From Aug 2006 - Nov 2013 WeDig provided a live forum for diggers & fans of Vindolanda. It has now been mothballed and will be maintained as a live archive.
Here you will find preserved 7 years of conversation, photos, & knowledge about a site many people love. Vindolanda gets under the skin. (Figuratively and literally as a volunteer excavator!) It's a place you remember, filled with people you remember!
Thanks for 7 great years!
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| Remember this?; Rabbit Rabbit.... | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Sep 14 2008, 06:13 AM (854 Views) | |
| MichaelH | Sep 14 2008, 06:13 AM Post #1 |
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Remember Bryan's photo? Watch the program, "What to eat now" (Vindolanda Rabbit Feast, featuring Sophie's School of Cuisine) Mon. 15th Sept 08 on BBC 2 tv at 8-30pm. PG, this program may not be suitable for vegetarians or those of a sensitive disposition. Don't blink or you will probably miss the important bits!
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| brypop | Sep 15 2008, 04:04 PM Post #2 |
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Well Michael hope you saw the programme, I think it was well produced and Valentine came over very well. Sophie and Justin did us proud I think and it was nice to see an action shot of Ian digging. Most of us seem to have appeared in the background somewhere which was good and the aerial shot of site was fantastic. Ihope that programme will be shown again as I couldn't take it all in in one viewing. |
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| laura the great | Sep 15 2008, 06:14 PM Post #3 |
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i just happened to be randomly flicking thru channels tonight waitin on *the children* to come on, when some guy was makin scrambled eggs with truffles, yeah that sounds nice?! THEN I WAS TRAUMATISED BEYOND BELIEF. someone should shoot him just above the shoulder see how humane he finds it. POINTLESS. |
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| Justin | Sep 18 2008, 07:20 AM Post #4 |
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Ok, perhaps inevitably, we are receiving mixed feelings about Vindolanda's participation in this programme. This post is not to justify our participation, I feel no need at all to do that, culling rabbits occassionally is a part of what we have to do to manage the monument, but to explain our position. There is no argument at all that burrowing rabbits damage the archaeological stratigraphy at any site, not just Vindolanda. We are actually very fortunate that the damage is fairly small at Vindolanda compared to other sites, for example the hillfort on the top of Barcombe hill beside Vindolanda. The Vindolanda Trust's policy on this is to leave nature to take her course as best we can, and for as long as we can. So the various stoats, weasels, buzzards and even the Codley Gate farm cat are left to do a remarkably effective job of keeping the rabbit numbers on the site at a managable level. However, when rabbit numbers explode and they start to damage the site we occasionally need to control their population. I would like to stress at this point that this is very very rare (perhaps once a year) The best acknowledged form of rabbit control is through the use of ferrets, however, on a scheduled monument if they get stuck down a burrow you can't just dig a hole to retrieve them. Poison and gassing could be used, but I'm sure we would all agree is not the best solution with regard to our own health as we then excavate the same areas! So the only viable solution is to shoot them. Cruel? Yes I would agree. No matter how you dress it up killing an animal is cruel. The part of the TV show about where on the animal to aim for a quick, effective kill was merely BBC2's way of trying to educate people of this. Ham-fisted? possibly, but perhaps better than copy-cats without any knowledge aiming anywhere and prolonging what is usually an instant death. If left unchecked the archaeology at Vindolanda would eventually become significantly damaged by rabbits, and we would also have a health and safety issue for visitors on site regaring holes and scratchings everywhere. One thing I will stress is that all of the rabbits we shoot are eaten by either myself, or our groundsman, so they are not wasted in any way. Shooting is the quickest, cleanest and most effective means we have of dealing with this problem given the parameters we are working in. With regard to our participation in the TV programme, it was a way of advertising the site on prime time TV to a very diverse audience, through a means that was already going to have to take place anyway. Given our extremely limited marketing budget it was a viable way to try bring Vindolanda to potential visitors' attention; visitors who's admission money, lets not forget, finances everything we do at Vindolanda, including the volunteer excavation programme. I would like to stress again that culling the rabbits is an occassional necessity, not carried out for our own amusement. Shooting is the most effective method we have of doing this, and thankfully we only need to do it once in a blue moon. As far as is possible nature is left to take her own course on the site. Hopefully this clears up a few things. |
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| brypop | Sep 18 2008, 09:38 AM Post #5 |
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Very well put Justin you have my support on this. Living in Dorset and having so many friends who are farmers and archaeologists we realise the problems which can be caused by animals and birds to crops, domesticated animals and birds and to native wildlife, which sometimes get overrun by none native species. Some of the archaeological sites have had real safety issues especially with rabbits and the diseases they carry. None of us like to hurt wildlife but sometimes it is sadly unavoidable. Bryan |
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| SacoHarry | Sep 18 2008, 09:55 AM Post #6 |
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What a great breakdown, thanks Justin. I think it's all just proof that managing an archaeological site poses a whole slew of tough choices. Far aside from whether to dig or preserve in situ, whether to display or conserve. Personally, I'd rather a rabbit die instantly and painlessly than be toyed with & mauled as nature so often does. I'd also choose preservation of the site's archaeology and safety of the visitors over absolute protection of wildlife. In 2006 Sam & I kept count of the dead rabbits we saw on the road during our 3-week trip. 131 individual road kills. In 4 years of visiting Vindolanda I've personally killed 2 instantly, and severely mauled a third. I still remember each of the three, especially the third, and it stinks. But they're just -everywhere-. To me, it's amazing that Vindolanda's able to keep them away with such limited active hunting. |
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| laura the great | Sep 18 2008, 12:37 PM Post #7 |
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id just like to point out that im not stupid. i do live in the country. i know this activity goes on all the time. especially at night in trucks with their full beam on. i understand its a necessity. just sad to see that all publicity is good publicity. because as far as im aware theres certain licensin laws on guns which would mean that if someone happened to own one, they would know how to shoot somethin without vindolanda havin to help show the way with a cardboard cut out. oooooooh. |
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| Kate 13 | Sep 18 2008, 02:38 PM Post #8 |
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Now I am aware that shooting an animal is always going to be contentious, but I do think that sometimes it is necessary. I think that when it is necessary - in this case for the protection of the unique archaeological site that is Vindolanda so that all future generations can learn about it and appreciate the past - then it is also good to see that good food does not go to waste. There is no harm in highlighting this aspect on national television so that people are aware of some of the diverse problems that crop up when trying to manage a site like Vindolanda. It also is good to remember, in these credit crunch times, the old adage of waste not want not. I do not have a problem with Vindolanda using these means to get some inexpensive advertising and I was proud to be a part of the show. The rabbit stew was excellent, despite the tinned peas! Kate x :rolleyes: |
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| Jim & Dilys | Sep 19 2008, 07:15 AM Post #9 |
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Jim & Dilys
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Please can we get back to archaeology. This website is getting more like the Archers. ( A BBC radio 4 soap, for our digging buddy's across the pond) |
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| SacoHarry | Sep 19 2008, 10:22 AM Post #10 |
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Personally I'm cool with a little dissent. Reminds us that not every choice we make is cut & dried. As long as nobody starts plotting step-by-step how to take down archaeological volunteers painlessly.
So... is the Archers any good? |
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| Jim & Dilys | Sep 19 2008, 01:40 PM Post #11 |
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Jim & Dilys
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Harry I would prefer the painless shot in the back of the neck. |
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| Andy | Sep 22 2008, 07:13 AM Post #12 |
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Dr Andrew Robin Birley
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Hi all, the archers? excellent stuff. Some great points from all on this, and a truly enjoyable thread as the website has started to get to the nitty gritty of some of the management decisions that the Vindolanda Trust has to make on a daily basis. Many thanks to ‘Laura the great’ and all the other contributors for the impassioned debate. I was once offered the chance to go to an archaeological land management conference (3 day event) on how to sustainably manage an archaeological site with particular reference to pests like rabbits. I did not go in the end, as I considered the whole exercise rather pointless. This was not out of disrespect to the topic, rather as a qualification of the point that we can talk as much as we want, but in the meantime we still need to be proactive. Of course, the best way to get rid of rabbits (move them on to someone elses property) is to remove the grass and excavate and display the Roman buildings at Vindolanda, and on that point I we should all bend our energy. Best, Andy |
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