Excavations at Durrington Walls recovered approximately 8,500 animal bones, with pig bones outnumbering cattle bones by ten to one.
Notes on verification
Confirmed by academic sources tracing to Harcourt (1971) analysis of the original 1966-68 excavation; ratio corroborated by Albarella and Serjeantson (2002). However, later excavations (Stonehenge Riverside Project) recovered a much larger combined assemblage (~38,000 bones), so the 8,500 figure applies specifically to the earlier dig, not the site's total known faunal record. [tier=gold indep_score=0.95 clusters=3 claim_tier=notable] [kind-backfill 2026-09-15: kind=empirical eligibility=high]
Sources
- Stonehenge-era pig roasts united ancient Britain, scientists say (seed:history_and_archaeology)
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0305440314003446 (corroboration)
- https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/342334/1/2011_RDRS_29-2011_WEB_REPORT.pdf (corroboration)
- https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283317681_A_passion_for_pork_meat_consumption_at_the_British_late_Neolithic_site_of_Durrington_Walls (corroboration)
- https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Plan-of-Durrington-Walls_fig1_267339191 (corroboration)