruit a nd s eed c oats o f t he c ereal

c aryopsis

a nd

c areful

m icroscopy

i s

n eeded

t o

i dentify

t he

c haracteristic c ells o f e ach l ayer. I t w as c oncluded t hat t he f ossil m aterial m ust b e f rom t he

' spermoderm '

o f t he g rain . T his l ayer f orms t he i nner p art o f t he ' bran ', u nderneath t he p ericarp, a nd i t d erives f rom t he i nner i ntegument o f t he c aryopsis ( Esau 1 965,

5 92;

w heat

B radbury e t a l.

o pp.

c it., 3 38 , 3 53 a nd f ig. 3 1).

( and t o a l esser e xtent a lso r ye)

b eing c oloured,

t he s permoderm i s

i t i s r egarded b y F ielding a nd P arkinson ( 1929,

d ifficult t o d istinguish i n g rain m aterial i n c attle f oods. r eadily b read,

A lthough i n

c haracterized b y

o bserved

i n

b oth w heat

p reparations

a nd r ye.

m ade

I ndeed ,

f rom c ommercial

w holemeal

i n a p reparation o f

4 9) a s

H owever , i t w as f lour a nd

c ommercial w heat

b ran o n w hich s trong h ydrochloric a cid h ad b een u sed t o c lean t he b ran , s permoderm w as,

i f

anything,

r endered m ore

t he

c learly v isible u nder t he

m icroscope , f or t he o verlying t hickened , p itted , r ectangular ' cross-cells' o f t he p ericarp b ecame l ess d istinct w ith t ime. T his i s b orne o ut b y t he o bservations o f N ilsson-Ehle a nd Z euschner , a s q uoted b y K rauss ( 1933), w ho f ound t hat t reatment o f c ereal p ericarp w ith s ulphuric a cid r esulted i n t he s eparation t ube-cells,

o f

t wo

d istinct

l ayers,

o ne

c onsisting

t he o ther o f t he s permoderm .

o f

t he

c ross-cells

a nd

I t w as t hought t hat i n t he f ossil

m aterial t his m ight h ave r esulted f rom i ts p resumed p assage t hough t he g ut, b ut o bservations o n w heat b ran f rom o ne s ample o f t he a uthor's

( ARH) f aeces

f ollowing m eals i ncluding w holemeal b read i ndicated t hat

t he

c ross-cells

a ppear

p ost-depositional

g enerally

t o

s urvive

d igestion .

I t

m ay

b e

t hat

d ecay i s i mportant f or t he d estruction o f t his t issue. r emembered

t hat

t his

c omparison h as

M oreover , i t m ust b e

b een o f m odern c ereals w ith R oman a nd

m edieval m aterial a nd t here m ay b e d ifferences c onnected w ith t he s pecies o r v ariety o f g rain u sed i n e ach c ase. b ran

r esidues

m ore

f ully

t o

T here i s c learly a n eed t o i nvestigate

e stablish

w hether

o ther

c ereals

m ay

b e

i dentified.

A CKNOWLEDGEMENTS T he a uthors a re g rateful t o M ark R obinson a nd J ames G reig a nd t he s upervisors a nd e xcavators o f t he Y ork A rchaeological T rust f or t heir h elpful

9 3

d iscussions a nd c o-operation ,

t o D r . V .F. E astop , M r. D .J . O 'Donnell a nd M r.

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K öln:

T able 1

L ist o f p lants r ecorded a s m acrofossil r emains f rom 0 .25kg o f t he

f ills o f p it ( context 2 0178), 1 6-22 C oppergate , Y ork . A ll w ere r ecorded a s f ragments o f o ne o r a f ew i ndividuals o nly. N omenclature f ollows C lapham , T utin a nd W arburg ( 1962) a nd S mith ( 1978). A ethusa c ynapium L .

( mericarp)

f ool's p arsley

A grostemma g ithago L .

( seeds)

c orncockle

A nthemis c otula L .

( achenes)

s tinking m ayweed

A triplex s p(p).

( seeds)

o raches

c f B ellis p erennis L .

( achene)

d aisy

B rassica s p ( p).

( seeds)

c abbages e tc.

C altha p alustris L .

( seed)

m arsh m arigold

C arex s pp.

( nutlets)

s edges

C entaurea s p(p).

( achenes)

c ornflower , k napweeds, e tc.

C henopodium a lbum L .

( seeds)

f at h en

C hrysanthemum s egetum L .

( achenes)

c orn m arigold

E leocharis p alustris s .l.

( nutlets)

s pike-rush

G ramineae ( caryopses)

( mericarp)

g rasses

H ydrocotyle v ulgaris L .

( mericarp)

m arsh p ennywort

L apsana c ommunis

( achenes)

n ipplewort

L .

L eguminosae i ndet.

( corollas)

L inum u sitatissimum L .

( seeds)

c ultivated f lax

M alus s p.

( endocarp , s eeds)

a pple

M alva s ylvestris L .

( nutlet)

c ommon m allow

M enyanthes t rifoliata L .

( seed f ragment)

b og-bean

M yosotis s p.

( achene)

f orget-me-not

O xalis a cetosella L .

( seed)

w ood s orrel

P apaver s omniferum L .

( seed)

o pium p oppy

P icris h ieracioides L .

( achene)

h awkweed o x-tongue

P olygonum c onvolvulus L .

( fruits)

b lack b indweed

P olygonum l apathifolium L .

( fruits)

p ale p ersicaria

9 7

T able 1 c ontd. P runus d omestical.s.

( fruitstones)

p lums

R anunculus S ection R anunculus

( achenes)

b uttercups

R aphanus r aphanistrum L .

( fruit f ragment) w ild r adish , r unch

R ubus f ruticosus a gg .

( seeds)

b ramble , b lackberry

R umex a cetosella a gg.

( fruit)

s heep's s orrel

R umex s p(p).

( fruits)

d ocks, e tc.

( achene)

p rickly s owthistle

S pergula a rvensis L .

( seeds)

c orn s purrey

U rtica u rens L .

( achenes)

a nnual n ettle

V alerianella d entata ( L.)

P oll. ( fruit)

c orn s alad , l amb 's l ettuce

S onchus a sper ( L .)

H ill

M osses: C alliergon ( Acrocladium) c uspidatum ( Hedw .) K indb . H omalothecium

( Camptothecium) l utescens B r. E ur.

C limacium d endroides

( Hedw .)

( shoots)

( Hedw .) R obins./H . s ericeum ( Hedw .)

( shoots)

W eb. a nd M ohr.

9 8

( shoots)

T able 2

M acroscopic i nvertebrate r emains r ecorded f rom a 1 .25 k g s ample o f

p itfill, c ontext 2 0178, 1 6-22, C oppergate, Y ork. T he m inimum n umber o f i ndividuals r epresented b y t he b eetle a nd b ug f ragments i s 9 4 , a nd 6 3 t axa a re r ecorded. N omenclature f ollows K loet a nd H incks ( 1977) ( Coleoptera). p -present; a -abundant.

( 1964)

( Heniptera) a nd

A nnelida e arthworm e gg c apsule A rthropoda m illipede s egment A carina ( mites)

a

A ranea c arapaces H emiptera L ygaeidae H eterogaster u rticae.

1 1 1

( F.)

C imicidae s p . A uchenorhyncha g en . e t s p. A phidae ? Holcaphis s p.

1

( containing A phelinus type w asp c occoon) M yzus c f p ersicae ( Salzer) ( containing A phidus type w asp c ocoon) ? Brevicoryne b rassicae ( L) ( containing A phidius- a nd E phedrust ype w asp c ocoons)

1 5

C oleoptera H ydrophilidee 5 ?1

C ercyon a nalis ( Pk .)

1 1 1 1 1 1

C . ? haemorrhoidalis ( F.) C . p ygmaeus ( Ill.) C . t erminatus ( Marsh .) C . u nipunctatus ( L .) C . s p. i ndet. C ryptopleurum m inutum ( F.) H isteridae H ister. s p.

1

P tilidae P tenidium s p. A crotrichis s p. S taphylinidae O malium ? rivulare

1 1

( Pk.)

O . s p . X ylodromus c oncinnus ( Marsh .) C oprophilus s triatulus ( F.) C arpelimus p usillus ( Cr.) g roup

2 3

P latystethus a renarius ( Fourc.) P .?degener M uls. a nd R ey P . c ornutus ( Gr.) g roup A notylus c omplanatus ( Er.)

4

A . n itidulus ( Cr .) A . r ugosus ( F.)

2 1

O xytelus s culptus C r . S tenus c rassus S teph .

3 1

( male g enitalia)

9 9

1 1 1 1 1

T able 2 c ontd. S . s p. i ndet.

1

L eptacinus s p . G yrohypnus f racticornis ( Müll)

1 1 ?1

P hilonthus f imetarius ( Gr.) P . s ordidus ( Gr .) g roup P . s p .

1 1 2

A utalia ? rivularis ( Cr.) F alagria s p. A leocharinae

1 1 6 s pp.,

7

i ndividuals S carabaeidae A phodius s p.

1+ f ragment

S cirtidae 1

? Cyphon s p. A nobiidae

1

A nobium ? punctatum ( De G .) P tinidae P tinus ? fur ( L .)

1

P . s p. i ndet.

1

N itidulidae M eligethes s p. O mosita c olon ( L .)

2

O . d iscoidea ( F.)

1

C ryptophagidea

1

C ryptophagus s cutellatus N ew . C . s p. A tomaria s p.

3

1

C orylophidae O rthoperus s p.

2

L athridiidae L athridius m inutus ( L .) g roup

4

C orticariinae

2 spp., 2 i ndividuals

C olydiidae 1

A glenus b runneus ( Gy n ..) T enebrionidae

f ragment

T enebrio s p. C hrysomelidae

f ragment

C hrysomelinae A pionidae

2

A pion s p. C urculionidae ? Ceutorhynchus s p.

f ragment

1 00

T able 2 c ontd. H ymenoptera F igitidae F igites s p. P roctotrupoidea w ing P arasitica i ndet. D iptera P sychodidae i ndet. w ings i ndet. a dult w ings & b ody s clerites s pp. F anniidae F annia s calaris ( F.) p uparia M uscidae M uscina s tabulans F all. p uparia S phaeroceridae L eptoocera s p. p uparia S epsidae S epsis s p. p uparia C opromyza e quina ( Fall.) S iphonaptera i ndet. h eads

p uparia

T able

3

P ollen t axa

( context 2 0178 ,

r ecorded f rom s amples o f t he f ills o f t wo p its

6 12 C oppergate ,

a nd c ontext

1 505 ,

T he B edern ,

Y ork).

T he

m ethod o f p reparation f ollows t hat o f t he S ub-Department o f Q uaternary R esearch , C ambridge ( unpublished). T he p ercentage f requencies o f e ach t axon a re b ased o n t he s um o f t otal p ollen , e xcluding i ndeterminable g rains; t he v alue f or i ndeterminable g rains i s b ased o n t he s um o f t hese a nd t otal p ollen .

C oppergate c ontext 2 0178 s ample 143

B edern c ontext 1 505

T rees a nd s hrubs

A lnus

0 .3

B etula C orylus/Myrica

0 .5 0 .5

P inus Q uercus S alix S ambacus

0 .2 0 .3 0 .7 0 .2

0 .6

2 .8

1 .2

0 .6

c ontinued

1 02

T able 3 c ontd. H erbs C annabiaceae C erealia C henopodiaceae C ompositae A rtemisia C entaurea c yanus C . c f n igratype

0 .2 7 1.7 0 .2

60 .3

1 .9 0 .2 0 .2

0.6

0 .3 0 .3 0 .9

3.9

T ubuliflorae C ruciferae

2 .4 5 .4

3.9 2.2

E ricales i ndet . C alluna G ramineae

0 .2 5 .0

1.7 15 .6

c f. H ypericum L eguminosae L eguminosae i ndet. c f. L otus type V icia/Lathyrus P lanta e c f l anceolata P olygonum c onvolvulustype R anunculaceae R hinanthustype R osaceae i ndet. R ubiaceae R umex U mbelliferae i ndet.

-

0.6

0.2 0 .3 0 .2 1 .9 0 .5 4.5 0 .2 0.9 0 .2 0 .5 -

2.2

9 7.2

,9 8 .8

I ndeterminable

4 .8

7 .7

P ollen g rains c ounted

5 76

1 79

T richuris e ggs

1 57

1 31

C . c f s cabiosa Z irsium-type L iquiflorae

S um

2.8 3.3 0.6 0.6 0.6

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A SPECTS O F S ITE E NVIRONMENT A ND E CONOMY A T C AERLEON F ORTRESS B ATHS , G WENT

T .P. O 'Connor

I NTRODUCTION T his

p aper

i s

n ot

i ntended

t o b e a s ite b one

r eport.

I t

i s

a n

e xamination o f t hree g roups o f s amples o f a nimal b ones f rom o ne s ite a nd t he d ifferent

c lasses o f i nformation w hich t hey h ave y ielded.

T here i s a

t endency t o r egard a nimal b ones, a t l east f rom P ostglacial s ites, t erms o f t he t otal s ettlement e conomy. T his i s s ometimes t he

s olely i n r esult o f

u nimaginative a nalysis, b ut o ften a n i nevitable c onsequence o f t he e xcavator's s ampling s trategy , o r l ack o f i t. W hat t his p aper i s i ntended t o

d emonstrate

r esearcher,

i s

t hat

w ith

c o-operation

b oth o n and o ff t he s ite,

i nformation a bout e nvironment.

a n umber o f

d ifferent

b etween

e xcavator

a nd

b one

a nimal b ones c an b e m ade t o y ield a spects

o f

s ettlement

e conomy a nd

T he R oman f ortress a t C aerleon l ies a t t he N orthern e dge o f t he m odern t own o f N ewport, o n a l ow s pur b y t he e dge o f t he U sk v alley b elow h ills o f a round 2 50 m e levation . T he b aths w ere b uilt o ver a n umber o f y ears, b eing c ompleted b y a bout 7 5 A .D . T he m ajor s tructures w ere a l arge f rigidarium w ith a n e fficient d rain s ystem a nd a l arge n atatio , o r s wimming p ool. T he e arliest d eposits c ontaining a nimal b one w ere

l aid d own i n t he

f rigidarium

d rain , a nd i t i s t hese d rain d eposits w hich w ill b e c onsidered f irst.

E ARLY D RAIN D EPOSITS S uch w as

t he n ature o f

t he R oman p lumbing t hat i t i s v irtually c ertain

t hat t he b one d etritus r ecovered f rom t he d rain w as d erived d irectly a nd e xclusively f rom m eals b eing s erved t o c lients i n t he b ath-house. I t i s k nown f rom l iterary a ccounts t hat t he n ormal p ractice a t m ilitary b ath-houses w as f or c ivilian t radesmen t o b e a llowed t o s ell l ight s nacks t o t he b athers -the m ilitary e ffectively g ranted a c oncession t o af irm o f o utside c aterers ( see S eneca E pistulae M oralis, 5 6, f or a c ontemporary d escription). T he b ones r ecovered f rom t he d rain d eposits s hould, t herefore, g ive a g ood i ndication o f t he n ature o f t hese l ight s nacks w hich w ere b eing h awked a round. T able

1 l ists

t he n umber o f

s ieved s amples w ithin t he d rain .

f ragments w hich w ere r ecovered f rom t hree G roup l a d ates f rom 7 5 t o 8 5 A .D .,

l b f rom

8 5 t o a bout 1 00 , a nd 3 f rom 1 00 t o 1 50 A .D . l a a nd l b a re v ery s imilar i n s pecies c ontent a nd b oth a re c haracterised b y a p redominance o f d omestic f owl -68% o f

f ragments i n l a a nd 5 8% i n l b.

T he n ext m ost a bundant s pecies i s

s heep , b ut t he s imple f ragment n umbers c onceal a n i nteresting t rend i n t he s heep r emains. I n b oth l a a nd l b f ragments o f s heep r ib a nd v ertebrae m ade

1 05

T ABLE

1

N umbers

o f

f ragments

r ecovered f rom

t hree

l ayers

f rigidarium d rain a scribed t o m ajor t axa .

S ample l a

S ample l b

S ample 3

c attle

2 4

2 7

2 6

s heep

9 2

89

2 1

p ig

3 1

2 9

12

S pecies

g oat

1

f ield v ole

2

o ther r odent

1

d omestic f owl g oose d uck

317

1 99

1 1

f rog/toad T otal

1 8

1 4 69

3 44

1 06

79

i n

t he

up about 73% of the tota.l sheep frog:.; :n .-_:, most 01 eh� vertebrae having been chopped along the sagittal plane. Similarly, most of the pig bones were of rib and foot. The overall picture from these two samples is of a me at supply based on domestic fowl, nrutton chops, and the peripheral bits of pork - spare ribs and trotters, perhaps.e Bones from the large meat joints of beef and pork make up only a small proportion of the total .fragments. Sample 3, although rather small, represents a different emphasts. The proportion of domestic fowl falls by half, and the largf'r meat joints assume a far greater importance. There is no archaeological reason t 4

• r i

0

c e 4

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4 1

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4 1

c O

4 1

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" c : f

g : 1 4 c o

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C : a •

C U

C l )

C . ) 1 4 4 I M14. 1 1 1 1 1« M

M II

M

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0

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a nd p ollen w ere e ven a dded t o c ertain d eposits b y m an a nd a nimals

( cf.

F ig.

4 ). L ayers o f p ure a nthropogenic c omponent a re m ostly f ound i ndoors: a p ortion o f a ll t hese c omponents i s l ater f ound m ixed i n t he d eposits i n t he h arbour.

S TRATIGRAPHY A T B RYGGEN T he o rganic s oils a t B ryggen a re v ery h eterogeneous a nd v ery m any o f t he d eposits

a re

i n s ome w ay r edeposited.

I n o ur

o pinion a s ystematic,

o bjective c lassification o f t he s oils w ill b e o f i mportance. T he s oil d escriptions w ill t hen f orm a n i ndependent s et o f d ata f or t he i nterpretation o f t he e nvironment o f d eposition .

O ur p articipation i n t he e xcavations h as

f or f inancial a nd l ogistical r easons n ot b een e xtensive e nough t o f ulfil t his p urpose b ut a s f ar a s i t i s p ossible w e h ave d escribed t he s oils f or f uture u nderstanding o f t heir g enesis a nd p reservation . A ny

o bjective

l ayers.

s ystem

o f

W e u se T roels-Smith's

c lassification ( 1955)

c an

b e

u sed

a lso

s oils b ecause i t i s d esigned f or a rchaeological i nvestigations. i s

v ery

u seful

a s

i t

i s

b ased

f or

c ulture

c lassification s ystem f or o rganic

o n f ield

m ethods

o nly,

a nd

T his s ystem i s

p urely

d escriptive.

I t i s p ossible i n t he e xcavation t o r ecognise v arious g roups

o f d eposits. i n t he b ay.

O ne g roup o f s oils i s r epresented b y r ubbish l ayers d eposited T hese a re a ll m inerogenic w ith v arying c ontents o f o rganic

m aterial.

T he o rganic m aterial i n t he f inest f raction i s m ostly d ecomposed

p lant a nd a nimal f ragments a nd n ot h umic a cids i n t he f orm o f g el m ud.

T he

m acroscopic p lant f raction i s m ostly a m ixture o f l eaves, t wigs , n utshells a nd w oodchips, i n a ddition t o m ussels a nd a nimal b one. T he p lant m aterial i s v ery w ell p reserved , a nd t he l ayers a re o ften i nter-stratified w ith l ayers o f c oarse m ineral m aterial a nd l arger s tones. M asses d eposits

o t

f ill

p rovide

r epresent

e xcellent

t he w hole

c onditions

t own

o f

d eposits h ave b een f ound i n m any p laces, a nalysed.

H owever,

a nd

b eing

w aterlogged

p reservation . t hey h ave

S ince

t hese

s uch w aste

o ften b een s ampled a nd

t he d eposits h ave l ittle i nformative v alue a s t hey

r epresent t he w hole a rea.

T his m ay b e t he r eason w hy s pecies l ists o f p lant

r emains f rom a ll o ver N orthern E urope l ook v ery m uch t he s ame a nd a re r ather b oring. T erefore w e m ainly c oncentrate d irectly o n t errestrial o ccupation l ayers. C lose

t o

t he

q uay-buildings

d eposits

a re f ound w hich

c an b e d irectly

r elated t o t errestrial d eposits a s t hey w ere f ormed b y t he d umping o f r ubbish a nd m anure i n t he s ea.

T he t errestrial d eposits d ominate t he h igher l evels

a nd t he e astern p art o f t he h eterogeneous a nd v ariable.

a rea, a nd t hese d eposits a re f ar m ore T he v ariation i s a n i ndication o f v arious

e nvironments

B oth

a nd

a ctivities.

o ut-a nd

i n-door

s ediments

a re

f ound.

T he f ire l ayers a re p articularly i nteresting a s t heir f ossil c ontent i s o ften d ominated b y c arbonised r emains o f w hat w as s tored a nd u sed w ithin p articular b uildings.

I n a w ay

t hese

f ires

h ave

" frozen"

t he

d istribution o f

p lant

m aterial s tored a t t he m oment o f d isaster , a nd t he p lant m aterial f ound i s i mportant i n t he a nalysis o f t he f unction o f d ifferent b uildings. O ther p rimary d eposits a re h umified l ayers w hich h ave s urvived f ires u nder p lank f loors e tc. T he t hickness o f t hese l ayers i s f r o m t hin l amina t o l ayers o f s everal c m .

T he h umic a cid c ontent i s l ow a nd t he m inerogenic

c ontent o f m ainly s ilt o r f ine s and i s e venly d istributed. a lso f ound e venly d istributed i n t he s oil,

152

C harcoal d ust i s

a nd l arger p lant r emains a re

m issing.

O ften t hese l ayers a re f ound u nder w ooden f loors i n b uildings,

s ome o f t hem s eem t o b e h ighly o xidized l ong p eriod.

d ust

T he p ollen c ontent o f s uch w ill,

l ayers

a nd

d eposited o ver a v ery

i n s ome c ases, b e v ery t ypical

o f t he a ctivities g oing o n i n t he r oom a bove. A nother t ype o f h ighly i nformative s oils i s r epresented b y w et d eposited s oils w ith h igh s edimentation r ates w hich f or s ome r eason a re l eft u ndamaged , f or i nstance, l atrines,

c attle m anure o r s table d eposits.

a s h orse m anure h ave b een f ound i n l enses b etween t he b uildings.

b oth

i n t he

L ayers r ecognised m arine

d eposits a nd

I n o ne c ase a 5 0 c m. t hick l ayer w as f ound w ith

h orse m anure m ixed w ith w oodchips, l eaves a nd s traw , a nd w ith a h igh c ontent o f h orsehair. C ombined m acro-a nd m icro-analysis o f t his g ave i nformation a bout t he h orse d iet w hich , i n f act, w as a lmost p ure o ats. T hese t ypes o f w et d eposits o ften s urvived t he f ires a nd a re f requently r epresented i n t he a rea ( cf. b elow). I n

o ne p rofile

v ery

c lear f irelayers

c ontaining c arbonized p lant

m aterial w as f ound s eparated b y m asses o f f ill a nd l ayers t he r ebuilding p rocess

( Fig.

5 ).

o f w oodchips f rom

T he c omponent o f c arbonized s eeds i n t he

f ires B , Ca nd D w as v ery s imilar , a nd w e e xpected t he a ctivities h ouse t o b e f airly c onstant.

w ithin t he

T he f irelayers w ere v ery p oor i n p ollen ( full

o f c harcoal), b ut t he w oodchip l ayer u nderlying t he f loors h ad r eceived p ollen f rom t he a ctivities i n t he r oom a bove. T he c arbonized p lant m aterial i n t he f irelayers c onsisted o f a lmost p ure l ayers

o f C erealia.

T he

s eeds

f rom t he f ires s howed t hat t he r ooms h ad b een u sed t o s tore b arley ( Hordeum v ulgare). T he b arley i n t he D f ire ( interpreted a s t he 1 248 f ire) w as n ixed w ith A vena -27 p er 1 00 g rains o f H ordeum .

B oth A vena s ativa a nd A .

f atua

ery l ittle o ats w as p resent b ut 2 1 r ye ( Secale w ere p resent. I n l ayer C3 v c ereale) g rains p er 1 00 H ordeum w ere f ound. I n f ire B t he C erealia w as e xtremely p ure b arley. T he p ollen d iagram s hows t hat t hrough t he p eriod f rom D t o B h igh c oncentrations o f H ordeum-type p ollen w ere f ound e xcept i n t he l ayers o f b irch b ark a nd a s traw p ocket i n t he p rofile w hich o bviously d id n ot b elong t o t he a ctivity i n t he h ouse. T he b irch b ark i s c onnected t o r edeposition o f r oof t urf.

T he c ontent o f R umex a nd C erealia p ollen s eems

t o b e i nverse i n t he d iagram , b ut t here i s a c orrelation b etween C erealia a nd M yrica

p ollen t hrough

t he

p rofile.

M yrica

i s

p resent

i n

t he

d iagram

i n

s ignificant a mounts u ntil l ayer 6 . M yrica w as a p opular i ngredient i n m ediaeval b eer. A c lose l ook a t t he d estroyed b arley s howed t hat t he m ain f raction o f

t he s eeds w hich w as d estroyed h ad b een g erminated

( Figs.

6 ,7).

N o r oots o r r oot-fragments w ere p resent a nd , t herefore , h ad p robably b een r emoved. T his m eans t hat t he r oots h ad b een r emoved i n t he p rocess o f m alting. W e, t herefore, s uggest t hat t he h ouse c ontained m alt a nd b og m yrtle f or b rewing.

A fter f ire B t he h ouse w as g iven a n ew f unction .

H ordeum a nd M yrica d isappeared. p resent i n t he h ouse w as r ye,

I n t he n ext f ire-layer , h azelnuts,

T he

t he p lant m aterial

a nd V icia s ativa :

b oth p ollen a nd

c arbonized m aterial i ndicated t hat t he h ouse h ad, t herefore a n ew f unction . I n t his c ase, i ndications f rom b oth p ollen a nd c arbonized s eeds s how a b rewing f unction i n t he p eriod f rom f ire D t o B ( 1248-1415). T he t wo d ifferent

g roups

o f m aterial

s upport e ach o ther ,

f urther i nformation o f t he u se o f M yrica, e lucidated b y t he c arbonized s eed.

a nd p ollen a nalysis g ives

w hile t he m alting p rocess

i s

I n f urther a nalysis w e w ill t ry t o

e lucidate t his p rocess a nd t he q uality o f t he m alt i tself.

T here s eems

t o

b e a t endency f or t he p ollen o f M yrica t o d ecrease. F urther i nvestigations w ill p rove w hether t his c ould b e c onnected w ith t he i ntroduction o f H umulus. T oday i t i s i mportant t o s top t he m alting p rocess a t t he r ight t ime b efore t he s prout h as b ecome t oo b ig , a nd a l ength o f 3 /4 o f t he g rain i s t he

CARBON IZED S EEDS

I

l ii i

I I

11

1 7-

U 111

WEEDS

V IC IA SAT IVA

TR iT ICU M AEST IVU M

S ECALE CEREALE . _

A . F ATUA

_ A . SAT IVA

*

*

*

*

i l

1

B 1 00

— 5

Woodch ip s

•

I I I

Woodch ip s F i re la ye r

C1

I

Woodch ips 3 1 1 1

1 350

F i re laye r

C

a

1 2

—3

P ee t f l oo r S t raw 3 1 1

B i rch b a rk

k 1 248 F i re laye r

I

2 0

F i re laye r Woodch ips

I I 1 I 1 I I 1 13 3 I I 3 I I I 1 1 I ▪ 1

I

F ig. 5 .

4 15 1

UI

I ▪ M IR I

A

Woodch ip s

I N o P oB en I I -

1 5-

1 476 F i re laye r

l i e N o P o lj e I I

7 -

TOTAL

F iU ma s s

l N o P o len

5 -

1 00 1 -2 1

S and II II

1 3-

A0

e F t

3 -

9-

F i re laye r

AVENA

VULGARE

1 702

N o P o«en

HORDEU M

L OCAL S TRAT IGRAPHY

1 ä 1

1 -

O the r f ood p l an ts

C e rea l ia

C e re a l a

L aye r n o .

C a lc . s eed s p e r 1 00 H o rdeum v u lgare g ra in s

CORYLUS AVELLANA . _

P OLLEN

2 0

C ombined

D

I L i

I i _

2 0

p ollen a nd m acrofossil

" brewery".

1 54

d iagram

f rom t he m ediaeval

F ig. 6

P artly d estroyed H ordeum v ulgare. B oth g rains s prouted , i n o ne t he l eaf s prout i s s till i n s itu w hile i n t he o ther i t h as f allen o ff. I n b oth c ases s proutlength .

t he

d epression i n t he g rain i ndicates

1 55

t he o riginal

s tandard i n t he

S candinavian b reweries.

T oo s hort

o r t oo l ong a s prout

l ength i s f or e conomical a nd q uality r easons a voided . T he m ediaeval g rain w as m alted s omewhat l onger , b ut t here s eems t o b e a l arger v ariation t han t oday ( Fig. 7 ). T his c ould b e d ue t o t he f act t hat t oday H ordeum d isticum ( two r ow b arley) i s u sed a nd i t m ight b e m ore c onstant i n s prouting t han f our r ow b arley . A s

m entioned

e arlier ,

c ess ,

m anure a nd l atrine d eposits s urvived t he

f ires a nd w e h ave l atrines f rom t he e nd o f t he 1 1th c entury t o a round 1 600. W e w ill p resent s ome c ombined a nalyses t hrough o ne l atrine b urnt a round 1 250 .

T he 1 250 l atrine i s l arge:

f s tratified l atrine d eposit a bout 1 0m3 o

w as r emoved b y t he a rchaeologists. T he d eposit i s i ndoor a nd u nderlying a f loor. T he r emnant o f as eat w as o verlying t he d eposit. T he g eneral c onstruction o f t he l atrine r esembles t hose s till u sed o n o ld f arms i n t he d istrict. T he p lank f loor c overs a " cess r oom" a nd a c losed b ox s erved a s a s eat s ealing t he c esspool u nderneath ( Figs. 8 , 9 , 1 0). O nce i n aw hile t he " room" h ad t o b e e mptied a nd t his w as d one t hrough t he i s. T he p arallel s ubmodern l atrine h as a l id o n m ediaeval l atrine h ad v ertical p lanks w hich c ould b e l atrine s ample w as c ut o ut w ith a c hain s aw ( about

w all w here t he b ench t he o utside. T he r emoved . T he 1 250 f m3 ) . T he d eposit

c ontained l aminated m osses w hich i ndicated n o d isturbance. W e c ould, t herefore , s lice t he d eposit i n 1 c m t hick s ubsamples. T he s amples w ere w ide e nough t o s ecure a m ean o f f aecal r emains f rom a pproximately t he s ame t ime. W e a re s till w orking w ith t his l atrine m aterial a nd t he a nalyses p resented a re , t herefore , e xtremely p reliminary . D ifferent a spects

o f

d aily l ife c an b e e lucidated t hrough a nalysis o f

t his t ype o f d eposit. H ygiene, a mong o thers, i s r eflected, a nd t his i s a lmost t he o nly s ource o f i nformation o n t his s ubject f rom m ediaeval t imes. T he m ost s triking f eature i s t he l arge a mount o f l aminated m osses. T he m osses a re v ery w ell p reserved a nd s till g reenish w hen t hey a re e xcavated. T he l aminated s tructure a nd h orizontal o rientation o f t he m oss i ndicate t hat t he m oss w as d eposited i n s mall p ortions d uring t he p eriod o f a ccumulation . W e s uggest t hat t he m osses w ere u sed a s a n a nalogue t o m odern d ay t oilet p aper. L atrines a re, h owever, r eported f rom o ther m ediaeval t own e xcavations w hich a re c haracterised b y n umerous t extile f ragments a nd m osses. T hese t extiles a re i nterpreted a s " toilet p aper". S uch d ifferences c ould b e d ue t o d ifferences i n s ocial a nd e conomic s tatus o f d ifferent g roups o f i nhabitants , o r t he m osses a nd t extiles c ould h ave b een u sed f or d ifferent p urposes: t he m oss a s " toilet p aper" , t he t extiles a s " sanitary t owels". O ur p ure m oss l atrines a re f ound i n c onnection w ith w arehouses w hile t he t extile a nd m oss l atrines a re c onnected w ith l iving a reas. T he H anseatic m erchants w ere o bliged t o l ive i n c elibate s tate. W hether t hey d id o r n ot i s a n o pen q uestion ,

b ut t he l ack o f t extiles i n t he l atrines b ased o n t he

i nterpretation a bove s uggests t hat t he l atrines w ere u sed m ainly b y m en . T he a mount o f m osses n eeded f or l atrine u se w as

l arge.

A r ough

e stimate b ased o n a p opulation o f 5 ,000 i nhabitants, w ith a d aily l atrine v isit a nd u sing o nly 1 0 gm oss e ach t ime y ields a y early n eed o f 1 5-20 t ons o f m oss. T his i s o f e conomic i mportance a s t his m oss h ad t o b e c ollected , t ransported t o t he t own a nd d istributed t o t he u sers. w ritten e vidence o f t his b usiness.

T here i s, h owever , n o

T he m oss f lora i s u nder i nvestigation , b ut a nalysis s o f ar i ndicates t hat a ll t he l atrines h ave a f airly c onstant i nventory o f s pecies. M ainly H yliocomnium

s plendense,

R hytidiadelphus

R acomitrium l anuginosum w ere u sed,

l oreus,

R .

s quarrosus

a nd

a nd o ther m osses w ere b rought i n a s

156

F ig. 7

S eparate s prouts

f rom m alt

f ound i n t he c arbonized m aterial.

T he

l arge d ifferences i n l ength o f t he s prout i ndicate b adly c ontrolled m alting.

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