A mystery surrounding a massive frog cemetery near Cambridge has been solved, with scientists identifying short-eared owls as the likely culprits. Between 2016 and 2018, 8,000 ancient frog bones were unearthed in a ditch near an Iron Age roundhouse at Bar Hill.
Scientists from Bournemouth University and Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA) concluded that birds of prey were responsible for the 1,700-year-old accumulation. Dr Paul Clarkson of Bournemouth University stated that the solution was "a feast of frogs that were eaten and their bones left behind by a group of owls."
The researchers compared damage on the frog bones to previous studies, suggesting they were most likely consumed by short-eared owls and hen harriers. Radiocarbon dating by the University of Vienna confirmed the remains dated to the Roman period.
During the Roman period, retreating fen wetlands created ideal breeding conditions for frogs. The gradual felling of woodland for grazing livestock left amphibians with less protection from grassland hunters.