More about Durrington Walls and animal teeth

Affinities of sampled animal remains at Durrington Walls with UK environmental / geological contexts -- source:  Current Archaeology

There's an interesting article in Current Archaeology 334, published in connection with the exhibition in the Stonehenge Visitor Centre called "Feast!  Food at Stonehenge."    It's by Hilts et al, and summarises much info already published about the feasting that went in at Durrington Walls, possibly at the time when a lot of work was going on at nearby Stonehenge, around 4,500 yrs BP.

Neolithic food miles: Feeding the builders of Stonehenge
Hilts, C., Greaney, S., Madgwick, R. and Parker Pearson, M. 2017. Neolithic Food Miles: Feeding the 'builders of Stonehenge'. Current Archaeology 334: 26-31.

The article concentrates on the animal remains, and the latest findings (from Richard Madgwick of Cardiff University) bring up to date the earlier info discussed on this blog about strontium isotopes in the teeth of cattle and pigs.   They can be matched to specific geological locations -- or more accurately, to specific rock types and environments.   Sure enough, as suggested earlier, some of the animals slaughtered and eaten in these jolly BBQs  were from far away, but the great majority (percentages are meaningless in this sort of context) were from "middle England" -- 65 of the animals probably having been raised within 50 miles of Durrington Walls.  Of those that were clearly not local, 14 pigs and 4 cattle appear to have come from the south of Cornwall, at least 180 miles away. Only 14 pigs and 4 cattle appear to have come from more distant parts, "at potential locations as far-flung as west Wales, upland northern England, and perhaps even north-east Scotland."  It is of course interesting that cattle and pigs were being driven to Durrington over distances of 200 miles or more -- but there is no justification whatsoever in the evidence presented for suggesting "west Wales" as a place where some of these cattle and pigs were raised.  (The only reason for that mention is, of course, that MPP and his colleagues are desperate to establish a connection, for reasons that are obvious........)  It's much more likely that the little group of animals that appear to have connections with the pink areas on the map came from SE Wales and the Welsh borders.

So there is nothing in this article to show that there was any sort of  "special relationship" between Salisbury Plain and Pembrokeshire -- and this of course is the conclusion we have to reach when we look at many other cultural indicators as well.  Please forget all that stuff about "political unification".......