Mesolithic Fish Traps on the Severn Estuary?

I trudge past these wooden structures in the mud and often wonder if there were part of an old boundary fence. Turns out they could be, or are likely to be, fish traps from the Mesolithic period that date from around 5000 BC that were common up and down the estuary. To access this part of the shoreline the river has to be at almost low tide so they is generally covered up 20 hours a day.

The Mesolithic began about 8000 BCE and lasted until about 2700 BCE. So this stuff is pretty old then!

References as to why I think that here:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lScAz3-3HM (Intertidal Archaeology in the Severn Estuary and the Study of Prehistoric Routeways)

• http://www.reading.ac.uk/archaeology/research/projects/arch-mb-severn.aspx

• https://www.britannica.com/event/Mesolithic-Period

#archeology #mud #pottery #ironworks #roman #medieval #fishing #severnestuary #severn #estuary #river #riversevern #mudlarking #mudlark #mesolithic #fishtrap