The Herpetological Journal

pp.504-509

Authors: C. J. Ranworthy, B. Kiøi Byf-biddle And M. Biddle

Abstract: During excavation work a round the Church of St. Wystans at Repton. Derbyshire. a large quantity of Common frog ( Rana temporaria) and Common toad ( Bufo bufo) bones were discovered at several sites. The robbing holes, suspected saw-pit, crypt, drain and burial mounds all appeared to have acted as historical pitfall traps ( between the eighth and sixteenth centurv ) . which in some cases caught frogs and toads in large numbers . In the eighth and ninth century the Common frog was abundant compared to the Common toad which is rare or even absent from Repton . However. by the fourteenth century. toads had become Well established. and in modern times. extremely abundant in the area. This change may be associated with the formation of an ox-bow lake between the ninth and sixteenth centurv.
A very high proportion of frog bones were recorded among the disarticulate human bones of the ninth century Viking burial mound. This mound is known to have been disturbed in the seventeenth century . However the almost complete absence of toad bones suggests that t here has been little contamination to these deposits during and after the fourteenth century. since t he Common toad appears to have been common in Repton from this time onwards.