Brown hares and chickens were once considered gods in Britain, study says
Brown hares and chickens were considered gods when they first arrived in Britain during the Iron Age, research suggests.
Instead of being seen as food, the creatures were associated with deities, and buried with care and intact.
Archaeological evidence shows no signs of butchery on bones examined. The ongoing research suggests the two animals were not imported for people to eat.
Work by experts from the Universities of Exeter, Leicester and Oxford is revealing when brown hares, rabbits and chickens were introduced to Britain, and how they became incorporated into modern Easter traditions.
The team previously analysed the earliest rabbit bone to be found in the country, which dates to the first or second century AD. New radiocarbon dates for bones found on sites in Hampshire and Hertfordshire suggests brown hares and chickens were introduced to Britain even earlier, arriving simultaneously in the Iron Age, between the fifth and the third century BC.
Researchers say the discovery of buried skeletons fits historical evidence that neither animal was eaten until the Roman period, which began hundreds of years later.
Professor Naomi Sykes, from the University of Exeter, who is leading the research, said: “Easter is an important British festival, yet none of its iconic elements are native to Britain.
“The idea that chickens and hares initially had religious associations is not surprising as cross-cultural studies have shown that exotic things and animals are often given supernatural status.
“Historical accounts have suggested chickens and hares were too special to be eaten and were instead associated with deities – chickens with an Iron Age god akin to Roman Mercury and hares with an unknown female hare goddess.
“The religious association of hares and chickens endured throughout the Roman period.”
She said archaeological evidence shows that as their populations increased, they were increasingly eaten.