Life history information from tracks of domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) in ceramic building materials from a Roman bath-house at Vindolanda, Northumberland, England

Abstract

This report analyzes tracks impressed by dogs (Canis familiaris) into bricks and tiles later utilized in the construction of a first-century A.D. bath-house at Roman Vindolanda (Northumberland, England). Track sizes, trackway parameters, gait and morphology are described; measurements indicate three to five different size classes of dogs. Withers height cannot accurately be predicted from the size of individual tracks. Hair impressions visible in Vindolanda tiles are compared with hair impressions in tracks made by modern cats and dogs. The Vindolanda collection of pawprints on ceramic building materials is the largest known to date from any Romano-British site and among the largest known from any area or time period; in light of the valuable life-history information that animal tracks can give, more work in the area of ichno-archaeology is encouraged.