Dear Emma,
as Tom pointed out, what you have is probably evidence of cat
skinning, commonly found on medieval sites. A most relevant reference
for you is:
McCormick, F. 1988. The domesticated cat in early Christian and
medieval Ireland. In Mac Niocall, G. and Wallace, P. (eds.). Keimelia:
studies in medieval archaeology and history in memory of Tom Delaney,
pp.218-28. Galway University press.
Also useful:
Luff, R. and Moreno Garcia, M. 1995. Killing cats in the medieval
period. An unusual episode in the history of Cambridge, England.
Archaeofauna 4, 93-114.
Cheers,
Umberto
-------------------
Umberto Albarella
Dept of Archaeology
University of Durham
Durham DH1 3LE, UK
tel. +44-191-3741139
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