Dear All,
I have a site in Cambridgeshire (Partney By-Pass) with cattle and
equid remains found in a palaeochannel adjacent to an Iron Age shrine. The equid fragments include two partial crania and a small
mandible containing small teeth from the same context. This is donkey sized.
However, although the lingual sulcus is generally "V" shaped (particularly in P3
& M3) and there are ptychostylids on P3, M1 & M2, there is penetration
between the metaflexid and entoflexid in M1-3. The teeth are quite worn so
this specimen is probably a small pony. More significantly, a radiocarbon date
obtained from the layer directly above this has produced a date of 2870 to 2470
BC (to 2 standard deviations). Material from the layer containing the bones is
scheduled to be radiocarbon dated in November. In the meantime is anyone aware
of any post-Glacial and pre-Beaker horse remains in the
U.K.?
Best wishes,
Ian L. Baxter