Discussion 427
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Discussion 427 Sheep had slightly higher percentages of non-adult Roman site. It is unfortunate, therefore, that there are specimens than cattle. Nevertheless the percentage of no records of butchery available for Kingscote. mature animals is quite high and may indicate that Noddle (nd) does note, however, that there was a wool production was of some importance. Most of relatively large number of complete cattle meta the pigs were killed as immature animals. podials. They are rarely found complete on major The presence of newborn animals of cattle, sheep urban sites such as Winchester and Dorchester, where and pig may indicate that some rearing of domestic butchery intensity was high. This may imply that stock was taking place at Kingscote. Neonatal pig and specialist butchers were not operating to the same cattle bones were also present in small numbers in extent, if at all, at Kingscote. However, without the Wycomb A40 By-pass assemblage. Of the cattle butchery or fragmentation data, this cannot be mandibles from the late Roman hollow-way, one was investigated. from a neonatal animal, three were from immature Observations of butchery marks were recorded at animals probably between three and four years old, Wycomb. They did not produce evidence for large and three were from animals with fully developed scale deposition of particular bones, although large toothrows (over four years). cattle bones dominated the hollow-way fills. Some The sheep/goat mandibles from the site included cattle bones bear witness to the use of the cleaver three from early features that had just the first molar and occasionally the saw in the processing of cattle in wear and were killed around a year old. Three carcasses. Roman assemblages in general see an other mandibles from early features possessed fully increase in the use of such tools, although evidence erupted toothrows and probably were over three for the use of knives for filleting and dismemberment years old. One had heavy wear on the first molar and was also found at Wycomb. However, the use of was probably at least five years old. The mandibles heavier implements was more prevalent there than at from the late Roman hollow-way included five with the native rural site of Owslebury, Hants (Maltby only two molars in wear. These were probably killed 1989). On the other hand, there was no evidence for between 18 and 30 months on the evidence of their the use of a heavy blade running longitudinally along toothwear. Five more had the third molar in an early the limb bones to remove meat, which is distinctive of stage of wear and may have belonged to sheep the butchery of cattle bones in some deposits in killed between 30 and 48 months old. One mandible Winchester, Silchester (Maltby 1989) and Cirencester. belonged to a mature sheep I goat. Other Romano Nor was there evidence for the splitting of the major British samples have shown that more sheep were limb bones longitudinally, which is also found in allowed to live longer than appears to be the case in some cases on those and other urban sites. The style most Iron Age samples (Maltby 1981). By the later of butchery at Wycomb, therefore, suggests the Roman period, some sites have an emphasis on the practice of some techniques of processing introduced older animals, indicating that wool production had during the Roman period but there is no evidence for become more important. This trend may also have the presence of specialist processing of large numbers been true of Wycomb but much larger samples are of carcasses intensively. required to investigate this in detail. Noddle (nd) notes that horse bones at Kingscote were not generally as fragmented as those of cattle, although horses were probably exploited for meat. Butchery data This accounts for the relatively high number of As stated above, there appear to be variations in how complete limb bones. Horse bones are generally less cattle carcasses were butchered on different types of fragmented in most samples of Iron Age and Roman Table 19 Age Range of Major Domestic Species at Kingscote Species N %Newborn %Juvenile %Immature %Adult Cattle 126 9 4 40 48 Sheep/Goat 184 13 10 34 43 Pig 81 10 21 54 15 Data from Noddle (nd) Newborn=up to weaning Juvenile= from weaning to c 18 months Immature=18 months to c 48 months Adult=over 48 months Data include both epiphysial fusion and tooth eruption data 428 Excavations at Kingscote and Wycomb, Gloucestershire date in Britain. Their carcasses appear not to have fragmentation are made alongside ageing, sexing, been exploited as intensively as those of cattle. None metrical and pathology observations. Intersite of the horse bones at Wycomb bore evidence of comparisons need datasets which can be manipu butchery, although most were incomplete. lated so that they can be directly compared with some There are too few data of sheep I goat and pig confidence. If these criteria are followed, they may butchery available in the archives to merit discussion. contribute much more in discussions about site usage, and economic and social patterns. Conclusions One of the main objectives of this project has been to consider the nature of settlement at these different CONCLUSION By ]ane R Timby sites that have been described collectively in the past as 'small towns'. Analysis of the faunal remains The foregoing report has attempted to draw together should have been able to assist in the consideration of various strands of evidence relating to five settle the role of these settlements as centres of animal ments in the Cotswolds, which at one time or another production and/ or consumption. However, the infor have been referred to as small towns. The collected mation that can be obtained from the faunal samples data have been discussed in terms of the location, under consideration is limited by a number of factors chronology, morphology and possible functions of discussed above. each site and each has been looked at it within its own Based on species abundance alone, the assem immediate region. Although the evidence is still blages which are closest to those that have been extremely piecemeal, it has become evident that each found on major urban sites are from the A40 By-pass centre has its own distinctive characteristics, few of site at Wycomb. These produced high levels of cattle which can be labelled as urban in a Roman context. and relatively high percentages of pig bones. How The term urban has both legal, administrative and ever, to base conclusions on the contents of one small morphological connotations and embodies features site is naive. We should note, for example, that the such as deliberate civic planning, the provision of Syreford Mill assemblage from the same settlement defences, public buildings and amenities, and an had species representation much more typical of Iron administrative centre. Having said this, it is clear Age or Roman native rural settlements. Although the that each settlement stands within its own discrete butchery techniques bore some similarities to some territory, and is at least 8-lOkm from either Cirencester of those practised in major towns, some types of or an adjacent major settlement. This point will be processing are notably absent from Wycomb, at least returned to below. The following discussion focuses in the areas investigated to date. on two themes, first the spacing of the settlements, Species proportions from Kingscote also bore some and second, the evidence of the functions carried out similarities with some urban sites but the absence of at the towns. This is one of the most critical variables butcherv information does not assist in this discus vis-a-vis other sites in the landscape but also one of sion. The impression of the fragmentation patterns, the most difficult to evaluate archaeologically. however, is that cattle bones were not as heavily As mentioned in the introduction, the Cotswolds is processed as in many urban samples. The mortality one of the best areas to examine the spatial distri data for the major domestic species also do not seem bution of Roman settlement in Britain. The local to have the marked peaks of slaughter apparent in geology lends itself to construction in stone which some urban assemblages. However, the ageing survives well in the archaeological record. The land, information is not sufficient to investigate this aspect well suited to arable farming, was probably relatively in detail. densely occupied in the Roman period, in contrast The frequency of neonatal animals at Kingscote with some of the surrounding areas. In particular, the and Wycomb is higher than most (but not all) Cotswolds are well known for their numerous villa assemblages from urban sites. Their presence may settlements, as well as the civitas capital of Cirencester imply that at least some animals were being bred (Corinium Dobunnorum), in enclosed area the second nearby. This does not necessarily preclude urban largest town in Roman Britain, and in the fourth status since pigs in particular can be kept in towns century probably the capital of Britannia Prima, one of and the land immediately surrounding urban settle the provinces of Britain. These sites together with the ments could have been used for stock-keeping by the other major rural centres under review provide a inhabitants. The sample from Bourton-on-the-Water diverse range of settlement types. is too small to be of value in this discussion. An important contribution to knowledge of Iron The results of this analysis demonstrate again Age and Roman activity in Gloucestershire is the that animal bones need to be carefully recorded by survey by the RCHME (1976) providing a useful individual contexts.