INVESTIGATION OF THE WHITESHEET DOWN ENVIRONS 1989-90 169 
d) Summary of identified bones from the causewayed enclosure 
- -Enclosure ditch - - 
Manual retrieval Overall Ex. assoc. 
Cattle 56 25 
Sheep/goat 54 5 
Pig 26 22 
Red deer 5 5 
Sieved retrieval 
Cattle - - 
Sheep/goat - - 
Pig - - 
Red deer - . 
Ex. assoc = Excluding associated bones 
- - - 1303/1368 - - - 1293 Others 
Overall Ex. assoc Overall Overall 
19 19 9 14 
6 6 3 1 
167 156 4 15 
: 2 6 i 
- - 3 2 
5 5 5 3 
56 56 21 26 
4 3 
bones of the feet compared with 68% from sieved 
samples (archive). Sieving confirmed the 
dominance of pig bones in this feature group. 
A butchered cattle radius from 1302 is the only 
bone identified to another species from manual 
excavation while sieving produced a fragment of 
sheep/goat humerus from 1338. 
Pit 1293 
Only 77 fragments were recovered by manual 
retrieval methods from this shallow pit of which 53 
were from context 1323 (Table 5b). Overall, 38 were 
burnt and only 22 could be identified to species, of 
which cattle is the most common. Six antler 
fragments, probably all of red deer, were recovered, 
one of these had not been cast from the skull. Pig 
and sheep/goat are the only other species identified. 
Large mammal outnumbers sheep-sized fragments 
amongst the unidentified material. 
Sieving confirmed the presence of large 
numbers of very fragmentary burnt bones, with 
more than 1300 fragments from six sieved samples, 
over 1200 from 1323. A total of 843 (61%) of the 
sieved bones were burnt. Only 33 fragments could 
be identified to species, of which 21 are pig, perhaps 
suggesting that manual recovery in this case had 
been biased towards the retrieval of larger bones 
and cattle in particular. Loose pig teeth and foot 
bones are again well represented in the sieved 
samples. Sheep/goat and cattle bones and red deer 
antler fragments were also recovered from the 
sieved samples in small numbers. 
Other interior features 
Four other features produced small assemblages of 
animal bones (Table 5c) and these were 
supplemented by the retrieval of larger numbers of 
fragments from sieving. The number of identified 
fragments in these assemblages was small. Cattle 
and pig were again the most common with a few 
sheep/goat bones and red deer antler fragments. 
Multiple feature 1301 produced a small group of 
associated cattle bones. Only a few burnt bone 
fragments were found in this feature in contrast 
with the large numbers of burnt flint in this 
context. 
Discussion 
The limited extent of the excavation did not 
produce a large faunal sample capable of answering 
detailed questions about the pastoral economy of 
those who used the causewayed enclosure nor about 
the patterns of disposal of the bones. However, 
there were some interesting aspects of the 
assemblage that merit further discussion. 
The presence of partial and complete carcases of 
domestic stock in the basal fills of the causewayed 
ditch may represent structured deposition. Only a 
small section of the ditch was excavated, but a sheep 
skeleton and the feet of two cattle had been 
discarded in it. The cattle feet may represent 
skinning or butchery waste. However, there is no 
evidence for butchery on the sheep skeleton. 
Similar deposits have been observed at Hambledon 
Hill (Legge 1981, 173) and Windmill Hill (Jope 
1965; Whittle 1990, 107; Grigson 1999). Several 
other small groups of associated bones of cattle and 
pig were found in the interior features at 
Whitesheet Hil!. The antlers may also have been 
symbolic depositions. 
Only the pig assemblage produced a sample 
large enough for detailed analysis (archive). Sieved 
samples consistently produced more small bones of 
the feet and loose teeth than normal retrieval. 
