Isotopic Insights from Prehistoric Feasting

"Our research highlights the strong parallels between the intense concentrations of activity associated with feasting event(s) at various henges and enclosures in southern Britain around 2500 BC, including Durrington Walls, Mount Pleasant and West Kennet palisaded enclosures, and at Newgrange. While there are clear similarities and differences in the character of the monuments at these places, contemporaneous largescale seasonal gatherings at midwinter for monument building and feasting occurred at each. At Newgrange and Durrington Walls, at least, we can now say that the feasting was focused on pigs that had been specially fattened on mast in advance. In combination, this suggests that these places may have been strongly interconnected through highly fluid and intersecting webs of contact at this time, thereby resulting in shared practices and worldviews."

Guiry E., Beglane F., Carlin N., Orton D., Teeter M., Szpak P.(2025). Pigs, pannage, and the solstice: isotopic insights from prehistoric feasting at Newgrange. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, 1–21, https://doi.org/10.1017/ppr.2025.10063

A fascinating study which will lead to reinterpretation of much Neolithic feasting data. The isotopic evidence from fattening on mast is important.

On a quick read through I am a little concerned that it seems that the peak of pig slaughtering was more likely to be November rather than at the Solstice for their conclusions. This is based on May farrowing which is at the end of the seasonality of Wild Boar and pigs raised naturally.