University research on the biocultural history of hares has been showcased on the BBC's Countryfile series.
Dr Carly Ameen, an archaeological scientist specialising in bioarchaeology and digital imaging, was invited onto the show to discuss the historical timeline of hares in Britain and their cultural significance.
Dr Ameen travelled to the Bisterne Estate, near Ringwood in Hampshire, for a day of filming with presenter Margherita Taylor, and observed hares in the landscape.
The show aired over Easter and is available on BBCiPlayer.
"Swift-footed, enigmatic and free, the hare is an icon of British wilderness," says Dr Ameen, of the University's Department of Archaeology and History. "But what is less well-known is that the hare is not a native species but was introduced around 2,000 years ago during the Iron Age. Its fortunes have been in flux ever since, whether treated as an exotic animal by the Romans, or hunted for sport by the Normans."
Dr Ameen and Ms Taylor were filmed viewing the hares through binoculars in the Hampshire countryside. Dr Ameen explained how the University-led research project, 'Exploring the Easter E.g.', had prompted discussion, debate and insight on the species' history in Britain.
Funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, and led by Professor Naomi Sykes, the research project involved a team of archaeologists, geneticists, historians and linguists, with collaboration from Oxford and Leicester. And it was a 2020 research paper co-authored by Dr Ameen - The Shifting Baselines of the British Hare Goddess - that drew the attention of Countryfile's producers.
"It was a lot of fun to be able to observe such an energetic population of hares," adds Dr Ameen, who is the Director of the department's cutting-edge SHArD 3D Lab. "And it is fitting that contemporary conservation efforts have helped to preserve a species that symbolises Britain's history as an ever-changing, adaptable island, and one that has welcomed many newcomers."
