Dear Emma,
A partial dog skeleton was recovered from a Norman cess pit at Faccombe
Netherton. Most of the bones were from the left side of the body, suggesting
the complete skeleton had been buried with the dog lying on its left side
and the upper (right side) had been scraped out when the cess pit was
emptied. As your dog was found in the upper layers is it possible that the
floor was scraped at some time prior to the complete abandonment of the
building?
Best wishes, Peta
----- Original Message -----
From: "Emma Pomeroy" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, September 25, 2008 10:57 AM
Subject: [ZOOARCH] Partially articulated animal skeletons in Anglo-Saxon
SFBs
Dear all,
I wondered if anyone is able to suggest any parallels for an incomplete
partially-articulated dog skeleton which was found in a mid-Saxon sunken-
featured building in East Anglia. There appears to have been a single
backfilling event after the building became disused, and the backfill
material
contained substantial quantities of animal bone. The dog remains were found
as a concentration of bones close to the top of this fill near to the
building's
doorway, and parts of the skeleton (e.g. the paws) appear to have been
articulated. The main elements missing are some of the ribs, some
vertebrae,
both femora, one side of the pelvis and one tibia, and there is no evidence
of
butchery. Any information on similar examples would be much appreciated.
Thanks,
Emma Pomeroy
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