Archaeology in the Severn Estuary 21

The construction of the new motorway links (the M4 and M49) for the Second Severn Crossing and the resultant infill and developments, which would come in their wake, provided the opportunity for a comprehensive programme of archaeological desk-based research, auger survey, building recording, excavation, and palaeo-environmental work (The Second Severn Crossing English Approaches Project). The defined area of study covered approximately 54 km², bounded respectively to the north and east by the M4 and M5 motorways, to the south by Bristol, and to the west by the Severn Estuary (GGAT 1992).The paper presented here is the third of the intended series and represents a brief synopsis of the full paper (Allen and Scaife 2009). That paper deals with a series of major environmental sequences – mostly obtained ‘off-site’ from the archaeological deposits investigated during the English Approaches Project – and represents the most systematic investigation of the middle/upper Wentlooge Formation undertaken on the English side of the estuary (certainly up to 2001 and probably since). The sequences are described and discussed individually, followed by a detailed and wide-ranging discussion of the evolution of, and human interference in, the Avon Levels. Here wedraw together the main strands of evidence and discussion to paint a brief portrait of this complex sedimentary landscape.

Analysis of LiDAR data covering substantial areas of the Gwent Levels, undertaken as part of the New M4 Project, identified earthworks relating to the development of the landscape. Networks of former channels identified on both the Wentlooge and Caldicot Levels attest to the natural drainage pattern underlying the modern landscape. An assessment of the context of these channels suggests that many may be early medieval or earlier in date. In addition to this, the analysis identified numerous ditched sites, many of which are likely to form part of a dispersed medieval and post-medieval settlement pattern. Many of these are closely associated with key structural elements of the landscape such as roads, trackways, reens and field systems. The distribution of these sites favours the ‘irregular’ landscapes thought likely to represent the first re-enclosure of the Levels landscape in the medieval period, although some have been identified within more nucleated medieval settlements. Some of these earthworks appear directly associated with ‘infield’ systems previously identified, whilst four sites appear to be directly associated with enclosed parcels of land. LiDAR data also provides a highly accurate topographic model of the Levels’ landscape, and there is a clear correlation between the topography of the landscape and the location of the ‘irregular’ landscapes of the medieval period. As well as confirming the low-lying nature of the back-fens, this identified the lowest lying areas of coastal land, which are likely to have influenced patterns of both drainage and flooding.

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The discovery of fishtraps, particularly from the medieval and post-medieval periods, is becoming widespread around the sea coasts of northern Europe. Wales and the Severn Estuary have been happy hunting grounds for coastal archaeologists for twenty years, and they have pioneered the recording of fishtraps (Godbold and Turner 1994, Turner 2002, Brown et al 2010, Chadwick and Catchpole this volume). There are clear regional variations in the style and construction of these traps. These reflect a combination of factors: the width and character of the foreshore, tidal conditions and range, the availability of different building materials, the habits of the fish and particularly the migratory species that were the focus of the catch, and local tradition. At the other end of the spectrum, is the interest in the evidence for medieval cookery and the wide range of dishes that cooks could prepare (Brears 2008, Spencer 2002). These recipes can be compared with the remains of fish bones recovered from archaeological deposits found in latrines, cesspits and middens of food waste, which represent the far end of the fish food-chain (see the published works of A Wheeler and A K G Jones in particular). The purpose of this paper is to try and assemble the historical and archaeological evidence for the fish trade, which brought the fish from where they were caught to where they were eaten. It will focus on evidence for Wales and the Marches, and will look in some detail at the trading of fish in two of the main towns in the March, Chester and Gloucester.