The evolution of British cattle and the fashioning of breeds/The Roman Contingent

by James Wilson

III

THE ROMAN CONTINGENT

Although the opinion that the wild white cattle were the untamed descendants of the mighty Urus was at one time widely believed, there grew up a body of dissenters, among whom Owen,^[1] Boyd Dawkins,^[2] and Dr. J. A. Smith^[3] were notable, who were sceptical, first, of our domestic cattle being descended from Bos primigenius; next, of the wild white cattle being descended from the same source; and, lastly, of these same wild white cattle being descended from wild cattle at all. The views of the sceptics were thus boldly expressed in Alston's "Fauna of Scotland," published in 1876: "To me the evidence appears overwhelmingly to prove that the modern park cattle are not wild survivors of the Urus, but are the descendants of a race which had escaped from domestication, and had lived a feral life till they were enclosed in the parks and chases of the mediaeval magnates."

Romano-British skull, with upturning horn-cores, from Reach Fen, Cambridge.
	[From McKenny Hughes.

The first to trace the white park cattle and white domestic cattle back to their source was Professor McKenny Hughes, of Cambridge.^[4] In the course of excavations "over areas long occupied by the Romans" he found a change coming over the remains of the cattle deposited there. He found evidence of a new breed mingling with the old. "The new breed is larger, the horn-cores are stouter in proportion to their length, and, starting from the side of the head, have a tendency outward and upward, instead of having the strong forward curve of Bos longifrons. All intermediate sizes and shapes are found, from the small native to the new improved breed. … The specimen I have figured"—the skull figured here—"was found in the peat near Reach Lode, north of Cambridge. One remarkable fact is worth recording in relation to this skull. The peat-diggers, as their long trenches approached Reach Lode, always came upon a sort of bank, where the peat was harder and mixed with earthy-material. This indicated that there had been a fosse dug through the peat to the underlying marl and clay, and that the bank was the upcast from this fosse. It was in the direct line from Reach to Upware, starting from near the great quarries which may date from Roman times, and from the end of the Devil's Ditch, along which so many remains have been found, and pointing straight for the southern end of the Upware island, where also there are abundant traces of Roman occupation. All the Roman pottery from this part of the fenland which I have been able to trace to its exact locality, was found along the line of this raised bank."

Starting from this hint, McKenny Hughes went on to inquire into the kind of cattle most likely to have been brought into Britain by the Romans. They could not have been the native cattle of France, for, being of the same type, these could have brought about no change in the character of the cattle in Britain. They must have come either immediately or originally from beyond the Alps. Having eliminated Italian cattle of recent introduction to Italy, and considered the evidence from coins and similar sources, McKenny Hughes came to the conclusion that the race which the Romans were most likely to have introduced to Britain was the large white race which, in ancient as in modern times, stretched eastwards and southwards into Asia and Egypt.

Could any resemblances be traced between the old white cattle of Southern Europe and those whose bones lay in the Roman rubbish heaps of Britain? And were their presumable descendants in any way alike? The first link was found in the fact that, while the horns of Bos longifrons curved forward and inward, the horns of the old southern cattle curved decidedly upward. So also, as shown by their cores, did the horns of the new breed that came into Britain with the Romans. Another link was found in the length and shape of the horns. The horns of the old southern cattle not only turned upward, but were lyre-shaped, with a peculiar final bend, and many of them were of extraordinary length. The same characteristics are found not only among modern breeds of this South European race, but also among English breeds descended certainly from cattle brought into the country within historical time, and, presumably, from those brought in by the Romans. The accompanying illustrations will make this point clear.

Another link was found in the fact that the English park cattle and the South European race were of the same colour, viz. white with black "points"; that is, the body white, the muzzle and ears black, and the ears lined and

Roman ox, from a painting on a wall in Pompeii.

[From McKenny Hughes.

Old Egyptian cattle.

[From McKenny Hughes.

Sicilian ox.

[Front McKenny Hughes.

Italian ox.

[From McKenny Hughes.

the muzzle encircled with black or brown hairs. Black or brown patches are sometimes found on other parts of the body and, frequently, below the knee. The extraordinary resemblance between the English park cattle and the cattle of

Ancient Egyptian cattle.

[From Keller

Old Glamorgan cow

[From Youatt

Abergavenny bullock.

[From McKenny Hughes.

Old Derbyshire bull.

[From Youatt

modern Italy is thus expressed by McKenny Hughes^[5]: "If a selection of the lighter coloured individuals of the common draught-ox of Italy were turned out in a park in England, no one would suspect that they did not belong to the wild white breed. … A comparison of the skeleton of the Chillingham bull in the British Museum with that of an Italian bull presented by the King of Italy, shows that there is no essential difference between them."

Modern Italian bull.

[From McKenny Hughes.

Chillingham bull.

[From McKenny Hughes.

A short consideration of a few other circumstances will make the connection between the two sets of cattle still clearer. A Roman colony was not altogether parallel to many of our modern colonies. The Romans in Britain were rather organisers of an empire than colonists. They did not drive away the Britons as the Europeans drove away the red Indians, but settled among them much as the English have settled in India. Their policy was to bring civilisation, industry, and commerce to the people they had conquered; to build towns and cities; to set up such a system of military stations as would secure their enterprise from enemies both within and without; and to lay down such a net-work of roads as would afford ready and easy communication between all parts of the country. Only a small proportion of the Romans took to farming, and these only in the neighbourhood of towns and military stations, or in districts with a comparatively dense and homogeneous Roman population. Consequently the Roman cattle were confined to the vicinity of towns and military stations, and, a large number being required for transport and other military purposes, it is inconceivable that many got into the hands of the natives.

The nature of the Roman evacuation of Britain is well known. It was almost a rout: a kind of forced march in which every impediment was left behind and only fighting gear and the minimum of food supplies were carried. The necessary transport animals were taken away, but cows and young stock, which would have been an insufferable encumbrance, were left behind. We know also the state of the country after the flight of the Romans; how the unsettled natives had little more than time to think of settling down when the Saxon was upon them. They managed to take possession of some of the cattle left behind by the Romans, but the rest were bound to have become feral. Then, as the natives were pushed westward and northward, the Roman cattle they had been unable to secure were left behind to fend for themselves in the forests. For some centuries more, the country from which the Celts had been expelled was the arena of strife and war, by no means thickly populated, and exposed on the western border to continual rieving and raiding. And, so, when the Normans came in, they found the Roman cattle no longer quiet and uncomplaining animals of burden, but wild and ferocious beasts of chase.

In connection with these white cattle, there is a series of facts which corroborates in a remarkable manner the views which have just been set forth. It is well known that the Romans had no hold upon Scotland north of the Grampians, and none at all upon Ireland. It is also well known that the English pressed into England from the Southern and Eastern coasts. That being so, these Roman cattle ought to have been confined to Wales, the North-west of England, and the South of Scotland. It is also well known that, while a large part of England was sunk in struggle and strife, during the Saxon period, Wales stood aside in comparative quiet. That also being so, we should expect the Roman cattle that were driven into Wales to have remained tame, while those that remained in England became feral. And our expectations are correct. The Roman cattle were confined almost without exception to the parts of the island indicated, and while they were tame in Wales they were feral in England and Scotland. And not only so, but Harting drew up a list of the places at which they are known to have been emparked,^[6] and every one of those places in England and Scotland is situated well on the west or just immediately to the east of what we may call Green's line: "The conquest of the bulk of Britain was now (about 588) complete. Eastward of a line which may be roughly drawn along the moorlands of Northumberland and Yorkshire, through Derbyshire and skirting the forest of Arden, to the mouth of the Severn, and thence by Mendip to the sea, the land had passed into English hands. From this time the character of the conquest of Britain had wholly changed. The older wars of extermination came to an end and as the invasion pushed westward in later times the Britons were no longer driven from the soil, but mingled with their conquerors."^[7]

The accompanying map shows the locations

Map of the British Islands, showing the locations of the Herds in Harting's list, and also the approximate direction of Green's line. Existing herds are denoted by capital letters.

of the herds in Harting's list and also the approximate direction of Green's line. The herds that still exist are denoted by capital letters. The Blair Atholl herd has been removed to North Wales and the Middleton herd to Norfolk. Some of these herds are or were polled, a matter which will be discussed later.

1. "British Fossil Mammals and Birds."
2. "Cave Hunting," and "Early Man in Britain."
3. "Notes on the Ancient Cattle of Scotland."
4. See work already quoted.
5. Op, cit., p. 20.
6. "British Animals Extinct within Historic Times," 1880.
7. "Short History of the English People," illustrated edition p. 29.