Invertebrate remains from a burned-out reconstructed Anglo- Saxon building at West Stow, Suffolk

Carbonised (‘charred’), apparently heat-altered (‘toasted’) and unaltered insect remains from a series of samples from a burned-out reconstruction of an Anglo-Saxon house and West Stow, Suffolk, have been recorded. Many in each category were identifiable to species, though the degree of alteration of carbonised remains was variable, a substantial proportion being too modified for close identification. While ‘domestic’ insects, and others likely to have invaded the building, were present, there were also considerable numbers of beetles and bugs which must have originated outside the structure. These ‘outdoor’ forms were present equally in samples from within and beyond its outline.