Dear Carol,
The bones you are studying are an interesting combination. The absence of unburned bones in the layers of the pit which are not waterlogged may be because any fragments present were destroyed in the soil. In soils of a certain pH all unburned bone disappears and only heavily burned fragments survive. So far as the calcined fragments are concerned, it is worth remembering that bone which is heavily burned to the stage where it becomes black and white or blue-grey has certainly been in a high temperature, but this may just have been a hot domestic fire. The presence of fragments of cremated bone does not on its own imply that any ritual activity took place. However, animal sacrifice and consumption in the Roman world did involve placing some of the elements of the sacrificed animal on the fire, so the interpretation probably depends on which elements are present and on context.
Here are some older papers which discuss the process and results of burning on bones - which may or may not be related to feasting or any other ritual activity
Serjeantson, D., 1991. "Rid Grasse of Bones": a taphonomic study of the bones from midden deposits at the Neolithic and Bronze Age site of Runnymede, Surrey, England. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 1, 73 - 89.
Spenneman, D. H. R. & S. Colley, 1989. Fire in a pit: the effects of burning on faunal remains. Archaeozoologia, III(1.2), 51-64.
Gilchrist, R. & H. C. Mytum, 1986. Experimental archaeology and burnt animal bone. Circaea, 4(1), 29-38.
These discuss animal sacrifice and feasting: And some related to cremated remains from Roman sites - all from cemeteries and temples:
Davis, S., 1989. Animal remains from the Iron Age cemetery, in Verulamium, the King Harry Lane site. English Heritage Archaeology Report 12, eds. I. M. Stead & V. Rigby. London: English Heritage, 250-9.
Lauwerier, R. C. G. M., 1993. Bird remains in Roman graves. Archaeofauna, 2(1993), 75-82.
Lauwerier, R. C. G. M., 2002. Animals as food for the soul, in Bones and the Man, eds. K. Dobney & T. P. O'Connor. Oxford: Oxbow.
Lauwerier, R. C. G. M., 2004. The economic and non-economic animal, in Behaviour Behind Bones: the zooarchaeology of ritual, religion, status and identity, ed. S. J. O'Day. Oxford: Oxbow, 66-72
M. Fulford and A. Wallace-Hadrill. 1995-6. The house of Amarantus at Pompeii (I, 9, 11-12): An interim report on survey and excavations in 1995-96, pp. 77-113Rivista di Studi Pompeiani, 7, Powell, A.: Bird bones and cremations, pp. 102-5.
Best of luck,
Dale
Dale Serjeantson
Visiting Research Fellow
Archaeology
School of Humanities
University of Southampton
Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK
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http://www.arch.soton.ac.uk/people/dale
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From: Analysis of animal remains from archaeological sites on behalf of carol white
Sent: Sun 27/01/2008 12:41
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [ZOOARCH] Cremated bone
I am currently recording a small assemblage of animal bone from an IA/Roman site in Ringmer, East Sussex.
The bones are either waterlogged or cremated - nothing between! It has been suggested that the cremated bone (which is for the most part in very small unidentifiable fragments) may be the remains of a "meal sacrifice" . Bone colouration ranges from black to white with blue or green areas. The vast majority of the bone (cremated or otherwise) was found in a large square pit, cut within an earlier ditch, with a series of rubbish deposits and topped with fresh clay. Evidence for at least one clamp kiln was found elsewhere in close proximity.
Can anyone point me in the right direction for references of other similar deposits, please?
Many thanks in advance!
Carol
Brighton & Hove Archaeological Society Field Unit
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