In 2023, I am continuing to blog an A-Z compendium of human interactions with species in the British landscape. A list of references for information used in this series can be found here. An index of species covered so far can be found here.
Bustard, Great
Otis tarda
One of the largest flying birds, the great bustard bred in Norfolk into the nineteenth century. A male is typically between 90 – 105cm tall, with a 2.1 – 2.7m wingspan, and weighing up to 18kg. Females are up to two and half times smaller than males. They are ground-nesting birds, favouring natural depressions, and were easy pickings for game hunters, which led to their decline and disappearance. Bustards had, however, continued to visit Britain from breeding populations in eastern Europe. A reintroduction programme has been carried out on Salisbury Plain using individuals from Portugal.
Their bones are not common at archaeological sites, and a reported find from Roman Fishbourne Palace was reidentified as common crane by the zooarchaeologist Martyn Allen. There is a finding from Barnard’s Castle, however.
In 2023, I am continuing to blog an A-Z compendium of human interactions with species in the British landscape. A list of references for information used in this series can be found here. An index of species covered so far can be found here.
Bur-reed, Branched
Sparganium erectum L.
A tall water plant, growing up to 90cms, found on mud or in shallow ponds, lakes, ditches and streams. It bears clusters of yellow-green flowers along its stems. The flower clusters are exclusively either male or female. These turn into spiky seedheads. Bur-reeds are native to Europe to Central Asia and North Africa.
A preparation from the plant has been used as a cure for snake bites.
In 2023, I am continuing to blog an A-Z compendium of human interactions with species in the British landscape. A list of references for information used in this series can be found here. An index of species covered so far can be found here.
Burdock plant (Arctium lappa). Photo by Christian Fischer (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Burdock
Arctium spp.
Also known as cockle, fox’s clote, beggar’s buttons, cockle buttons, love leaves, happy major, clot burr, thorny burr, and as crádán in Ireland; meac-an-dogh in the Highlands and Western Isles; and bollan-dhoo on the Isle of Man.
Three species are found in Britain. The great burdock Arctium lappa grows on river banks and roadsides and has large rhubarb-like leaves. Lesser burdock (A. minor) is similar but smaller, and grows in woods and on waste ground. Another species A. nemorosum is also small. Burdocks flower from July, and the bristles that surround their flowerheads become burs which stick to animal fur and clothing when they are dry. Occasionally the hooks, known as involucral bracts, may be preserved at archaeological sites, possibly having been carried by animals. This was the case at the Adams Hydraulics site in York.
Stalks and roots of burdock were boiled or eaten raw and used as a tonic and as an aphrodisiac.A decoction of the roots was used, especially in Ireland, to treat boils and other skin complaints. An essence made from the plant is an ingredient of the drink dandelion and burdock. The young stems, after May, can be picked and peeled, then chopped and eaten raw in salads or cooked and served like asparagus. Richard Mabey says that they have a taste reminiscent of new potatoes. The leaves may also be eaten. The roots are used in Japanese cooking – chopped thinly and braised with soy sauce, or wrapped in its leaves and roasted whole.
[An Archaeologist’s Guide to British Species] #73: Burbot
In 2023, I am continuing to blog an A-Z compendium of human interactions with species in the British landscape. A list of references for information used in this series can be found here. An index of species covered so far can be found here.
Burbot (Lota lota) by Achim R. Schloeffel (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Burbot
Lota lota (Linnaeus, 1758)
Also known as barbolt, coney fish, eel pout, freshwater cod, ling, rabbit fish, and known as llofen in Welsh.
The only member of the cod family (Gadidae) found in freshwater. Like other gadids, they bear a long single barbel below the chin. Burbots grow 30-60 cms in length. It has a cylindrical body which narrows towards the tail. It has no teeth on the tongue, maxillary or palatine bones, but the premaxillary (lower jaw) and vomer bones bear dense rows of small teeth. Burbots emerge at dusk to forage. It was native to eastern England from county Durham, south to the Great Ouse, but a catch has not been confirmed since 1968, or possibly 1972 and it is now regarded as extinct. They were once common in fenland rivers and sold at markets both as a food fish and as a pig food. Their bones are rarely recorded in Roman and later deposits in central England.
[An Archaeologist’s Guide to British Species] #72: Bulrush
In 2023, I am continuing to blog an A-Z compendium of human interactions with species in the British landscape. A list of references for information used in this series can be found here. An index of species covered so far can be found here.
Bulrush
Also known as reedmace
Typha latifolia L.
A waterside plant growing over 2 metres in height which bears dark brown spikes, which are developing seedheads, from June and July. The closely related lesser bulrush (Typha angustifolia) is rare outside of lowland England. The rhizomes are edible, and rich in starch.
In the southern Highlands, it was once used as a cure for epilepsy. Allen and Hatfield describe a ritualistic use for the plant – it was gathered on Midsummer at midnight and wrapped in a shroud – a plant kept in such a way ensured freedom from ailment for life.
[An Archaeologist’s Guide to British Species] #71: Bugle
In 2023, I am continuing to blog an A-Z compendium of human interactions with species in the British landscape. A list of references for information used in this series can be found here. An index of species covered so far can be found here.
Bugle
Ajuga reptans
Also known as carpenter’s herb, sicklewort and middle comfrey
A plant of damp meadows and woods, bearing small spikes of purplish blue flowers in May and June. Bugle has dark shining purple leaves, and is very tolerant of shade. Seeds were present in a Bronze Age context at Northwold in Norfolk, where they were evidence of a woodland environment in the vicinity.
In the 17th century it was an ingredient of the ‘Traumatick Decoction’, a wound-healing drink, and, as it has astringent properties, has also been made into an ointment to treat ulcers and bruises.
[An Archaeologist’s Guide to British Species] #70: Buckthorn, Purging
In 2023, I am continuing to blog an A-Z compendium of human interactions with species in the British landscape. A list of references for information used in this series can be found here. An index of species covered so far can be found here.
Buckthorn, Purging
Rhamnus cathartica L.
Also known as buckthorn, or common buckthorn
A spiny, grey-barked shrub of calcium-rich soils, native to England and Wales that can grow to a height of 10 metres. It has glossy, dark green toothed leaves that turn yellow in autumn. As the common name suggests, its berries have been used as a purgative. They can be used as a syrup, Syrup of Buckthorn, with the addition of sugar and aromatics. The berries are so strongly purgative that Allen and Hatfield say that from the eighteenth century, physicians advised against its use. The bark and unripe berries yield yellow dye.
Purging buckthorn charcoal is known from Three Holes Cave in Devon, from Neolithic contexts at Maiden Castle in Dorset, and at Stonehenge, Gravelly Guy in Oxfordshire, and Brean Down in Somerset. Waterlogged buckthorn wood was found in Neolithic and Bronze Age deposits at Meare Heath in Somerset.
[An Archaeologist’s Guide to British Species] #69: Buckthorn, Alder
In 2023, I am continuing to blog an A-Z compendium of human interactions with species in the British landscape. A list of references for information used in this series can be found here. An index of species covered so far can be found here.
Alder blackthorn (Frangula alnus). Photo by By Sten Porse – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=13269683
Buckthorn, Alder
Frangula alnus Mill.
Also known as black dogwood
A black-barked shrub of marshy places, often found near alder trees. Alder buckthorn bears berries which while unripe yield a green dye, once used by calico printers. Despite its name, the plant is thornless. Charcoal made from the stems gives a very even burn, and occasionally the species is present in charcoal assemblages, for example in the Late Prehistoric site at Blackhorse, Honiton, Devon; Tinney’s in Somerset; and the oppidum at Silchester. Worked wood of alder buckthorn was found within peats at Storrs Moss, near Carnforth. Edlin’s 1949 Woodland Crafts in Britain states that alder buckthorn charcoal was by far the best for making gunpowder.
According to the 16th century herbalist John Gerard, an infusion of the bark was used as a purgative and emetic. Mrs Grieves cautions that aged bark should be used, as freshly stripped bark can be an irritant on the gastro-intestinal canal. The glucoside emodin (also found in rhubarb) is found in the bark, and has laxative properties.
[An Archaeologist’s Guide to British Species] #68: Bryony, White
In 2023, I am continuing to blog an A-Z compendium of human interactions with species in the British landscape. A list of references for information used in this series can be found here. An index of species covered so far can be found here.
Bryonia dioica, photo by H. Zell – Own work (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Bryony, White
Bryonia dioica Jacq. non M.Bieb. non Bojer non Sessé & Moc.
Also known as wild nepit, English mandrake, tamus, ladies seal, wild vine
A relative of the cucumber, white bryony is a vigorous climber in hedgerows and is common in farmyards. In early summer it bears green-yellow flowers with five petals. Male flowers are on separate plants to female plants. Unusually,the tendrils which latch onto the hedge for support change the direction of their coil part way through. The plant is very poisonous, and bears red berries in September, these are strongly purgative and can lead to death. Its large,poisonous yellow roots have been sold as a cheap substitute for mandrake, a herb valued for its magical and aphrodisiac properties (according to Dr RCA Prior’s On The Popular Names of British Plants, sometimes they were sold as such fraudulently, having been cut to the shape of a man or woman). Allen and Hatfield write that in the Fens of East Anglia, it was paired with black bryony as the ‘female’ and ’male’ forms respectively of mandrake.
[An Archaeologist’s Guide to British Species] #67: Bryony, Black
In 2023, I am continuing to blog an A-Z compendium of human interactions with species in the British landscape. A list of references for information used in this series can be found here. An index of species covered so far can be found here.
Dioscorea communis, by Carsten Niehaus (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Bryony, Black
Dioscorea communis (L.) Caddick & Wilkin
Also known as lady’s seal
A climbing plant that grows 2 – 5m tall, and twines anticlockwise, bearing large, heart-shaped leaves. It has inconspicuous flowers which give way to red berries. The whole plant is extremely poisonous, having a high saponin content, although its roots have been used externally as a poultice for bruises. It is introduced in Ireland.
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