The roosters launch forward. The spurs attached to its legs glint in the sunlight. As the cockerels' claws clash in an epic battle, the crowd erupts. 

This is what life looked like for a chicken in Roman Britain, according to leading archaeologist Naomi Sykes. 

Today, you are more likely to encounter a chicken wrapped in plastic than in front of a crowd. 

Sykes, an expert in human-animal interactions, wants to change that image.

Sykes uses bones to track the chicken from its Asia across Europe through the Iron Age.

Early burials show chickens were not butchered for meat. Instead, cockerels were buried whole, sometimes alongside humans. 

For Sykes, it is proof: chickens were sacred. As early as the 7th Century BC, cockfights appeared on ceramics in Palestine, Egypt and Israel. In East TimorCockfighting still takes place in East Timor in Southeast Asia. Cockfighting is banned in many countries, including the UK and USA.  men use cockfighting to commune with the supernatural. 

It is not just through cockfighting that chickens become cosmic. Followers of ZoroastrianismAn ancient Persian religion. It is one of the oldest monotheistic religions in the world.  believed that the rooster's dawn crow was a symbol of the cosmic struggle between light and darkness. In the writings of CiceroConsidered one of the greatest orators of all time, he had defeated Catiline in the consular election., an angry consul throws a flock of chickens overboard when they refuse to eat before a sea battle. 

At some point, everything changed. As the population grew, chickens lost their exotic status. "Familiarity breeds contempt," Sykes summarises. 

Today, there are more chickens than people. Many are packed into cages. Every 0.05 seconds, 97 are slaughtered for meatToday, chickens are the largest source of protein on the planet through both meat and eggs.  worldwide. 

In Western culture, chickens are associated with cowardice and panic. Phrases such as "running around like a headless chicken" show the scale of the derisionRidicule or mockery. The word originates from the Latin deridere, meaning to scoff at. .

When Sykes and her team began working on "The Chicken Project", they faced ridicule. Newspaper columnists called the research "bird-brained". 

The criticism confirmed the team's suspicions: there is a "widely held perception that chickens are just a cheap meat, that they are stupid and meaningless".

Archaeologists are not the only ones calling for change. When neuroscientist Lori Marino studied chicken cognition, she discovered that chicks as young as five-days-old can do basic addition and subtraction. 

One thing is clear: chickens have shaped human society. Now, some believe if we can put aside prejudices cockerels could rule again. 

Yes: For centuries, chickens were revered worldwide as sacred beings. But today these intelligent creatures are packed into crowded cages. It is time we learnt to respect the chicken again.

No: Over time, cultures and priorities change. The chicken's power came from its status as a rare and exotic bird. Now, few believe the commonplace chicken has any magical powers.

Or... All animals are deserving of respect, whether they are birds or mammals or insects. Many today believe it is wrong to farm chickens intensively, but hens and roosters do not need special status.

East Timor - Cockfighting still takes place in East Timor in Southeast Asia. Cockfighting is banned in many countries, including the UK and USA. 

Zoroastrianism - An ancient Persian religion. It is one of the oldest monotheistic religions in the world. 

Cicero - Considered one of the greatest orators of all time, he had defeated Catiline in the consular election.

Meat - Today, chickens are the largest source of protein on the planet through both meat and eggs. 

Derision - Ridicule or mockery. The word originates from the Latin deridere, meaning to scoff at.