Following the talk from Jon Kenny earlier in the year the local history group have been participating in a research project organised by the University of York examining medieval fishponds. Researchers are taking soil cores from a number of moated sites which will hopefully hold some remaining evidence of the fish that once lived in their waters. Samples are being taken at Cawood Castle Garth and also at the Hall Garth moated site here in Bolton. If the archaeology team find evidence of fish scales they will be using cutting edge scientific techniques to try and identify the protein 'signature' of different fish species. One of the key questions they are interested in is trying to learn more about the date when carp were first introduced to the UK.
View Hall Garth moated site Bolton
in a larger map
Soil cores have now been taken from the moated site. Specimens have been taken from different depths and will then be seived, examinded under a low power microscope - and any fish scale remains will then be examine using a mass spectrometer to isolate the individual pattern of proteins typical of different species.
Watch the blog for further updates...