A BOTANICAL DISCOVERY AT BARTRAM’S GARDEN
Grateful for Rats? The scientific study of rodent nests is quite an undertaking. Given the curious nature of rodents, particularly scavenging rats, their large hoards often contain a great diversity of organic materials that can be examined and identified. However, anyone working with rodent debris will need to overcome the “ick!” factor. Because of the perceived association between rodents and uncleanliness, it is very likely that their nests are under-appreciated as sources of archaeological information. In historical buildings, the dry, stable conditions underneath floorboards and behind plaster walls can help to preserve nest contents for hundreds of years. Much of this fragile material would not have survived in typical archaeological conditions buried beneath the soil. Historical rodent nests, therefore, can offer an exciting source of botanical evidence if their contents are properly collected and scientifically studied in the lab. We might take a note of open-mindedness from Bartram’s Garden founder John Bartram, who, in 1740, wrote, “whether great or small ugly or handsom sweet or stinking… every thing in the universe in their own nature appears beautiful to me.”
A litter of mice have been born in a nest made from paper fragments, grass clippings, and wood chips. Creative Commons license, photo by Seweryn Olkowicz.
Rats will gather pieces of cloth and paper to line their nests, and they will also hoard foods that include seeds and nuts. Image courtesy of Internet Archive Book Images.
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EXPEDITION Vol. 62 | No. 3