WILD IN THE CITY: BROWN BEARS IN ROMAN AND MEDIEVAL BRITAIN

The brown bear, Ursus arctos, is Europe’s largest terrestrial carnivore and tends to be associated in the modern (urban) mind with mountains and the untamed wild. Yet the remains of bears have been found in multiple Roman and Medieval towns and cities across Europe. Why are bears present in these sites? While modern bears are occasional scavengers of dumps, it is much more likely that these remains represent live animals (or their body parts) that were moved by people. Taking Britain as an example, this paper will explore the osteological record of brown bears in towns, with a particular focus on London, from the Roman period onwards. Bear-related artefacts and historical sources, in combination with the remains themselves, will also be used to explore where the bears may have come from. The presence of these animals has implications for our understanding of consumption in towns - although their bones are rare, a single specimen may inform us about the status of the people who owned it (or the status they were attempting to project), and their links with other towns and places. Were bears high status animals, and what were they (and their remains) used for? These questions will all be explored in this paper.


Author(s): O’Regan, Hannah (University of Nottingham)