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Unearthed: how Stone Age man went to the dogs
Valentine Low, Evening Standard1 Apr 2008
Extraordinary new evidence revealing how Stone Age man bet on racing dogs has been discovered on the 2012 Olympics site.
The remains of a prehistoric dog track have been unearthed at Stratford, along with artefacts thought to be the world's first betting tokens.
The find - which includes the remnants of a Mesolithic feasting hall - is being hailed as the archaeological discovery of the century.
However, it could throw preparations for the London Olympics into disarray. Building work on the Olympic Park could be delayed for months as archaeologists descend on the area from across Europe.
The site is thought to be about 10,000 years old - about the time that ancient man started using domestic dogs as hunting companions. Canine remains on the site are understood to be those of a subspecies closely related to, but leaner and faster than, the domestic dog - C. lupus familiaris - called A. prilis cuculus.
Piles of regularly shaped stones were also found next to slates decorated with representations of running dogs, each one with distinct markings. These are thought to have been betting ledgers, with the stones used as betting chips.
The site is on the border of two Mesolithic tribes - the Aq people to the north and the Nee tribe to the south.
At the feasting hall site, archaeologists unearthed petrified wooden boxes containing the remains of roast or fried water fowl, thought to have come from Kent.
German archaeologist Professor Frau Dewlent-Klame said: "Mesolithic man's life may have been nasty, brutish and short, but what made it all bearable was being able to have the occasional day out at the Aq-Nee dog track and enjoy a Kent duck fried meal."
Reader views (1)
Aq Nee - you just really annoyed me. As a paid up tree hugger and archeology enthusiast I was quite prepared to head down there and chain myself to it.
D'oh
- Mark Harrison, bristol, 29/05/2009 01:11
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