Rabbit - Introduction

Rabbits were brought to Britain by the Romans about 2,000 years ago.  Rabbit remains were found in an archaeological dig near Thetford, Norfolk in 2005.  These rabbits were bred for food and were kept in walled enclosures with deep foundations so that they could not escape into the wild and almost certainly the population died out when the Romans left. 

Rabbits first escaped into the wilds of Britain when they were reintroduced by the Normans, who kept them in large, enclosed warrens for their fur and meat. They have gnawing teeth and so used to be classed as rodents, but rabbits and hares have been re-classified into a group of their own, lagomorpha.