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Tracking animals using strontium isotopes in teeth: the role of fallow deer (Dama dama) in Roman Britain

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Naomi J. Sykes ,
Judith White ,
Tina E. Hayes  and
Martin R. Palmer
Naomi J. Sykes
Affiliation:
1Department of Archaeology, University of Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK
Judith White
Affiliation:
2English Heritage, Fort Cumberland, Portsmouth PO4 9LD, UK
Tina E. Hayes
Affiliation:
3School of Ocean & Earth Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton SO14 3ZH, UK
Martin R. Palmer
Affiliation:
3School of Ocean & Earth Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton SO14 3ZH, UK
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Extract

Using strontium isotope measurements on the teeth of fallow deer found at Fishbourne, the authors argue that these elegant creatures were first introduced into Britain as a gift to the Romanised aristocracy. Kept and bred in a special enclosure at the palace, they provided more than a status symbol and gastronomic treat: the fallow deer was an emblem of Empire.

Keywords

Roman EmpireBritanniaanimal husbandryfallow deerDama damaparkstrontium isotopes
Type
Method
Information
Antiquity , Volume 80 , Issue 310 , 1 December 2006 , pp. 948 - 959
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd. 2006

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