Thanks to Richard and Aleks for the information - I'll look into your
suggestions.
Perhaps I should have mentioned in the original posting - I'm writing a
project on some of the 12th Century faunal remains from Ludgershall Castle,
Wiltshire. During recording I identified a peacock tibiotarsus from a
context dating c. 1135-1145. Despite being mentioned in documentary
sources, archaeological finds of peacock seem to be relatively rare.
Hopefully a survey will give some indication of just how much this is the
case. Peacock is commonly regarded as a high status species, and the
contexts of finds (e.g. high/low status sites) may help to indicate just
how much this is reflected in the zooarchaeological record. From this, it
is hoped that it will be possible to assess the significance of the
Ludgershall specimen, as this in turn will affect the interpretation of the
assemblages I am studying. As well as this, it will hopefully help
contribute to knowledge of bird exploitation in Medieval Britain.
Regards,
Kristopher
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