Flesh, Fins and Furrows
Flesh, Fins and Furrows
In medieval Aberdeen most people, including the highest in the burgh, were involved in farming. People cultivated every available piece of land including the crofts ringing the town and the backlands behind their houses.
In the mid 17th century, Parson James Gordon described a number of cultivated fields to the east of the city and next to Fittie where corn, wheat, bear, oats, peas and herbs were grown.
Excavations near St Clement's Church have revealed evidence of medieval farming in the form of plough marks in the subsoil, while similar remains were found in the Green. Plant remains from excavations indicate the presence of a range of cultivated cereals, mainly barley and oats. Wheat and rye are also evident along with weeds such as corncockle which grew in cereal fields. Other remnants of cultivated foods include leeks and apples; while a coriander fruit fragment is a reminder of the importance of flavourings to medieval cooking.
Large numbers of animals were kept in burghs and there were many statutes about animals and the controlling of their movements. In Peebles in 1662, animals could be pastured on the town's common pasture if money had been paid, and the people in question were land owners in the burgh. In Aberdeen in 1487, restrictions were placed on the pasturing of animals on the Links, along with a system of fines and enforcements.
The archaeological evidence of animal husbandry in Aberdeen is vast. Environmental evidence demonstrates that peatland material was brought into the burgh for use as litter in stables where cattle, goats and horses were kept. Animal bones indicate the range of species utilised, their sizes and types, as well as their health and welfare. Damage to one pig skull from Netherkirkgate appears to show an abortive attempt to kill or stun the animal which survived long enough for the injury to part heal.
2. Fleshers
The impact of fleshers on the environment would have been very obvious and would have also produced a specific reaction in people. The fleshing (or butchery) trade produced a considerable amount of waste and gore which a number of statutes and ordinances sought to control.
Aberdeen fleshers, such as Hugo Carnifex (1399) and Thomas Johannis (1400), were to operate only in specific areas, especially for butchery and storage. These places were called the shambles and the flesh house. When conducting the butchery, fleshers had to ensure enough vessels were available to catch the spill. Moreover a regulation, perhaps demonstrating an awareness of infection, stipulated that fleshers were to keep their shambles clean at all times.
The 'Regulacons anent Fleschouris' stipulated that no middens should be suffered near the workplaces of fleshers. In Peebles in 1671, a new flesh market was constructed at the back of Thomas Smith's house on conditions that it should not be prejudicial to either him or to the sweeping of the high street.
In 1578 the Council in Aberdeen laid down a number of regulations to govern the prices of flesh and fish (which were treated at the filleting and sales level as equivalent and may have been stored in the same place).
From marks and cuts on bones found during excavations in the medieval burgh, butchery practices are evident. Cleavers or axes were used for dividing and disjointing carcasses, with saws being reserved for removing valuable items such as horn cores or deer antlers. One goat horn from Gallowgate found during excavation had at least ten hacks at the base providing evidence of a heavy-handed technique or a very blunt tool.
Meat was eaten in various forms in medieval Aberdeen as evident in registers and excavations. Thomas Mitchell in 1572 for example was named as a sausage maker.
Butchery marks also appear on the bones of horses as well as cattle, sheep, goats and pigs. Horsemeat may have been fed to dogs or eaten by humans as it is in other present-day European cultures. Cuts on dog and cat bones may be associated with skinning.
3. Fishers
Fish formed a very important part of the diet in medieval Aberdeen with Fittie and Torry developing as fisher communities. Fishing at sea and on the Don and Dee was carried out by many people including John Penuyr (1461) and Andrew Brabnar, a fisher who lived at the Brig o' Polgouny (Balgownie) in 1508. Hand lines would have been used for large fish and nets for smaller ones.
The value of fishing is amply attested to by the value of buying, selling and leasing fishing rights. The market for fish was vast: the city wanted fish and the hinterland wanted fish. Aberdeen was involved in an extensive export business in fish particularly salmon, some of which was caught by Thomas Augussoun from Shiprow in the 1520s. The Catholic Church also assigned certain days as fish days.
The filleting of fish produced similar waste to butchery with regulations to deal with that very problem. As with the fleshers, environmental problems would have occurred through odours and 'disturbing' waste products.
Bones from a wide range of medieval fish have been found during excavations in Aberdeen, with cod and ling being the most common, followed by haddock, pollack and saithe. Large quantities of oyster and other shells found are a reminder of the importance of shellfish in the diet. Interestingly, neither salmon nor eel have been identified, despite their mention in historical sources.
Archaeological evidence can throw light on the progress of fish from water to the table. Hooks may have been associated with the catch or may have been used for hanging the fish for ease of transport. Cut-marks on the bones indicate that the fish were gutted and cleaned near to the sites where the bones were found. The cod and ling available in medieval Aberdeen were consistently large but not of record size. This may indicate a selective fishing strategy in considerable depths of water probably for preserving, although no regulations to avoid depletion of stocks are known to exist.
