A noble diet at the Hof van Leugenhaeghe (Steendorp, Belgium): pig skulls as a fourteenth–fifteenth century delicacy?

The animal remains found at the fourteenth–fifteenth century Hof van Leugenhaeghe are crucial to reconstruct the life of the noble inhabitants, as all buildings were destroyed with the construction of a later estate on the property called the Blauwhof. The diet confirms the high social status of thi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Archaeological and anthropological sciences 2018-03, Vol.10 (2), p.247-257
Main Authors: Aluwé, Kim L. M., Starkovich, Britt M., Van Vaerenbergh, Jeroen
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
15th century
Anthropology
Archaeology
Cattle
Chemistry/Food Science
Consumption
Diet
Earth and Environmental Science
Earth Sciences
Geography
Life Sciences
Original Paper
Property
Social status
Wealth
Citations: Items that this one cites
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Summary:The animal remains found at the fourteenth–fifteenth century Hof van Leugenhaeghe are crucial to reconstruct the life of the noble inhabitants, as all buildings were destroyed with the construction of a later estate on the property called the Blauwhof. The diet confirms the high social status of this nobility with the suspected consumption of pig skulls, a possible sign of wealth in late-medieval Flanders. Other signs of a noble diet are found as well: juvenile cattle, a diverse spectrum of game, partridge and grey heron. The observed pattern of a wealthy diet is consistent with the zooarchaeological assemblages found at other noble sites in late-medieval Flanders.
ISSN:1866-9557
1866-9565
DOI:10.1007/s12520-016-0349-5