From Ms Christine Ivory
Sir: New evidence for Mesolithic subsistence patterns
is always welcome (Mesolithic food industry on
Colonsay, June),
but to promulgate the idea that Mesolithic groups fell back on
plant foods only after suitable game became unavailable is to
persist with the outmoded `man the hunter' paradigm.
The role of plant foods in prehistoric diets is seriously
under-represented owing to its scarcity in the archaeological
record; and a find such as the large-scale processing of
hazelnuts is of great value. Unfortunately, the false dichotomy
set up by opposing vegetarianism and carnivorous diets ignores
the potential for a continuous use of plants by Mesolithic
groups. Plants would have been playing an increasing role by this
period, when a wider diversity of all subsistence resources
was becoming available in northern Europe.
Yours sincerely,
From Dr Keith Dobney
Sir: I was very interested to read that a recent study
of animal bones from Launceston Castle had shown possible
evidence for livestock improvement as early as the 16th/17th
century (Early start for
Agricultural Revolution, April).
Similar and even earlier evidence has recently emerged from a
study of animal-bone assemblages from Lincoln. A large collection
of sheep lower limb bones, dated to the first quarter of the 16th
century, showed these sheep were much more robust than earlier
counterparts. Also, cattle remains from the Civil War period
suggest they were substantially larger then than in earlier
periods. The evidence seems to suggest that systematic stock
improvements were underway, at least in parts of the country,
with the move towards pasture enclosure during the Tudor period.
Yours faithfully,
From Dr Margaret Faull
Sir: I write as someone responsible for a site which will
be affected by the Disability Discrimination Bill, having listed
buildings open to the public, and who is also registered disabled
(Defusing the disability time
bomb, June).
At the National Coal Mining Museum for England (NCMME), from some
four years before I became disabled, we adopted a policy of
attempting to make as much of the site as possible accessible to
visitors with disabilities, while at the same time preserving the
architectural and historical integrity of the buildings. By
involving the local authority's access group, we were better able
to appreciate problems not immediately apparent to the able
bodied. The result is that most of the site, despite being
preserved as a colliery, is accessible to people with
disabilities, and the museum has won four major awards for
disabled access. We believe the ramps and lifts installed are
unobtrusive.
We would be most averse to making structural alterations to the
historic fabric of the buildings, and on the one hand I hope that
such alterations would not be enforced by this new legislation.
But on the other, I am only too well aware that one of the
reasons why local authority access officers appear `often
extraordinarily doctrinaire' is that all too often damage to the
historic fabric is used as an excuse to avoid the trouble and
expense required to permit disabled access. In the first year of
the ADAPT Awards, in which the NCMME won the museums category,
the Committee made no awards in the cinemas category because none
met the criteria. Each cinema had a range of arguments why in
their particular case it was impossible to provide disabled
access, and it is this attitude which has made the legislation
necessary.
It is often argued that providing facilities for wheelchair
access is catering at great expense for a very small proportion
of the population. We find that these facilities are appreciated
by a wide range of our visitors, including the elderly and those
in poor health, and parents of small children, especially those
in pushchairs.
Yours faithfully,
From Prof Peter Salway
Sir: I was pleased to see your interview of David Thackray
(June), but sorry to see that the stereotyped image of the
National Trust will be little dented by the article. As the
Society of Antiquaries' nominee on the Trust's Council, I have
been able to observe the place of archaeology in the Trust; and I
have found the organisation led by Dr Thackray impressive, both
in the quantity of its work and its quality. Its old-fashioned
aspect is a certain pleasing reluctance to blow its own trumpet.
It is unfair to label the Trust as `intellectually passive
vis-a-vis archaeology'. Its first priority, under the National
Trust Acts, has to be the protection of its properties. However,
the Trust is nowadays acutely aware that understanding its
monuments, historic buildings, and historic landscapes is central
to their proper management, and to their presentation to the
public. Some of the current research is undertaken directly by
the Trust's own staff (for example, excavation at Chastleton),
some in collaboration with others (such as the re-interpretation
of Bodiam Castle by the Royal Commission).
Perhaps the area in which the spin-off from its archaeological
and other environmental research is least well-known but
potentially among the most important is its evolving policy
towards farm tenancies. The introduction of `whole farm
agreements' allows it - at breaks or reviews in tenancies - to
negotiate critical changes in farming methods to conserve or
restore features of archaeological and ecological importance,
with compensation for any drop in farm income. Other landowners
please note!
Yours sincerely,
From Mr Richard Pope
Sir: I think I have another example of a modern place-name
that emerged like a traditional name (by popular consent) -
to add to `Spaghetti Junction' (Place-names at the barricades,
April). `County Road Roundabout' in Swindon, consisting of five
mini-roundabouts replacing a single large one where five roads
met, was officially renamed `The Magic Roundabout' by Thamesdown
Council because that was what everybody else called it.
Yours sincerely,
Return to the British Archaeology
homepage
© Council for British Archaeology, 1995
Mesolithic food
CHRISTINE IVORY
Department of Archaeology
University of Newcastle
12 June
Farming revolution
KEITH DOBNEY
Environmental Archaeology Unit
University of York
1 May
Disability Bill
MARGARET FAULL
Director, NCMME
Caphouse Colliery
Wakefield
10 June
National Trust
PETER SALWAY
All Souls College
Oxford
9 June
Popular place-name
RICHARD POPE
Swindon
1 May