Shardlow Fish Wiers
Jun 04, 2007 by Michael Bamforth
Birmingham Archaeology encountered a pair of curvilinear wooden features from a palaeo-channel, during a watching brief on Shardlow quarry. The structures consisted of a series of worked roundwood and timber stakes set vertically in the stream channel.
L – P : Archaeology’s Wood Specialist was able to record the 36 wooden stakes in a single visit to the unit’s finds store. An analysis of the woodworking technology showed it to be late Saxon in date which agreed with the radio carbon date of the structures. We were able to find close parallels for the structures, suggesting they were originally used as fish weirs. These wiers are for directing fish into fish traps.
L – P : Archaeology were able to provide a quick and cost effective service on this relatively small assemblage. The information gleaned from the assemblage included suggestions regarding the environment of the site, the presence of managed woodland and a probable function for the structures.
| Client: | Birmingham Archaeology |
| Site: | Shardlow |
| Development type: | Mineral Extraction |