Broad Garth, fish remains

Fish remains were recovered in abundance from the accumulation of material in Fenwick's Entry (Phase 5i of the Queen Street excavation of 1985). 21 species of fish were identified. These included freshwater fish - eel, salmon and smelt - which could have been caught in the estuary by trap, spear or hook and line. Sea fish - flounders, cod, saithe, ling, haddock, whiting, pollack, herring, turbot, plaice, dab and possibly lemon sole. Also gurnards, garfish, sand eel, horse mackerel or scad, thornback ray and wrasse. The majority of the cod were large (over 1m in length) a size rarely caught in the North Sea today. There was a thriving fishing industry in Newcastle during the medieval period which focused on marine fish, mainly cod family and herrings, with a lesser concentration of flatfish and estuary fish like eel and salmon. Herring were probably salted on the quayside. Stockbridge had a fish market near it during the time of Edward I {Brand 1789, 386-99}. The marine molluscs were maostly oysters and mussels. The edible periwinkle, cockle and whelk were also represented. There may have been an oyster breeding ground close-by. Other molluscs included flat periwinkle, dog whelk, sand gaper, little cockle and paper thracia. Barnacles and fragments of crab.