Ian,
are you sure this is not a joint arthropathy - most likely a form of
osteochondritis - herniation of cartilage into (and sometimes through)
the articulating surfaces. I've seen it in cattle and sheep phalanges
and metatarsals and it can look a bit like a neat round holes in the
joint surfaces. In vertebrae they are called Schmorl's nodes.
K.
Ian L. Baxter wrote:
> Dear colleagues,
>
> In the course of recording a partial horse skeleton from an Iron
> Age/Romano-British site in Cambridgeshire, I discovered that a first
> phalanx that articulates with the corresponding metatarsal and P2
> appears to have been drilled through the distal articular facet into the
> marrow cavity. A caudal vertebra from the same animal has been drilled
> through the centrum. I am at a loss to explain this. I can send a photo
> of the P1 to anyone interested.
>
> Ian L. Baxter
--
Dr Keith Dobney
Department of Archaeology
University of Durham
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Durham DH1 3LE
Tel: +44 (0)191 334 1119
Fax: +44 (0)191 334 1101
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Details: www.dur.ac.uk/Archaeology/about_staff/about_staff_dobneyk.php
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