96 FAUNA OF SHROPSHIRE. 



ROE DEER. When the foundations of the new Post 

 Capreolus caprea. Office, at Shrewsbury, were being ex- 



cavated in 1876, the workmen found 

 a variety of animal remains and pottery. In one spot 

 there had evidently been a pit dug for water, and the 

 sides supported by oak stakes. There is good reason to 

 suppose this watering place was of ancient date ; that 

 it was made before there was any town on the spot, and 

 that the well remained open for many centuries. This 

 is a rational inference, because the pottery found in and 

 around the well is of all dates from Anglo-Saxon to 

 Medkeval times. Most of the articles found were pre- 

 served and are now in the Shrewsbury Museum. It is 

 clear that if the well remained open during many centuries, 

 pottery, etc., would fall into it from time to time and 

 so remains of all dates would become mixed up on the 

 bottom. This is unfortunate as, otherwise, the pottery 

 might have served as a clue to the date when the animal 

 remains associated with them, were deposited. These 

 last belong to the following species: Ox, Wild Boar, 

 Red Deer, Fallow Deer, and Roe-buck. It is easy to 

 picture our hunting progenitors assembling at this well 

 after a hard day spent in the chase, to feast on the 

 spoils, building a fire of wood, roasting some joints, and 

 boiling others in their earthen pots. They would after- 

 wards utilize the antlers of the Deer for various purposes. 

 We find one large Roe-buck's horn has been sharpened 

 with a knife and used as a borer, while a brow-tine off 

 a Red Deer has been used in the same way without being 

 previously fashioned. Another part of the horn of a 

 Fallow-deer has had a hole made through it, apparently 

 to nail it to a wall, and in these days we should call it 



