Wow, thank you for the references, everybody. We excavated a 2nd-century
Roman well at Vindolanda a couple of years ago which proved to be full of
chicken bones, but also an array of other species that were likely eaten
by people, e.g. plover, quail, blackcock, and crane. There was also a
common starling in there too if I remember right. All of the things you
have wondered about, we have wondered about too -- i.e. why would anybody
intentionally put dead bodies into their water supply? Maybe reading all
the references will help me get an answer to that. Cheers -- Deb Bennett
> With the animals in the wells, could it be an intentional act of pollution
> of a
> water supply by an aggressor (e.g., rival town, nasty neighbor, invading
> army),
> like throwing salt or rocks on agricultural fields?
>
> Richard Whitekettle
> Calvin College
> Grand Rapids, MI, USA
>
>
>>>> Burke Ariane <[log in to unmask]> 9/18/2012 9:50 AM >>>
> Hi Jill.
> Interesting. The remains from a disused bath in Tunisia, late Empire, also
> contained a variety of animal bone as well as the arm of a young child
> (human)
> but it was clearly fill, accumulated with other debris. However, the
> difference
> in your collection is the age profile, which is skewed.
> Ariane
>
> Dr. Ariane Burke, Professeur Titulaire,
> Dept. d'anthropologie,
> Université de Montréal,
> C.P. 6128, Succursale Centre-Ville
> Montreal, QC
> Canada, H3C 3J7
> Tel. 514-343-6574
> http://archeozoologie.anthro.umontreal.ca/
>
>
>
>
>
> ________________________________
>
> From: Analysis of animal remains from archaeological sites on behalf of
> Jill
> Weber
> Sent: Tue 2012-09-18 9:41 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: [ZOOARCH] several wild species in a Roman well (Belgium)
>
>
> Hi Joyce,
>
> This is from a different time and place... northern Syria in the mid-third
> millennium.
> I have excavated a "well" in the middle of a settlement that was full of
> animals - particularly dogs and equids - including 6 equine fetuses, a
> just-to-term foal, and some random very young animals. Given the later
> find
> that there were humans at the bottom of the "well", there was no "junk" in
> the
> fill, and there were also adult horses that were stuffed inside, we
> concluded
> that it was completely intentional. Of interest to me is the presence of
> the
> fetuses and other young animals. I have no idea what is going on, but the
> fact
> that your animals are all so young (and could also be intentional) is also
> intriguing. Please do share any insights you gain, and I will be sure to
> do
> the same!
>
> Jill
>
>
>
>> ________________________________
>>
>> From: Analysis of animal remains from archaeological sites on behalf of
>> Joyce van Dijk
>> Sent: Tue 2012-09-18 6:52 AM
>> To: [log in to unmask]
>> Subject: [ZOOARCH] several wild species in a Roman well (Belgium)
>>
>>
>>
>> Dear all,
>>
>> In the last week (to my great joy!) I have been studying the find of
>> skeletons of a red deer calf (about a month old) , a young roe deer
>> (male,
>> appr. 1-1,5 years old), a young badger (ca 6 months old), a young fox
>> (1-3
>> months old), a young beaver (appr. 1-1,5 years old) and two young pigs
>> (1
>> month and 4-6 months old; they could be wild boar of course). They were
>> all found together in a Roman well which contained pottery dating to the
>> 2nd century AD. The well is part of a settlement (in Belgium) located
>> close to a Roman road.
>> The skeletons are all nearly complete and none of the bones show
>> cutmarks
>> or any other marks.
>>
>> Has anyone ever found something similar or can anyone help me in
>> explaining why these animals were deposited in the well? Ritual comes to
>> mind, but does anyone know of Roman rituals that entail putting wild
>> animals in wells?
>>
>> I am very curious to know if anyone has any ideas!
>>
>> Many thanks,
>> Joyce van Dijk
>>
>> Archeoplan Eco
>> Oude Delft 224
>> 2611 HJ Delft
>> 0031-15-2145295
>> [log in to unmask]
>>
>>
>>
>
>
>
>
>
> --
> Jill Weber, Phd
> Consulting Scholar, Near East Section
> The University Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology
> Philadelphia, PA 19103 USA
>
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