| Abstract: | A survey was undertaken of the occurrence of bones of raptorial birds in Roman and medieval nucleated settlements in northwestern Europe, and the results were compared with a series of a priori predictions as to which species were the most likely to have colonized such settings. The comparison showed that Haliaeetus albicilla, Buteo buteo and Milvus milvus were recovered relatively frequently, and that these three were amongst the species predicted to be the most successful urban scavengers. It is suggested that Buteo lagopus and Milvus migrans are underrecorded, and that records of Aquila pomarina might be expected in the circum-Baltic region. Accipiter species are inherently unlikely urban birds because of their hunting and feeding behaviour, and the numerous records, especially of Accipiter gentilis are argued to be birds kept for hawking. This would be consistent with the observation that Accipiter spp. are commonly found as whole or partial skeletons. The general agreement of observations with expectations is taken to validate the underlying premise that refuse constituted a major environmental factor in Roman and medieval towns. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |
