The InternationalJournal of Nautical Archaeology (1999) 28.1: 70-84 Article No. ijna.1999.0203
Fish-trap types: a component of the maritime cultural landscape
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Nigel Bannerman Bronze Age Coast Project, 27 Abbey Road, Llandudno, North Wales LL30 2EH, UK
Cecil Jones School of Ocean Sciences, University College of North Wales, Menai Bridge, A nglesey LL59 5EY, UK
Introduction Relics of fisheries form one of the most ubiquitous features of the coast of Britain. The use of naturally occurring pools and gullies for the purpose of taking fish is one of the oldest human practices and it has persisted into the present. In any attempt to define a maritime cultural landscape the fish-trap or fishing weir has a special place. It is usually associated with human settlements, trade patterns, and religious establishments. The position of the traps relative to the shore and sea surface level also provided clues to changes in the configuration of the coastline. The oldest fish-traps were probably simple structures made of brushwood and wattle. These may have been simply fences set in the inter-tidal zone which directed fish into a pool of some other receptacle which would allow humans to take them. Such basic stake and wattle traps persisted into the recent past. Types such as the Essex 'kiddies' have been noted in surveys of the inter-tidal zone (Tyson, Fulford & Crutchley, 1997) while others have their own regional characteristics and terminology (Bathgate, 1949). Fish-traps work by trapping fish behind walls of stone, fences of wattle, or fixed nets as the tide recedes. Davis (1958), in a review of fishing, states that ' . . . fish come inshore on the flood 1057-2414/99/010070+ 15 $30.00/0
tide, but on the returning of the ebb, come between the arms of the wedge shaped trap and are gradually stranded'.
Towards a taxonomy of fish-traps The application of human ingenuity to the exploitation of inter-tidal fishing has resulted in a wide variety of structures whose main purpose is to utilise the tidal range and long-shore currents to trap fish. The topography of the shore and its associated substrates usually determine the configuration of the fish-trap's structure. Availability of building materials, and the stresses imposed by the site in relation to wave action or tidal stream strength, are other factors which determine design and situation. The earliest types can be traced to at least the Mesolithic (Pedersen, 1995). Although it is possible to associate some designs with specific periods and social contexts, it is likely that the basic structures developed in the Neolithic or earlier persisted in a basic form and formed a continuity of development to more sophisticated structures which evolved in particular physical contexts. The fish-trap is now a recognized component of the archaeological resource (Fulford, Champion & Long, 1997) and it may be opportune to examine the types of fish-trap that occur within an area © 1999 The Nautical Archaeology Society
N. BANNERMAN & C. JONES: FISH-TRAP TYPES
which may reasonably be described as a 'maritime cultural landscape' (Westerdahl, 1992). For some years studies of the Anglesey coast including the Conwy and Caernarvon bays have suggested that it is a suitable area for relating maritime activities to a manageable context with a distinctive character and history (Eames, 1973). The area contains a variety of fish-traps and some of these have been studied (Jones, 1983) while documentation relating to ancient fisheries exist (Carr, 1978). Recent surveys have located fish-traps in new locations and some of these have been related to studies of coastal dynamics (Momber, 1991). No attempt has yet been made to correlate fish-trap locations with the occurrence of other antiques such as megalithic tombs, henges, and stone circles, despite the presence of such important evidence of human settlement in the area (Lynch, 1991, 1995).
Types of fish-traps or goradau Within the area under review it is possible to identify seven distinct types of fish-trap structure. There may be other types which are now lost and it is possible to find different types merging into one another at extensive sites. The size of a fish-trap may vary from small frameworks of brushwood which block creeks and streamlets to massive arrays of traps such as the 12 miles of shore traps near Llanon in Cardigan Bay (Lewes, 1924) and the Boylston Street fishweir in Boston, USA, which occupied two acres and contained 65,000 stakes (Banks, 1990). The terminology of fish-traps is complex. The terms weir, yair, which Bathgate (1949) derived from 'yard' (to denote an enclosure, a coop or keeping area), and coret or gorad are used. The term gorad, plural goradau, is the most frequently used appellation in Wales. This is derived from the root cor meaning 'plaiting' or 'weaving' and must originally have meant 'plaited weir' (Richards, 1974). The name argae is
Figure
1. A complex structure at Gorad-y-Gyt, Bangor. A fish-trap which was of type 5 has been dismantled to create oyster beds. The original wall extends out to sea on the left of the photograph and traces of the dismantled 'arm' of the trap runs from the top centre to the bottom centre.
also applied to fish-traps but is rarely encountered in a maritime context. It refers to an enclosure and is sometimes associated with a mill. Another term of note is 'fyshe herdes' which may also refer to a type of enclosure (Davies, 1942). The word gorad also refers to 'something curved' and may have gained this secondary meaning from association with the simplest type of stone built fish-trap which was a curve of rocks forming a tidal pool. Such basic structures are widespread and have been noted among the aboriginal artefacts in Australia (Dix & Meagher, 1976). In some studies the term has been used to describe only stone built, tidally operated, fish-traps (Jones, 1983). The term also survives as a place name when the original fish-trap has disappeared. In one instance the structure known as Gorad-y-Gyt (literally 'gorad of the cut or narrow ravine') is made up of square enclosures. Only careful study of aerial photographs of the site revealed the curved structure of the original fish-trap embedded in the square enclosures used for oyster culture in the mid-19th century (Davies, 1942)(Fig. 1). It may be mentioned that some rows of stones of nearly equal size and weight 71
N A U T I C A L A R C H A E O L O G Y . 28.1
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Figure 2. The wall of Gorad Ddu (The Black Gorad. due to its mantle of seaweed, Asc~q#~.vlhtm ,odosum), where it joins a naturally occurring rock outcrop.
Figure 3. Natural features of the shore incorporated in a type 3 fish-trap. The picture shows the area of shallow tidal rapids in the central Menai Strait known as the Swellies. The shore on the left of the photograph contains several type 3 traps in which walls connect rocky outcrops. which are seen on the seabed in the intertidal zone are the result o f 'kelp rafting' where seaweed, usually laminarians, settle on the stone and grow to a size which creates a drag that then moves the stones along the seabed until they encounter the shore where they are deposited in apparent rOWS.
Location of fish-traps Fish-traps were built where there was an adequate tidal range and, in the case o f stone-built traps, where there was a source 79
of building materials. The biotope o f the trap would also have been i m p o r t a n t ill tile case of the stone-built structure which contained interstices between the stones making up the wall o f the trap. These cavities provided habitats for small animals which may have played some part in 'baiting' the trap. In the coastal areas of Anglesey and its adjacent bays fish-traps are mostly found on beaches and in tidally swept channels such as the Menai Strait. A considerable p r o p o r t i o n o f surviving fish-traps are found on beaches which consist o f eroded glacial till. Initially this substrate would seem an unsatisfactory base on which to construct the trap but observations at sites such as those at Beaumaris Bay near the northeastern entrance to the Menai Strait, indicate that a subtle process o f consolidation operates in such locations. This process has been referred to as "self a r m o u r i n g ' in that it acts to protect the beach from wave action. In the process the finer constituants o f the glacial till, or boulder clay, are carried away leaving behind the larger pebbles and boulders which form a protective layer over the underlying till. Wave action continues to compact this layer o f ~armour' until it is resistant to all but the most violent storms. The stones are then cemented by a type o f inorganic material which is further consolidated with faunal overlay. Jenkins (1974), in his review o f fish-traps, notes this process in that the structure of traps located on beaches 'were made durable by the silting of sand and stones a r o u n d them'. Lewes (1924) records that following the winter storms, maintenance work was required on beach-situated stone traps, the work being termed 'raising the gored' (codi gored). Certain geological conditions provide suitable building materials. Apart from the large boulders which are exposed by erosion of the glacial till, some limestone outcrops on the East Anglesey shore possess a naturally occurring jointing which,
N. BANNERMAN & C. JONES: FISH-TRAP TYPES
Type 1: n a t u r a l fishtraps Examples: the Anglesey skerries; Ynsoedd Moelrhianned
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Figure 4. The Skerries Islets as f i s h - t r a p - - m o r e survey work is needed at this complex site before details o f its use as a fishing area can be deduced.
when quarried, produces virtually dressed stone which can be used to build massive walls. Such material makes up the classic, curved stone trap at the south end of Llygwy Bay, Anglesey. Traps also occur at the extremities of sheltered inlets (Cemaes Bay) on beaches lining tidal channels (Penrhos Bay, near Holyhead) which prior to the cob being built in the mid-19th century, ran into the channel called the 'Inland Sea'. The Menai Strait contains some complex structures which utilise outcrops of rock as their base (Fig. 2) (Jones, 1983) while the traps situated on the southern shore of Caernarvon Bay are located on boulder clay (Momber, 199!). Studies near Deganwy on the eastern shores of the Conwy Bay by one of the authors (Bannerman) have revealed traps which have been lost for centuries under
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Figure 5. View o f the Skerries lagoon d a m m e d at one end.
sandbanks. C h a n g e s in sediment distribution, possibly following sea defence works, revealed an artificial ridge o f red Irish Sea glacial clay, 0-6 m high and 150 m long, which had been raised on a substrate o f the 73
NAUTICALARCHAEOLOGY,~.I
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same material. This had been reinforced or 'armoured' with rounded stones which had naturally eroded out of the boulder clay. Holes had been dug into this ridge to support posts grouted with blue estuarine 74
clay. The remains of one of these posts gave a radiocarbon date of c.AD1460(cal). Since posts were being Continually replaced in wood and wattle structures this does not indicate when fishing began at this point,
N. BANNERMAN & C. JONES: FISH-TRAP TYPES
Figure 8. Aerial view of Gorad Dhu, a type 3 fishtrap (SH 546 716) which is known to have been operational in the 15th century and may be older.
but it does fit neatly into the pattern which associates fish-traps in the ar6a with religious sites, in this case the Bishop's Palace, Great Orme. The great weir of Gorad Rhos Fynach, which once trapped 35,000 herring on one tide, is situated at Rhos-onSea and was built about A D l l 9 0 by monks who were also associated with the extensive series of fish-traps in the Cardigan Bay, and the short lived Gorad Beuno at Clynnog Fawr, Caernarvon Bay (Momber, 1991). The ecclesiastical connection is further illustrated by events concerning the Medieval fishery located at the offshore islets known as the Holyhead Skerries (Carr, 1978). This fishery was deemed an important one and in 1498 the Bishop of Bangor sent an expeditionary force to regain the Skerries from an usurper. The islets are set among very strong tidal streams and off-lying reefs and shoals would make any boat-based netting very hazardous. It is suggested that the islets themselves form a fish-trap with the central lagoon forming the main fishery which had its feeder channels netted off with wattle structures. In the 18th century it ,was recorded that the lighthouse keepers on the Skerries caught many fish and 'have frequently taken them up with baskets, as they passed by' (Morris, 1748). Due to its
Figure 9. SH 546 716 showing the 3 m high walls. Lack of wave action at this point in the Menai Strait has allowed the preservation of the stone walls. The tidal range can exceed 9 metres.
position offshore and the strong surrounding tidal streams, boats would have formed an indispensable component of this fishery. Another island which operates as a fishtrap in this manner, Ynys Gorad- Coch, in the central Menai Strait, (Fig. 3) was also the property of the Bishop of Bangor. Together they form a special category of fish-trap type in which the fish are to some extent trapped by the shear force of the current (Senogles, 1969). Another fish-trap was known to have been situated close to Ynys Gorad Coch but this was destroyed during the construction of the Britannia Tubular Bridge in the mid-19th century.
Classifying the fish-traps of Anglesey and North-West Wales Fish traps often undergo continuous modification so that classification by age, such as radiocarbon dating, presents problems. 75
NAUTICAL ARCHAEOLOGY, 2.8.1
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Some, which operated for only a short period, such as the post and wattle structure at Gallows Point, Menai Strait, may be located fairly precisely to a particular period, in this case the late Elizabethan Period. Many fish-traps have been subjected to continuous modification to accommodate changes in their immediate surroundings, such as coastal erosion effects and sea-level alterations, so that the existing shape and size do not reflect the original structure of the trap. It may be possible to associate certain fish-traps with physical factors such as exposure to wave action or to 'high energy' environments in terms of tidal stream and wind exposure. Association with important ecclesiastical or secular settlements may also be related to the type of fish-trap employed. The 76
well-established connection between the Cistercian Order and the fish- traps located in central Cardigan Bay, Clynnog Fawr, and Rhos-on-Sea simply shows that the monks used different types of fish-traps at these locations, perhaps utilizing older or existing fish-traps. A more satisfactory approach may be that of listing the traps in terms of the shape used, particularly the plan, in relation to naturally occurring features of the coast. Certain distinctive features may be gleaned from the remains of fish-traps found within the Anglesey area. This reliance on shape and situation may be simplistic but it does allow a template to be established which may allow illuminating comparisons to be made with fish-traps in other regions and lands. No diffusionis¢
N. BANNERMAN & C. JONES: FISH-TRAP TYPES
trapped by the receding tide. They are then caught by spearing with a leister or similar pronged instrument. In Scotland, these naturally occurring 'lagoons' or deep crevices between a rocky cliff and an adjacent rock to seaward which can be sealed to create a pool are termed 'cruives' when used for fishing (Bathgate, 1949). The entrance to these are closed by wattle frameworks at high tide and the fish are trapped. At the Holyhead Skerries, the lagoon is dammed at one end and the channels leading to it can be sealed off easily. The large size of the lagoon and the strong tides acting around it guarantee a rich biotope making it attractive to fish. The defining characteristic of this type of trap is the very small effort required to modify a naturally occurring coastal feature into a fishing instrument.
Figure 11. (a) The classic gorad--a type 4 fish-trap at Llygwy Bay, Anglesey (SH 502 873). The curve of stones joins the limestone cliff. Because of naturally occurring jointing in the limestone some of the stones in the trap give the appearance of dressed blocks. Photograph taken at low water ordinary tides. (b) The trap with the tide at the level at which fish were collected. The trap is close
Type 2. Semi-permanent wattle and wood trap (Fig. 6). This consists of rows of wooden posts which are linked by wattle work or nets. They may cover large areas and may form a complex of straight lines and right angle structures.
to a settlement which dates from around 300AD.
model of the spread of fish-trap technology is implied, although some of the types of fish-trap found in North Wales can also be found in Scotland (Lethbridge, 1952) and England (Tyson et al., 1997). The following types are suggested as the basis for a classification of fish-traps.
Type 1. Natural features adopted as a trap (Figs 4 & 5). This type of trap is based on adop, ting natural features of the coast which are conducive to fish capture after only slight modification. In its simplist form this is no more than a tidal pool in which fish are
Type 3. Modified natural feature trap (Figs 7-9). This is usually in the form of walls with sluices built between rock outcrops in the inter-tidal zone. It may incorporate some rock pools but does involve extensive building of walls and barriers, most using stone as the building material. Jenkins (1974) notes 'at Cored Ddu on the Anglesey shore of the Menai Strait, for example, a weir was constructed between a small island and the mainland. Here the fish could pass round the outside of the island and towards the shore on the flood tide but were held back by the wattle barrier of the weir as they made their way through the channel on the ebb.' 77
NAUTICAL ARCHAEOLOGY, 28.1
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Figure12. This demonstrates a deep understanding of the builders of the various construction materials. Type 4. The crescent-shaped trap (Figs 10 & 11). Built of either wooden stakes with wattle connecting panels or a stone base with 78
stake and wattle end abbutting the gorad a s a c u r v e d very early type of
superstructure and one s h o r e . T h i s is t h e c l a s s i c w a l l a n d is p r o b a b l y a trap.
N. BANNERMAN & C. JONES: FISH-TRAP TYPES
may be skewed to either side to shore contour or other natural features. The Double Vee resembles a 'W' shape and may be found in additional numbers. Constructed on a rock base with a wooden superstructure. Smaller versions of this type also occur but neither size of trap abbut the shore.
Type 7. The 'S' shaped weir (Figs 16 & 17). Usually in the form of a long shallow 'S', with a spur at the offshore end where the sluice is located. Made of wood with a stone base some of these traps stood over four metres high. Availability of materials could have dictated the ratios of stone to clay used as a base for the wooden superstructure. The wattle wall runs out from high water mark.
Figure 13. Crescent type at low water preliminary tide.
Type 5. Rectilinear (Figs 12 & 13). A more robust form of a 'Number 2' type trap. They are formed of rows of stones extending up to 600 m and the walls may be 1"4 m thick. Some of the sluices have dressed stones with grooves for the wattle barrier (known as the creed (cradle) in Welsh, another association with basketwork). The top of the wall is joined to the present shoreline when the trap is in operation. A right-angle bend occurs at low spring tide level and some traps have a further wall which curves or runs back towards the shore where the wall starts. Type 6. The ' Vee' or 'Double Vee' shaped trap (Figs 14 & 15). Similar in construction and size to the Rectilinear, 'Number 5' type trap. The point of the Vee faces down the shore and extends to low spring tide level. The Vee r
Conclusion In any attempt to define the maritime cultural landscape the role of fishing technology occupies an important place. Fixed fish-traps link the very early huntergatherer stranloopers to the near present. They form a continuum and their locations contain information about the human societies that developed on the coast, the way humans adapted to the maritime environment and the ways in which that environment was modified by changes in sea-level and by the activities of human beings. The Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act (1865) is a convenient cut-off point for the study of fish-trap technology. Nearly all traps were banned after 6th August 1861. This and consequent legislation virtually ended the construction of fish-traps. Many have disappeared completely but the remains of some have endured to allow maritime archaeologists to create a map-picture of the coastal landscape as it was. In this context the role of fishing in supporting and stimulating other developments requires further study. Boat development allowed fishing to be 79
NAUTICAL ARCHAEOLOGY, 28.1
Type 6: the 'V' or 'W'
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Figure 14. The right angles found in these traps have often been taken as the foundations of buildings which have become submerged. A classic example is the reporting of such a 'lost palace' in the Conwy Bay (the Llys Helig legend) where such fish-traps are known to exist.
Figure 15. A small type 6 'V'. As with all types, when constructed of wattle only, it is more suited for use in sheltered or estuarine conditions.
conducted offshore and fish-traps were part of the economic framework which saw the emergence of metalworking and the growth of coastal trade. The crofterfisherman, an integral part of an agrarian society, eventually became a member of a 80
specialized fishing community adding a new dimension to the diversity of enterprise, skill and activity that form the cultural landscape of our islands. A classification is proposed, based on seven types of fish-trap configurations,
N. BANNERMAN & C. JONES: FISH-TRAP TYPES
Type 7: the 'S;
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Figure 16. A type 7 trap.
which may act as a stimulant to further research and as a key component in a definition of the maritime cultural landscape. Other types will be found that will extend this basic model and there will be structures of a hybrid type where fishing is supplemented by the cultivation of shellfish, and even the production of pearls. Finally, the fish-traps may suggest the ecological perspectives which fostered societies in which the sea played a key role in human progress. Appendix A gazetteer offish-traps on the coast of North- West Wales The following include grid references where known. Some locations are lost and it may be possible that some traps ,had more than one name at different periods of their existence. Aberlleiniog complex (type 5 traps): SH 625 785-SH 624 793.
Llanddona Gorad (type 5 trap): SH 573 810. Llygwy Gorad (type 4 trap): SH 502 873. Cemaes Bay (type 4 trap). Llan(air-yn-Neupwll Gorad, at Traeth Pwll y Gored, Inland Sea near Holyhead. Alaw Estuary, Penrhos Bay Traps (type 5 trap): SH 284 804-SH285 809. Inland sea traps (hybrid with Vee characteristics): SH 272 782. Menai Strait, Gorad Ddu (type 3 trap): SH 546 716. Morgan's Island trap (type 3 trap): SH 543 713. Ynys Gorad Coch (type 3 with type 1 characteristics): SH 544 717. Cadnant Trap (a hybrid square shaped structure with Vee characteristics): SH 567 723. Gallows Point trap (type 7 trap): SH 592 759. Gorad-y-Gyt, Bangor (type 5 trap overbuilt by oyster beds): SH 577 730. 81
NAUTICAL ARCHAEOLOGY, 28.1 The Rhos Fynach fish-trap: a type 7 'S'. Taken from a 1910 photograph showing the interior of the sluice.
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Penrhyn Weir (type 7 with type 2 characteristics): SH 607 736. Cored Gwenllian, Llandegai (type 6 characteristics). 82
Cored Llanynghenedl, Alaw Estuary (type
4). Cegin Weir (type 7 with type 2 features): SH 598 733.
N. B A N N E R M A N & C. JONES: FISH-TRAP TYPES
Beaumaris Fish Weirs, in ruins (possible type 5 traps): SH 610 763. Llys Helyg (possible type 6 double traps). Conwy North Marsh trap, (type 4 trap). Lost trap shown on Collins chart, 1695. Gorad Wythno, Deganwy (type 5 trap): SH 771 807. Rhos Fynach Weir, Rhos-on-Sea (type 7 trap): SH 829 816. Gorad Maelgwyn, Deganwy (type 4 trap): SH 770 805. West Gogarth Gorad, Llandudno (type 5 trap): SH 760 824. East Gogarth Gorad, Llandudno (type 7 trap): SH 763 823. Gorad Caley, Rhos-on-Sea (type 5 trap): SH 842 805. Gorad Beuno, Clynnog Fawr (type 4 trap): SH 408 498. Skerries Islets, off Holyhead (type 1 trap): SH 267 948. Cored Aber Saint, near Caernarvon (lost trap, probably at Llanbeblig, type 4). Cored Gwrfai, near Dinas Dinlle (lost trap, probably type 4).
Carreg Oysters, Porth Dinllaen, Nefyn Bay (type 5 trap): SH 277 416. Cored Llan Rhos, west side of Conwy (type 4, known as 'Y Gorad Bach'). Aberdaron Gorad, beach trap (type 4) SH 166 260. Llanbedrog Gorad (type 4 trap): SH 334 315.
Acknowledgements The authors would like to express their thanks to Mrs Diane Bannerman, N.D.D., for the illustrations of the basic types of fish-trap structures. They would also like to record their appreciation of support and advice provided by staff and students of the former Department of Extra-Mural Studies (now Centre for Continuing Education) and also staff of the School of Ocean Sciences, University of Wales, Bangor. Thanks are also due to Trinity House for permission to land on the Holyhead Skerries. Photographs are the authors' own.
References Banks, M., 1990, Aboriginal weirs in southern New England. Bulletin of the Archaeological Society of Connecticut, 53. Bathgate, T. D., 1949, Ancient fish-traps or yairs in Scotland. PSAS, 83 (7th ser.) 11: 98-102. Carr, A., 1978, Medieval fisheries in Anglesey. Marithne Wales, 3: 5-8. Davis, H. R., 1942, The Conway and the Menai Ferries. Llangefni, Anglesey. Davis, F. M., 1958, An Account of the Fishing Gear of England and Wales. London. Dix, W. C. & Meagher, S. J., 1976, Fish traps in the South-West of Australia. Rec. West. Aust. Mus., 4: 2. Eames, A., 1973, Ships and Seamen ofAnglesey. Llangefni, Anglesey. Fulford, M., Champion, T. & Long, A., 1997, England's Coastal Heritage: a Survey for English Heritage and the RCHME. English Heritage Archaeological Report 15, RCHME. Jenkins, J. G., 1974, Fish weirs and traps. Folk-Life, 12: 5. Jones, C., 1983, Walls in the sea: the goradau of Menai. IJNA, 12: 27-40. Lethbridge, T. C., 1952, Boats and Boatmen. London. Lewes, E., 1924, The Goredi near Llanddewi, Aber-Arth. Arch. Camb., Series, 7(4): 295-298. Lynch, F., 1991, Prehistoric Anglesey. Llangefni, Anglesey. Lynch, F., 1995, A Guide to Ancient and Historic Wales." Gwynedd. London. Momber, G., 1991, Gorad Beuno: investigation of an ancient fish-trap in Caernarvon Bay, N. Wales. 1JNA, 20: 95-109. Morris, L., 1748, Plans of Harbours. Bays, and Roads in St George's Channel. Dublin. Pedersen, L., 1995, 7000 years of fishing: stationary fishing structures in the Mesolithic and afterwards. In Fisher, A. (Ed.), Man and Sea in the Mesolithic. Oxford. p. 75-86. Richards, M., 1974, Some fishing terms in Welsh place-names. Folk-Life, 12: 9-19.
83
NAUTICAL ARCHAEOLOGY, 28.1 Senogles, P., 1969, The storey of Ynys Gorad Coch in the Menai Strait. Private pub. Menai Bridge, Anglesey. Tyson, H. J., Fulford, M. G. & Crutchley, S., 1997, Survey and recording in the intertidal zone. In Fulford, M., Champion, T. & Long, A., (Eds), England's Coastal Heritage. English Heritage Archaeological Report, 15. Westerdahl, C., 1992, The maritime cultural landscape. IJNA, 21: 5-14.
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