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This text introduces the publication of the meetings held in November 2022 at the University of Nanterre at the invitation of Professor Christophe Petit and archaeologist Jean-Yves Dufour. 16 papers provided an update on research on animal housing in France. This short introduction uses agronomy treatises to highlight the importance of livestock housing in the climate of our French regions.
A large number of interdisciplinary studies (archaeology, geoarchaeology and bioarchaeology) have focused on the study of the sedimentary record of Neolithic and protohistoric sheepfold caves in the South of France, contributing to characterizing zootechnical practices relating to herd management. The presence of specialized sheepfold cave-type sites, exclusively intended for penning, seems to characterize the Chasséen of the Mediterranean hinterland and the Rhone Valley. On the other hand, if sheepfold caves were still used in the Late Neolithic, they were no longer used exclusively for penning. Archaeozoological studies carried out in Provence and Languedoc also highlight the functional diversity of open-air habitat sites within the pastoral area, both for permanent and seasonal use. On the sites of La Capoulière and Ponteau, geoarchaeological studies have made it possible to characterize the sedimentary record of the penning areas and to identify 1) areas dedicated solely to the breeding of domestic caprines (sheep/goats) within the village area of La Capoulière, and 2) mixed areas combining stabling areas for domestic animals and human habitation areas on the Ponteau site. This research makes it possible to specify the role of open-air settlement within the pastoral area in Languedoc and Provence at the end of the Neolithic, and to better qualify herd management strategies and the use of livestock buildings.
The identification of the animal housing from the instrumentum is difficult because the metallic furniture related to the breeding and management of animals is particularly few. For example, the frequent discovery of bell trees is an illustration of the animal outside and raises the question of the type of housing, sheltered, open or mixed. Concerning housing directly, the elements discovered in rural settlements, doorframes, reinforcements of chests or chains, illustrate the building in a generic way. Only the attachment rings seem specific to the animal world. Some tools like the fake are related to animal feed. However, the limited use of this tool is a debate among archaeologists, even if mentions are known in several ancient texts. Consideration should also be given to objects intended to manage manure, namely forks, the two known forms of which, made of wood and iron, may correspond to two different uses. Animal care can be studied. They are essentially instruments intended to maintain the coat and to avoid diseases such as the stirrups. The tools associated with the veterinarian are more problematic to discover, because the objects are identical to those used in medicine.
Parasitic markers are among the direct clues used in archaeology to highlight the presence of animals. As such, they contribute to characterizing the animals present on the sites, as well as their state of health. Some parasites, associated with specific hosts, can lead to precise identification of the animal presence (pig, horse, poultry, etc.). Other, more general parasites only identify the category to which they belong, essentially carnivores and herbivores. The study of ancient parasites also helps to characterize the function of remains associated with animal housing (stabling area, drinking trough, etc.). A number of examples from paleoparasitology analyses will illustrate the contributions of this discipline to the study of animals present on sites and their living environment.
Fanum Martis is located on the border between the Nervian and Atrebat territories. The first traces of ancient occupation date back to the middle of the 1st century AD, although a few clues suggest that it may have been inhabited at the beginning of that century. At its height, in the 3rd century AD, it covered more than 200 hectares. During the third quarter of the 1st century AD, an agricultural settlement developed on the outskirts of the urban center, which would become part of the town a few decades later. Horse stalls were identified on this site. They were housed in a vast building designed to accommodate several species of animal. Their layout and the traces left behind are similar to those found in the military camps of the Limes. This type of layout, rarely identified during archaeological operations, could serve as a model for future excavations in Gaul.
Excavations carried out in 2012 on a 28-hectare field in Saint-Germain-en-Laye led to the discovery of numerous remains of the Saint-Sebastien fort. In the space of just two years (1669-1670), two successive encampments and a series of fortifications made it possible to train between 16,000 and 30,000 men from Louis XIV’s military household in siege warfare. The stables of the two encampments are a rare and extensive opportunity for archaeology to study cavalry camps. Archaeology triggered an investigation that mobilised the biological sciences, archives and geography to better understand the complex warfare society of the late 17th century. Saddlehorses, packhorses, mules and other equidae are an integral part of the army. Their supply and maintenance largely determined the logistical organisation as well as the calendars of war. The remains of the stables provide valuable information on the spatial, social and economic organisation of the encampments. In peacetime, the stable at Saint-Sébastien, at the gates of Paris, was a military and political showcase for foreign diplomacy. It therefore shows a greater architectural display than it should have during the campaigns.
The excavation of an antiq villa in Ris-Orangis (Essonne, France) makes it possible to carry out the different methods of reading (zootechnical, phosphorus mapping and analysis of fecal lipid biomarkers) leading to the interpretation of a building as a sheepfold.
During the excavation work carried out at Château du Haut-Clairvaux (Vienne) in 2018 and 2019, a previously unseen 12th-century building was excavated to the north of the courtyard. Buried following a fire and the installation of new buildings at the end of the 12th century, the building preserves several structures and pits, including one filled with fifteen perfectly preserved dog skeletons. According to archaeozoological analysis, these were probably individuals belonging to a pack of hunting dogs buried on site. In addition, several clues suggest that this building may have been used as a kennel, a sort of lodge within a lodge.
When excavating areas that could be interpreted as animal homes, bio- and geoarchaeological approaches are increasingly used to support interpretation based on built structures. Palynological analysis is not necessarily the most common, as the good state of preservation of pollen grains requires conditions that are generally found in the wet and organic infilled of hollow structures. However, pollen grains, like other non-pollen microfossils such as the spores of saprophytic and/or coprophilous fungi, can be good direct or indirect indicators of the presence of animals. In recent years, several preventive archaeology projects in the Paris region have provided an opportunity to test palynological analyses on structures of various kinds, such as the floors of sheepfolds, cowsheds and hen houses. The results we obtained showed very positive contributions when the conservation conditions were suitable, namely undisturbed organic sedimentary layers that were quickly sealed after abandonment.
