Dear Peter
A site in Lant Street, London SE1, turned up a very early (late C17th)
knuckle-bone floor composed of cattle metapodial ends, mainly proximal
metacarpals with holes deliberately drilled through them vertically.
Elsewhere on the site similar, deliberately drilled bones were found, and
several different diameters of drill had been used. The purpose of the
drilling has puzzled Sharon Price, Jill Hooper and me; its effect was to
weaken the bones in the floor as some of them had started to disintegrate
around the hole.
A message to ZOOARCH some time ago referred to a site in Brentford that had
also produced drilled cattle proximal metacarpals.
Nicholas Bateson
----- Original Message -----
From: "Peter Popkin" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, December 03, 2004 2:35 PM
Subject: [ZOOARCH] drilled metapodials
> Hi Zooarch,
>
> Does anyone out there have any references regarding caprine or cattle
> metapodials which have been punctured or drilled through their proximal
> articular surfaces -- or perhaps have come across this phenomenon
> themselves? I've seen holes of this type diagnosed as osteochondritis
> dissecans (Dobney et al. 'Of Butchers and Breeds' Lincoln Archaeological
> Studies No. 5 Plate 11c) but I'm not expert enough to judge how this
> diagnosis was made and whether it is accurate. The holes I've seen myself
> are often quite uniform and (I would guess) almost certainly man-made. Any
> ideas?
>
> Regards,
>
> Peter
>
>
>
> Peter R. W. Popkin
> Institute of Archaeology
> University College London
> 31-34 Gordon Square
> London, England
> WC1H 0PY
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