Description

Summary: 1 pin, bone, with hole at one end, from a Saxon settlement, Cadley Road, Collingbourne Ducis, Wiltshire, excavated by the Thames Valley Archaeological Unit, 1998.

Research results

As part of a wider Historic England survey of Animal husbandry at Early Medieval, Medieval, and Post-Medieval sites in Southern England, Holmes (2017) has compared the Early Medieval animal bone assemblages from Market Lavington, Ramsbury, and Cadley Road. They found that sheep were slaughtered at prime meat-production age throughout the period at all three sites, with a similar story for Cattle except for at Ramsbury, where cattle were slaughtered much later in life. Alveolar recession was noted in 33% of sheep, over twice the national average, suggesting a genetic predisposition in the local population, whilst foot pathologies of cattle were unusually common at Early Saxon Market Lavington, suggesting they may have been used as draught animals early on at this site.