Horseflesh and beaver pelts: aspects of faunal studies in Medieval Novgorod and its region

Excavations in the medieval trading centre of Novgorod (NW Russia) have shown that horseflesh was consumed quite frequently and that horses were stabled in urban properties. Their carcasses were commonly utilized for the manufacture of skates and leather. Beaver meat was sometimes consumed in the town although their much greater importance as providers of pelts is not evidenced in the zooarchaeological evidence from Novgorod. Evidence can be found on sites deep within the forest zone of its expansive territory.