Proof excavated of Neolithic dairy farming in Wales

Dairy farming could have been happening in Pembrokeshire as early as 3,100 BCE, according to new research.

A pottery shard found on the tour. (photo credit: COURTESY FUN IN JERUSALEM)
A pottery shard found on the tour.
(photo credit: COURTESY FUN IN JERUSALEM)

Fragments of decorated pottery taken from the Trellyffaint Neolithic monument near Pembrokeshire were found to contain milk-based residue, the earliest proof of dairy farming in Wales, the BBC reported

The residue is reported to have originated from dairy products such as butter, cheese, or yogurt. 

The project was led by the University of Bristol, which detected the dairy fat residues from the inner surfaces of the pottery, as well as dating them with 94.5% accuracy to 3,100 BCE.

The term “Neolithic package" included animal husbandry, pottery making, food procurement and different ways of burying and venerating the dead, which eventually replaced the hunting, fishing and gathering way of life which had embodied the previous era, according to project researcher George Nash. 

 Cheese, please? IllustrativeMOSHE SHAI/FLASH90
Cheese, please? IllustrativeMOSHE SHAI/FLASH90

The artifacts discovered will be presented to the National Museum of Wales for safekeeping, while the team's research is expected to be published in several international scientific journals.