The Poulton Research Project

Recently we sent a quantity of disarticulated human bone to Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) for use as teaching aids. LJMU students have been carefully inspecting and recording the material. During the course of that work, students spotted a lead fishing weight that had got mixed up with the bone. They put it to one side for later inspection. By chance, a lecturer saw the weight and noticed there were the remains of marine creatures on it.

There were two polychaete worms (Class Polychaeta), Genus Spirorbis, next to each other. We cannot tell the exact species from what is left. It has a calcareous tube (calcium carbonate). The tube is not complete anymore but here is a living animal from that Genus. Most species live fully submerged but some species live in the intertidal too. Some are fully marine, others live also in brackish water. It is a typical biofouling group and therefore abundant on man-made surfaces and that's why it was recognised immediately. As this is obviously a biofouling species, it can also cope with brackish water.

For the Poulton project this is fascinating. It implies that the medieval population were hanging out nets for an extended period in salt or brackish water. However, we also need to consider what the River Dee was like at this time. Today the Dee is tidal only as far as the weir. Before the weir was built in 1093, what was the tidal limit and how far upstream was the water brackish?

We acknowledge and gratefully thank:

Dr. Simone Dürr (Lecturer in Marine Biology, LJMU), Andrea Jenkins and Laura Bowey for this work,

Dr Jerry Bird and Colin Armstrong (both of LJMU) for the photography.

All of the above for allowing us to publish it.