In the News: Evidence of rabbits in UK in Roman times, say academics

Archaeology and zoology mixed with history is always fascinating and everyone loves a bunny!  Here's a new research story from BBC News that confirms the appearance of rabbits around 1 AD- 

Rabbits have been hopping around the UK since Roman times, experts have been able to prove for the first time.

Scientific tests on a rabbit bone, found at Fishbourne Roman Palace in West Sussex, have shown the animal was alive in the first century AD.

The 1.6in (4cm) piece of a tibia bone was found in 1964 but it remained in a box until 2017, when a zooarchaeologist realised that it came from a rabbit.
Academics believe the animal could have been kept as an exotic pet.
Analysis, including radiocarbon dating, was carried out by researchers at the universities of Exeter, Oxford and Leicester.
Rabbits are native to Spain and France and it had been thought they were introduced to Britain during the medieval period.
Prof Naomi Sykes, from the University of Exeter, said there have been many previous claims of discoveries of Roman rabbits, and even some from the Bronze Age, but they had not been backed up by evidence.

University of Exeter

Image caption A bone from a rabbit found at Fishbourne Roman Palace

"The bone fragment was very small, meaning it was overlooked for decades, and modern research techniques mean we can learn about its date and genetic background as well," she said.
Researchers say they believe the rabbit was kept as a pet, as the signature in its bones suggests it ate its own faecal pellets.
"When they are in a hutch they tend to eat their own poo, and that gives them a really interesting signature in their bones, wild rabbits don't do that to the same extent," said Prof Sykes.
She added: "This is a tremendously exciting discovery and this very early rabbit is already revealing new insights into the history of the Easter traditions."