The “Rewilding” project is trialling a new mode of industry-led cross-sector research in exploring later prehistoric wildlife and its relevance to contemporary ecological debates. The project is led by OA in partnership with the Universities of Oxford, Exeter and Toulouse, the Archaeology Data Service, Historic England and Knepp Castle Estate. The current nature conservation concept of "rewilding" will be recast for archaeological purposes in order to reveal the "wonder and enchantment" of wildlife in Bronze and Iron Ages – a key period in the transition from ‘wild’ to ‘farmed’ landscapes in Britain. The “horse ferality” investigation is one of six studies that aim to build a novel multi-stranded toolkit for investigating archaeological wildlife. Core study aims are: (a) to undertake with a team of experts, detailed dating, high resolution isotope and aDNA analysis of horse remains in prehistoric Britain; (b) to integrate the findings with evidence from traditional zooarchaeological analysis and from horse gear in order to characterise horse-human relations in later prehistory; (c) to develop engaging interpretations of prehistoric horses for Knepp Castle Estate and for nature recovery practitioners more widely.
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[Website Oxford Archaeology]