The Excavation of a Monastic Fishing Establishment at Oldstead Grange, North Yorkshire

Richard Kemp (with a pottery report by Wendy Sherlock)

c/o York Archaeological Trust, Cromwell House, 13 Ogleforth, York, UK. tel: +44 1904 663014

Cite this as: Kemp, R. 1999 The Excavation of a Monastic Fishing Establishment at Oldstead Grange, North Yorkshire, Internet Archaeology 7. https://doi.org/10.11141/ia.7.11

Summary

Excavations directed by the writer in 1982-3 for the University of York Archaeological Society uncovered the foundations of a small structure on the shores of a fishpond that belonged to Byland Abbey in the 14th century. The site's location, combined with a number of associated lead net weights, suggest that it was connected with organised, large-scale, fish farming.

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Features

This article will appeal to: those interested in medieval fish farming in England, Cistercian abbeys, Monastic fishing practices.
Keywords: Byland Abbey; medieval; fishing; fish farming; lead weight; archaeoichthyology;