Bones from the General Accident Site, Tanner Row

Nearly 20 000 bones of Roman and med date were studied, including samples obtained by sieving. They give evidence of systematic butchery on a commercial scale during late 2nd - early 3rd century, with beef (including smoked/cured joints) predominating. Very young lambs and piglets were also slaughtered. House mouse, black rat, and garden dormouse (Eliomys quercinus L), the latter probably imported from the Continent as a delicacy. Medieval bones were mixed domestic and craft/industrial debris, with goat horncores prominent. A large assemblage of frog bones was studied biometrically. A late Roman deposit of fish bones would suggest the production of fish sauce at St. Mary Bishophill Junior, while the Rougier St. medieval deposits showed a concentration on cod and similar fish.