New evidence of late survival of beaver in Britain

Adrian D. Manning*, Bryony J. Coles, Angus G. Lunn, Duncan J. Halley, Philip Ashmole, Stewart J. Fallon

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    8 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    We describe new radiocarbon-dated evidence for the late survival of beavers from an upland site in northern England. A wood specimen with beaver gnaw marks was recovered from the bank of the Scaup Burn in Kielder Forest in Northumberland. The marks were analysed, the tree species were identified and the sample was radiocarbon dated to between 1269 and 1396. Other wood remains in the same context suggest a most likely dating between 1330 and 1390. This find represents the most recent radiocarbon-dated physical evidence of beaver yet found in Britain, by at least 400 years. In conjunction with documentary and other archaeological evidence from the period, this discovery indicates beaver were present within the Tyne River catchment up until at least the 14th century ad. In addition, this find highlights the need to investigate all possible evidence of beaver fully when discovered and to remain open-minded about the possibility of making finds in unexpected locations and contexts.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)1849-1855
    Number of pages7
    JournalHolocene
    Volume24
    Issue number12
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 16 Dec 2014

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