Is Eating “Frogs’ Legs” Really More English than French?

It is thought that humans (Homo sapiens) have been living in Britain, on and off, for at least the last 41,000 years (see “The Oldest Devonian of us All?”), and for most of this time our ancestors were using stone rather than metal for making their sharp tools, and so were living in the “Stone Age”.

We don’t know a great deal about Stone Age Britons as remains are scarce. Indeed, between 19,000 and 26,500 years ago - there would have been no humans in Britain at all as they all migrated southwards to avoid the ice of the Last Glacial Maximum.

However, an interesting insight into the Stone Age diet (from around 9,000 years ago in Mesolithic times) comes from a recent discovery at Blick Mead near Stonehenge in Wiltshire - believed to be the oldest continuous settlement in Britain. Bones recovered from the site include: aurochs (giant wild cows), wild boar, red deer, hazelnuts and - more surprisingly perhaps - toads’ legs.

David Jacques, team leader at the dig, reported to the Guardian newspaper "They would have definitely eaten the toad leg because it would have been quite big and juicy."

Perhaps our careless "Froggy" nickname for our trans-channel cousins should really refer to “les Anglais” rather than the French. Food for thought!

The oldest Devonian of us all?

Teeth of the First Devonian from Kent's Cavern

The first known truly human inhabitant of Devon is one of the oldest European Homo sapiens people ever discovered, dating back over 41,000 years. They lived (or at least died) just 14 km away from Stover in Kents Cavern, Torquay – although sadly all that is left of them now is a piece of upper jaw.

Some time after the existence of the Kents Cavern individual the ‘ice age’seems to have got much colder for a while and glacial conditions gripped most of the British Isles - pushing humans southwards until about 10,000 years ago, when the ice finally started to melt. Around 6,000 years ago early farmers, who had a ‘neolithic’ (new stone age) culture, were living on Dartmoor, just to the north of Stover.

Cut Hill recumbent stone row

A stone row at Cut Hill in the middle of north Dartmoor has recently been dated as being 5,500 years old – pointing to the fact that complex human societies have existed in Devon since before the time of the Egyptian pyramids. The precise dating of the stone row was possible because it was buried in peat – allowing dates to be obtained from immediately above and beneath the stones. Although older than the monument of Stonehenge, the Cut Hill row also has its stones aligned with the midsummer sunrise and midwinter sunset. None of the hundreds of stone rows in Britain and northern France have been accurately dated up to now, but the Cut Hill example shows that some at least are Neolithic rather than Bronze Age structures.

The remains of a Devonian who belonged to an early Bronze Age society, and died just 4,000 years ago, have recently been unearthed from a stone burial chamber (or ‘cist’) at Whitehorse Hill (near the Cut Hill stone row). Cremated bones and a woven bag have been recovered from what the Dartmoor National Park Authority have described as ‘one of the most important archaeological finds of the last 100 years.’ The bag (or basket) contained shale disc beads, amber spherical beads and a circular textile band.

The Whitehorse Hill cist

The peat and pollen surrounding the cist are due to be analysed and carbon-dated to provide evidence of vegetation and climate at the time of the burial, and the items will be analysed to reveal how they were made and what materials were used.

Bringing the Past Back to Life: Stover Country Park

The Council for British Archaeology’s fortnight long festival of nationwide events kicks off on Saturday 16^th July (see here).

On Sunday 17^th July see the past brought back to life at Stover Country Park (entrance just between the school gate and the A38 Exeter to Plymouth road, grid reference SX 331 749). Activities will include opportunities to grind your own corn, make a prehistoric pot or see how Bronze Age tools were made with authentic materials and methods (from 11.00 to 16.00).

Car Park Charges are £1 for 2 hours and £2 all day. Entry to the event is free.

For more details see www.devon.gov.uk/stover_country_park.html, or phone 01626 835236