Internet Archaeology 7. Nicholson. Conclusions

Conclusions

The remains from both the Quayside sites were rich in fish bones, which derived from a number of species. Documents give evidence of fish markets in the vicinity of the Quayside in the past, and the concentration of remains, in particular when compared to the number of mammal bones in many deposits, supports the conclusion that fishing was important in medieval Newcastle. It is probable that the remains were those of fish, or pieces of fish, discarded from the markets and possibly from fish landed on or near the quayside. When examined critically, however, the argument for processing on the quayside is not straightforward, and we need to know much more about the processes and patterns of loss of bone in the ground before firm conclusions can be drawn. Interestingly, however, while few bones have been found from excavations in the city, perhaps because sieving was not practised, examination of some hand-picked material from Blackfriars (Nicholson 1987) revealed head bones from large cod, saithe and ling, indicating that some large fish, at least, were sold intact.