Dear Annelise,
I know of two examples of 'mass' deaths that may be useful, one from a Late Iron Age/early Roman shallow pit from a site called Fordington Bottom near Dorchester (Dorset), which provided the complete remains of at least 27 sheep. No butchery was found, so it can probably be assumed that they died as a result of disease. In addition, I'm currently working on a group of at least 45 cattle skeletons, buried in a series of pits, all dating to the early 18th century, these recovered from an excavation adjacent to the British Museum in London. These remains may well be related to one of several pandemics which affected British cattle in the 18th century (Broad 1983).
I could send you a copy of the British Museum assessment report if you like, as well as a PDF copy of the relevant parts of the Dorset publication. The Broad article is available on-line at http://www.bahs.org.uk/all2.htm
All the best
Kevin
Broad, J, 1983 Cattle Plague in Eighteenth-Century England, The Agricultural History Society, 31(2), 104-115.
Rielly, K, 1997 Animal bone, in J C, Smith, F, Healy, M J, Allen, E L, Morris, I, Barnes and P J, Woodward, Excavations along the Route of the Dorchester By-pass, Dorset, 1986-88, Wessex Archaeology Report No.11, 270-3
Rielly, K, 2011 Assessment of animal bone recovered from The British Museum North West Development, Bloomsbury, London, WC1 (MPB09). Unpublished PCA Report.
-----Original Message-----
From: Analysis of animal remains from archaeological sites [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Annelise Binois
Sent: 23 November 2011 13:52
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [ZOOARCH] Epizootic mortality?
Hello Zooarchers,
I am a French PhD student and a former veterinarian, and have just started
my thesis research on the subject of <the archaeology of epizootics> (if
that last word exists in English), in which I hope to demonstrate the
existence of animal mass mortality on archaeological sites and to develop
a framework for the interpretation of farm animal carcass accumulations.
This subject pertains to a very long period, from the early Neolithic to
the late 19th century, but shall be limited to the study of continental
France.
This field is quite new to French zooarchaeologists, and I am almost
definite nobody has yet published anything on the subject in France. This
may however not be the case in other countries...
This is why I appeal to your collective knowledge and wisdom : have any of
you worked on the subject of epizootics, or of anything approaching? Do
you know of any archaeological publications that relate to the topic? Do
you know of any sites for which an epizootic has been suggested to explain
a deposit of whole carcasses? Any insights on the question are also quite
welcome.
Thanks in advance for your help!
Annelise
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