Evidence for tanning from plant and
insect remains
Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter
- A. Hall
- Q. Mould (Editor)
- I. Carlisle (Editor)
- E. Cameron (Editor)
- H. Kenward
Title of host publication | Leather and Leatherworking in Anglo-Scandinavian and Medieval York |
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Date | Published - 2003 |
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Pages | 3230-3231 |
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Number of pages | 1 |
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Publisher | York Archaeological Trust and Council for British Archaeology |
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Place of Publication | York, UK |
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Original language | English |
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ISBN (Print) | 1 902771 36 2 |
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Name | The Archaeology of York |
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Publisher | York Archaeological Trust and Council for British Archaeology |
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Volume | AY 17(16) |
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[FIRST PARAGRAPH]
It is suggested elsewhere (Hall and Kenward
forthcoming) that a bioarchaeological 'indicator
group' (sensa Kenward and Hall 1997) for tanning
may be recognisable. The material giving rise to this
hypothesis was discovered during assessment of
samples from Anglo-Scandinavian and early post-
Conquest riverside deposits at Layerthorpe Bridge,
York (Carrott et al. 1997). Here, large quantities of
bark fragments (and the sclereids -small clumps of
lignified cells characteristic of certain trees, notably
oak- left when bark decays) were recorded in many
samples. These gave the suspicion that the bark was
being employed for some purpose, since there was
usually very little wood present with it. Much the
most likely process to have required bark in bulk is
tanning (taken here to represent the steeping of hides
in pits or vats with tree bark). Support for this came
from a somewhat surprising direction. The beetle Trox
scaber was unusually abundant (it was found in 30 of
the samples, at a frequency of 3-6 per sample when
present; five samples contained 'several' individuals
and one 'many’, on the semi-quantitative scale
used for recording). This contrasts with the evidence
from Anglo-Scandinavian Coppergate, where it was
present in a large proportion (242) of the samples but
was never abundant. There were only eight cases
where three or four individuals were noted, the rest
being ones or twos, and the mean number of individuals
per sample where the beetle was present was
1.2 (AY 14/7; Kenward, unpublished database). Thus
T. scaber was significantly more abundant at the
Layerthorpe Bridge site than at Coppergate.
Reproduced with permission.
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