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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