Past Perfect

Forcegarth: Animals

"Although there is no evidence for cattle rearing at Forcegarth because of the acidic soil conditions, which have disintegrated the bone, archaeologists would expect that it was going on. The shorthorn cattle, which were raised in the Romano-British period are now extinct. They were much smaller than the cattle of today. Dexter cows are the nearest modern equivalent to the Romano-British cattle. They would have been used for pulling ards (ploughs) to cultivate the fields and would have been normally yoked around the horns. Although they are quite small they would have been able to plough over half an acre a day easily. Cattle would have also been used for meat and milk."