Carisbrooke Castle, Isle of Wight: The Marine Shell from the 2006 and 2008/9 Evaluations
Author(s): Greg Campbell
The 2006 and 2008-09 English Heritage evaluation at Carisbrooke Castle (Project 4992) produced marine shells in similar numbers to substantial excavations in inland towns, and the largest class of anthropogenic material from the investigation. The shellfish were almost entirely from unconsolidated sea-beds characteristic of the northern coast of Wight. Oysters dominated throughout, cockles were common, mussels and whelks rare. These came from a wide variety of sources, with the sources and the nature of what was acceptable altering subtly but significantly over time. The shellfish discarded in the more public parts of the castle may have differed substantially from those prepared in the kitchens and discarded near them. The shellfish were supplied commercially, cleaned and sorted before shipping to the castle. This differs from nearby medieval urban centres, where oysters were supplied sorted and cleaned, but cockles and periwinkles were harvested by each household and sorted and cleaned at home. Some novel techniques were employed: this would appear to be the first use of correspondence analysis with oysters. It would also appear to be the first archaeological instance of whelks being harvested by dredging and for whelks being harvested during oystering.
- Report Number:
- 42/2013
- Series:
- Research Report
- Pages:
- 52
- Keywords:
- Environmental Studies Medieval Methological Research Mollusca Post Medieval
