During the preventive archaeological excavation in the cellar of the site of petite Rue des Bouchers in the historical centre of Brussels (Belgium), the waterlogged remains of a thirteenth century AD sunken byre (potstal) were discovered. The exceptional preservation instigated a multiproxy approach, including micro-archaeology, micromorphology, phytolith and endoparasite egg analysis on thin sections, palynology and the study of plant macroremains on the fill of the structure. Beyond permitting to detail the content and the multiple origins of the fill (including excremental waste and urines, fodder and bedding material, plaggen and/or soil sods, household and construction waste), this study also provides detailed insights into the foddering customs, hygienic conditions within the stable, and the health status of the animals kept. On a more general scale this study documented late medieval farming practices in Brussels, more specifically the need to collect substantial amounts of manure to add as fertilizer onto the cultivated poor sandy soils.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2025
The mortality process is a key factor in avian population dynamics and conservation strategies like translocation. Understanding mortality drivers, particularly in translocated individuals, is essential for Grouse conservation. Black Grouse (Lyrurus tetrix) populations have strongly declined across Western and Central Europe. We studied five reinforcement campaigns of the last Belgian population in the Hautes Fagnes, using wild individuals translocated from Sweden. Between 2018 and 2024, we monitored 65 released individuals and investigated 44 deaths. Predation accounted for 88.7%, maybe 93.2%, of all recorded deaths, largely attributable to mammalian predators (72.8%), whereas 15.9% of death were caused by raptors. However, in 36.4% of mammalian predation cases, we could not determine ante-mortem nor post-mortem injuries due to insufficient traces. Other causes of mortality were rare, with fence collisions accounting for 4.5%, and no evidence of disease-related deaths. Mortality causes and cumulative mortality risks were independent of sex. Survival analysis showed high mortality in the first two months (26.7% per month), followed by a lower but ongoing rate (7.5% per month). During the first year, overall survival was 24.6%. Survival varied greatly from year to year, ranging from 100 to 30% after 60 days post-release. Breeding probability was also assessed. Around 50% of first-year females are expected initiate incubation if not predated, though the observed rate dropped to 23.9% with predation. Among these, 33.3% of nests are lost, potentially predated, and half of the mothers were lost during chick dependence. In contrast, females tracked into their second year experienced no predation nor their eggs, though the small sample size warrants caution in interpretation. The data collected show that increasing predator control, particularly in the first two months post-release but also beyond, is essential to enhance the restoration success of this Black Grouse population by improving survival, nesting success, and chick recruitment rate.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2026
Since predynastic times, baboons (Papio hamadryas and Papio anubis) were important in ancient Egypt for ritual and religious purposes. These species did not occur naturally in Egypt and therefore had to be imported, but little is known about their exact provenance and the conditions in which they were kept through time. Here, we analyse the skeletal remains of a collection of baboon mummies coming from Thebes (Egypt), representing a minimum of 36 individuals, from a palaeopathological and demographic point of view. The pathological cases are described, figured where relevant, and the discussion attempts to understand their aetiology. The prevalence of the different types of deformations and pathologies is compared with that of other captive baboon populations from more or less contemporary (Tuna el-Gebel and Saqqara) or older (predynastic Hierakonpolis) sites. This is combined with observations on the age and sex distribution and the proportion of hamadryas and anubis baboons to draw conclusions about the conditions of keeping, possible breeding on-site, provenance of the animals and the trade routes used for import. As in Tuna el-Gebel and Saqqara, the baboons from Gabbanat el-Qurud suffered from numerous metabolic diseases due to chronic lack of sunlight and an unbalanced diet. This and the demographic data suggest that there was a local breeding population derived from animals captured downstream from the Sudanese Nile Valley (for anubis) and from the Horn of Africa or the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula (for hamadryas). A new series of radiocarbon dates is provided, placing the baboons from Gabbanat el-Qurud between the end of the Third Intermediate Period and the beginning of the Late Period.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2023
