An Owl’s Eye View: Human–Animal Entanglement at the Roman Fen Edge

Thousands of microfauna remains, predominantly amphibian, were recovered from an Iron Age/Roman site near Cambridge, England by MHI Ltd (MOLA-Headland infrastructure), creating considerable media speculation about how and when these animals died and why so many were concentrated in one gully. We investigated the taxonomy, taphonomy, dating, and period of mortality, of specimens sub-sampled from the original samples. Results showed this was the debris left by a community of predators. Age at death assessment showed many amphibians had died in the autumn/winter of their first year. With evidence of a single episode of infilling, this suggested a single year’s predation of a glut of amphibians. Taphonomic evidence indicated avian predators were responsible for this debris, Short-eared owls (Asio flammeus) being the most likely, probably roosting alongside other predators such as Hen harriers (Circus cyaneus). We suggest natural and anthropogenic environmental changes to explain why this predation occurred in the Middle Roman period. If Short-eared owls and Hen harriers were roosting in or near this gully we suggest this area was infrequently visited that winter, perhaps because livestock moved through it only in the summer or because it had ritual significance.