An Aurochs rib bone was discovered in the fill of a linear feature during an archaeological evaluation carrried out on land between 47 and 71 Monkton Street, Monkton. Information provided by Carol White MA (pers comm), suggests an animal perhaps 5yrs old, at the time of death. According to the Wildlife Trust “After the last ice age aurochs, an ancient wild cow with huge curved horns, lived in low densities across Britain. They were the ancestors of modern cattle. As horses and reindeer disappeared from the landscape and moved into cooler environments, aurochs mixed with red deer, saiga antelopes, roe deer, wild boar and elk. They grazed on low-lying, open flat grassland, floodplains, birch woodland and even saltmarsh. Although larger than modern-day cows, they were hunted and eaten by bears, wolves and people. They died out just over 3500 years ago as hunting, farming and an increasing human population pushed them out”. The location of the rib within Monkton, suggests that this specimen may have grazed on the saltmarsh of the Wantsum. The ceramic date range given for the linear feature (c. 1500-600 BC) would also suggest the death of the animal at the very end of the species’ existence within the United Kingdom. (information summarised from source) (1)

<1> Swale & Thames Archaeological Survey Company, 2020, Archaeological evaluation of Land Between 47 & 71 Monkton Street, Monkton, Kent. (Unpublished document). SKE55731.