The crematory funerary rites practiced by those living in parts of mainland Britain during the first millennium AD included burning complete or parts of animals on the pyre. This thesis highlights the potential for archaeozoological analysis of faunal pyre goods using assemblages from the first millennium AD as a dataset. Experimental study and the integration of current research from a number of disciplines is used to suggest that although pyrolysis and cremation practices fragment and distort burnt bone assemblages, careful analysis can reveal a wealth of data leading to the interpretation of various forms of pyre good. The results of the author¿s analysis of material from the sites of Brougham, Cumbria, St. Stephen¿s, Hertfordshire, Castleford, West Yorkshire and Heath Wood, Derbyshire are combined with data from other published cemeteries to suggest a series of chronological and regional continuities in the use of animals but with a distinct change at the start of the Early Medieval period. The results from Brougham are particularly significant as they alter preconceived views on the utilisation of animals in Romano-British funerary practice. Cremation burials in first millennium AD Britain are shown to include the burnt remains of predominantly domestic taxa with occasional wild species. The pyre goods are interpreted as representing food offerings, companions, amulets, gaming items and sacrifices. This thesis demonstrates that cremated animal bone should not be disregarded but rather valued as source of archaeozoological data, and a significant functional tool for interpreting past funerary behaviour and animal utilisation.

This thesis reports an investigation of Iron Age diet in Britain using carbon and nitrogen stable isotope data obtained from skeletal material from four locations across England and southern Scotland. Both human and animal bone Collagen has been analysed from Wetwang in East Yorkshire and other sites in East Lothian, Hampshire and Cornwall. Animal bone from Dorset has also been included. The aims of the study were to characterize British Iron Age diet in general isotopic terms and also to provide a contextual base for future analysis which allows an understanding of both inter- and intra-site variation in such data for this and other periods. The comparisons across the locations allowed consideration of geographical variability within England and southern Scotland and included material from coastal sites (Cornwall and East Lothian), from sites with easy access to rivers and estuaries (Hampshire) and an inland site where access to water would have been more difficult (Wetwang). All human groups were consuming high levels of animal protein and there was very little evidence for the consumption of aquatic resources. There was significant variation in 815N values between the locations, which was reflected both in the humans and the herbivores, such that it is likely to be related to environmental rather than to dietary differences. Intra-site group comparisons at Wetwang showed very little variation within the cemetery population IM according to age, sex, subjective status category or site phase. The data were very consistent within the populations, although those for Hampshire displayed more variation in nitrogen.

Ce travail de recherche a été réalisé à partir de l’étude de plus de 64 000 restes osseux provenant de 39 ensembles chrono-stratigraphiques issus de 7 sites répartis entre la ville et ses faubourgs. A l’aide de ce mobilier inédit, cette étude s’est attachée à appréhender, au travers des restes osseux, la ville dans ses dimensions économiques, culturelles et sociales entre les 14e et 17e siècles. Ainsi, au travers des études des proportions d’espèces, des âges et des sexes des animaux consommés, il a été possible de dresser les grandes tendances de l’approvisionnement de la ville durant ces quatre siècles tout en s’attachant à montrer la multiplicité des modes d’acquisition des animaux domestiques comme sauvages. Pour s’approvisionner en bétail, Tours met à contribution non seulement les élevages locaux consacrés à la production de viande mais aussi ceux qui produisent lait et laine. Ce travail a aussi mis en lumière aux portes de la ville le traitement industriel des carcasses de bœufs (traitement boucher et collecte de graisse). Cette étude a permis de caractériser le régime en viande des citadins et de différents contextes sociaux de la ville et notamment de mettre en évidence la grande différence dans le régime en viande qui existe à Tours entre les élites religieuses, qui se nourrissent de pièces de viande de qualité, et le reste de la population, plus particulièrement les commerçants et artisans urbains, dont l’alimentation est marquée par une forte consommation d’abats. / This research was conducted on the basis of over 64,000 bone remains from 39 chronostratigraphic units gathered from 7 sites located throughout the city of Tours and its immediate surroundings. The objective of this study was to use this unprecedented collection to size the economic, cultural and social dimensions of the city from the 14th to the 17th century through faunal remains. Thanks to the analysis of the proportions of species of animals eaten by age and gender, it is possible to define the main trends of meat supply in Tours over the period of time considered as well as to describe the many different ways of acquiring domestic and wild animals. In order to cater to its cattle need, Tours used local livestock bred for meat as well as milk and wool production. This research also sheds light on the industrial processing of beef carcasses (meat processing and fat collection). It is also possible to define the meat diet of city dwellers and of various social contexts of the city, highlighting for instance the difference in the meat diet of the religious elite, who ate prime cuts, and the rest of the population, more specifically city shopkeepers and craftsmen, whose diet mainly comprised of offal.

This thesis reports an investigation of Iron Age diet in Britain using carbon and nitrogen stable isotope data obtained from skeletal material from four locations across England and southern Scotland. Both human and animal bone Collagen has been analysed from Wetwang in East Yorkshire and other sites in East Lothian, Hampshire and Cornwall. Animal bone from Dorset has also been included. The aims of the study were to characterize British Iron Age diet in general isotopic terms and also to provide a contextual base for future analysis which allows an understanding of both inter- and intra-site variation in such data for this and other periods. The comparisons across the locations allowed consideration of geographical variability within England and southern Scotland and included material from coastal sites (Cornwall and East Lothian), from sites with easy access to rivers and estuaries (Hampshire) and an inland site where access to water would have been more difficult (Wetwang). All human groups were consuming high levels of animal protein and there was very little evidence for the consumption of aquatic resources. There was significant variation in 815N values between the locations, which was reflected both in the humans and the herbivores, such that it is likely to be related to environmental rather than to dietary differences. Intra-site group comparisons at Wetwang showed very little variation within the cemetery population IM according to age, sex, subjective status category or site phase. The data were very consistent within the populations, although those for Hampshire displayed more variation in nitrogen.