The CBRL Animal Bone Reference Collection was begun by Dr Andrew Garrard in the mid-late 1970s and through the 1980’s when he was firstly Assistant Director and then Director of the Institute (then BIAAH) in Jordan.   Andrew Garrard collected and prepared mainly mammalian skeletal specimens from the landscape which had died naturally and also included some bird species.

During the 1970’s and 1980’s environmental archaeology was developing rapidly, with the aim of using archaeological plant and animal remains (alongside other evidence) to inform on palaeo-subsistence practices and palaeoenvironments.

Archaeologists increasingly systematically retrieved animal bone remains from sites, and the CBRL reference collection was developed with the intention of aiding identification of material in archaeological assemblages.  The CBRL reference collection has been used since the 1980s to support archaeological research in Jordan, including the Azraq Basin Project, Black Desert Project, Ruweishid Project, Pella Project, Khirbet Faris Project, Jerash, Eastern Badia Archaeological Project amongst others.  The core collection has been added to over the past 40 years by other zooarchaeologists researching at CBRL.

What does the reference collection consist of?

The CBRL Reference Collection consists of over 40 prepared skeletons (either complete or partial) of animals commonly found on Jordanian archaeological sites.  It includes the main domesticates cattle, horse, donkey, camel, water buffalo, sheep, goat, pig, dog and cat, alongside wild species: gazelle, oryx, red deer, fallow deer, roe deer, fox and badger.  Bird skeletal material includes chicken, stork and Egyptian vulture, and there are also specimens of tortoise.

Some of the earliest specimens were collected in spring 1975 in the Jordanian badia, Azraq, and Wadi Rum – reflecting the collections beginnings, 50 years ago!

A few specimens were collected in collaboration with the RSCN from Shaumari Wildlife Reserve, reflecting animals which died naturally (such as specimen 174, an old male Oryx from the reintroduction programme), where the manager and wardens donated the skeleton for preparation.

Skeletal material has been specially cleaned and labelled.  Skeletal elements remain disarticulated for ease of use in comparative work.  An Excel catalogue details the contents of the collection.

Work in April/May 2025: Preparing the Animal Bone Reference Collection for use in CBRL

Louise Martin & Ayya Alshanawani, 27 April – 7 May 2025:

• Checking each specimen
• Reorganizing mixed specimens
• Re-boxing where needed, re-bagging
• Adding labels to each bone element
• Checking and updating catalogue entries (Excel)
• Re-shelving boxes in logical order, in new CBRL Workspace
• Writing ‘Instructions for use of the Collection’
• Purchasing sorting trays, work-table protective covering, foam to cushion animal skulls on shelves

The space and collection are now ready for users, researchers, workshops etc.

Uses of the collection:

• Research: ideally in future, researchers would be able to bring archaeological animal bone assemblages temporarily to CBRL for identification work.
• Workshops: training students and archaeological professionals in introductory zooarchaeology and wider environmental archaeology (one workshop already undertaken in June 2024 -see below).
• Digitization: a programme of digital photography of rarer specimens in the collection was begun in 2023 (see below) which could be continued, enabling wider access.

Zooarchaeology Workshop CBRL June 2024

‘An Introduction to Zooarchaeology: a one-day workshop’ was held in the CBRL Workspace on 25 June 2024, using the Animal Bone Reference Collection, combining mini-lectures with practical experience.  Six students from Jordan attended, some graduates, some master’s graduates, all with an interest in archaeological methods, environmental archaeology or bioarchaeology.  We had a very successful day of practical learning.

Digitization

Digital imaging of the reference collection began in May 2023, where rarer animal skeletons from the Animal Bone Reference Collection were selected for imaging to allow wider and remote access. Work was undertaken by Antonio Reis and Louise Martin from the UCL Institute of Archaeology (supported by CBRL and a UCL Institute of Archaeology Award).