Alternate fortunes? The role of domestic ducks and geese from Roman to Medieval times in Britain

Zooarchaeological evidence indicates that birds played a smaller role in the economy of Roman than medieval Britain. Ducks are more common than geese in Roman sites while the opposite is the case for the medieval period, the change occurring soon after the end of the Roman period (i.e. the Anglo-Saxon period in England). Documentary, iconographic and archaeological evidence from inside and outside Britain indicates that while the goose was probably already domesticated by the 3rd millennium BC, a proper system of duck husbandry was only developed rather late and was not yet fully in place by Roman times. Bearing in mind the higher frequency of duck bones in Roman Britain, we must conclude that in this country goose husbandry was also little developed and that all anatid bones found in British Roman sites probably derive from wild rather than domestic birds. Goose husbandry increased in importance in medieval times but most duck bones found in this period may also be wild, particularly in the earlier part of the Middle Ages.