Hi Andy
The permanent introduction of chicken (domestic fowl) appears to have taken
place in the late Iron Age. Have a look at Mark Maltby's article the link is
below.
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/14139/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0
There are however, a few examples of earlier dating domestic fowl remains.
The example I can remember off the top of my head is Houghton Down, were two
complete skeletons were recovered dating to the Early Iron Age. It is part
of the Danebury environs project.
Therefore I think domestic fowl may have been present in small numbers
during the Iron Age, but a permanent introduction/utilisation occurred at
the very end of the Iron Age, beginning of the Roman period. I would suggest
that no particular group of immigrates brought them to the UK, rather they
were brought here through trading networks.
I hope that helps
Jim
Dr James Morris
Zooarchaeologist
Museum of London Archaeology
Mortimer Wheeler House
46 Eagle Wharf Road
London
N1 7ED
Tel:020 7566 9332
Fax:020 7410 2201
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www.animalbones.org
www.museumoflondon.org/archaeology
-----Original Message-----
From: Analysis of animal remains from archaeological sites
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Andy Horton
Sent: 29 June 2009 13:46
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [ZOOARCH] When did Chicken Fowl first come to Britain?
Hello,
Question:
When did Chicken Fowl first come to Britain?
When did these egg-laying pecking birds called Chickens first arrive in
Britain, with what group of immigrants?
I have got proof that cockerels were here in the 2nd century AD and they may
have come in with Roman trade, pre-Romans.
But it may be earlier, Belgae, Celts (people speaking the language)?
I suspect an earlier date.
Britarch
https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?A2=ind0906&L=BRITARCH&F=&S=&X=70
A4AA08072A07B748&Y=Glaucus%40hotmail.com&P=70364
Abstract
The prehistoric to post-Roman site of West Hill, Uley in southwestern
Britain was excavated between 1976 and 1979, and yielded a quarter of a
million animal bones. Part of the site was a ritual complex, and this in
particular produced a considerable amount of domestic fowl. A major problem
has been to evaluate the immature domestic fowl bones and determine whether
all ages are represented. This presents problems because the varieties of
fowl represented are unknown. Therefore, can the osteometric data be seen as
homogeneous? In fact the distribution of adult measurements suggests that
one variety was mainly represented, that a wide range of ages of fowl were
sacrificed, and that the selection of birds was probably not entirely
random. C 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/14129/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0
We have evidence of chicken bones at the neolithic village of Scara Brae
(3100-2500 BCE).
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AsTxZyBM8.dnvNd8Q80RhRzsy6IX;_y
lv=3?qid=20090627021851AAyuvU0
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skara_Brae
There is no mention of chicken bones on the web pages. My Questor intuition
asks "Why chickens when there would be an abundance of sea birds?"
The question could be changed to the first use of Chicken Fowl in southern
England?
The coin evidence is very interesting. The only local evidence is a Cockerel
brooch of the 2nd century AD.
http://www.romansinsussex.co.uk/level3/search/detail.asp?sitenumber=29&objec
tnumber=555
Coin of the week
The question is this: is it British or Gaulish? This extremely rare Boar
Cock bronze - only seven are recorded - could well be British. Dr Philip de
Jersey says: "Although traditionally considered to be a Belgic type, only a
single example is recorded from the continent - from Hallencourt, in the
Somme - whereas there are now half a dozen from Britain, mostly from Sussex.
This must raise the possibility that it's a British production, perhaps
related in some way to the Chichester Cock Bronze." This particular Boar
Cock bronze was found at Oving, West Sussex, in 1995, which further
strengthens the belief that it could be an insular production. It's a
beautiful specimen, one of the best known, and comes from the prestigious
Brian Bettison collection. Chris Rudd November list.
http://www.celticcoins.com/pages/201106.html
COTTAM, G. 1999: The 'cock bronzes' and other related Iron Age bronze coins
found predominantly in West Sussex and Hampshire. British Numismatic Journal
69, 1-18.
http://web.arch.ox.ac.uk/coins/ccirdng.htm
Comment:
I still do not have a precise date.
Iron Age 700 BC - AD 40
Speculation?
Gallic-Belgae introduction 1st century BC, but I have not read the journal
above.
Cheers
Andy Horton
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History of Shoreham
http://www.glaucus.org.uk/History.htm
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