多年來，英國考古學界在究竟是羅馬人還是諾曼人向英國引進了兔子這個學術問題上，一直存在著分歧。目前，考古學家發現有證據顯示兔子是由羅馬人引進到英國的。

　　Years of division among academics over whether the Romans or the Normans introduced rabbits into Britain appears to have been resolved.

　　據英國《每日電訊報》網站4月14日報道，日前，一次在英國諾福克郡的考古發掘發現了距今有2000年歷史的兔子骸骨——這是到目前為止在這一地區發掘出的，時間距今最為久遠的同類發現。同時這一發現也被人們認為是弄清英國兔子來源的決定性證據。它向人們顯示，兔子這種生物是由以前的羅馬人為英國帶來的。

　　報道說，這些兔子的遺骨是在諾福克郡賽特福鎮附近的林福德發現的。諾福克郡的考古聯合會負責人杰恩·鮑文表示：“我們能根據兔子遺骨旁邊的陶器碎片將它們的歷史追溯至公元1世紀或2世紀。而這些陶器碎片中還包括被用作烹調工具的家用小壺。”

　　此前，有很多人都認為是由法國的諾曼人向英國引進了兔子，以此來滿足他們自己吃兔子肉和使用兔子皮毛的需要。而另外一些人則堅持說這種動物是由羅馬人帶來的，他們還引用古羅馬學者瓦羅(Marcus Terentius Varro，公元前116年至27年)的文章，文章中稱兔子這種動物是由古羅馬軍團從西班牙帶來的。

　　Years of division among academics over whether the Romans or the Normans introduced rabbits into Britain appears to have been resolved.

　　An archaeological dig in Norfolk has uncovered the remains of a 2,000-year-old rabbit - by far the oldest of its kind found on these shores and regarded as final proof that the creatures are now on the list of what the Romans ever did for us.

　　Many believed that the Normans introduced rabbits for their meat and fur.

　　However, others have always insisted that the creatures were brought in by the Romans, citing Marcus Terrentius Varro (116-27BC) who wrote that the legions brought rabbits from Spain, where they were reared in walled enclosures and then served up as a gourmet dish.