Footprints Website by Will Higgs: Archaeological section
Domestic Fowl (Chicken)
Gallus 'domesticus'
Two domestic fowl footprints are superimposed on this fragment, the two heel and two left claw impressions are marked H and C. In firm clay, only the prominent pads of the foot are recorded, giving rise to a sometimes confusing scatter of sub-circular impressions.
These can be mistaken for hobnail boot imprints (see other image) but in the latter the nail heads are often polygonal and do not have the characteristic scaly texture of a bird's foot. Also, the roughly linear edge of the boot can often be detected (indicated as "E").
Partial hobnail boot imprint on Roman tile. A maker's triple fingertip signature is present.
| DETAILS | (Both fragments) |
| Site | Wainscott Four Elms Roundabout, Kent; probable Roman tilery |
| Excavation Date | 1990s, Canterbury Archaeological Trust |
| Substrate | Clay |
| Age of substrate | 2cnd to 3rd century AD |
| Gait | slow |
| Identification (Fowl) | Scaly pads arranged in a three-toed pattern, with prominent claws. |
| Held by | Canterbury Archaeological Trust |