Anglo-Saxon coastal fish weir, 'Nass Fish Traps', Tollesbury Fleet (EHER 9974)

A coastal fish weir located at the mouth of Tollesbury Fleet, around 600 metres south-east of Old Hall Marshes. The site was first recorded by Mr Ron Hall, a local amateur archaeologist, in 1993, and was later photographed from the air by a member of the AAG of Essex County Council. The weir is V-shaped, with walls of upright timbers converging on a long narrow structure, also of timber, which forms an elongated trap area. The upright timbers are infilled with panels of hurdling, which may also have formed a walkway providing access to the trap areas of the structure. Radiocarbon dating of timbers produced a date range of AD 664-882. Scheduled.

A pair of fish traps on the mudflats off the Nass. Exact location and orientation uncertain. Existence of these traps was well-known in the Tollesbury area. <1> See also <2> - <8>. October 2000. Scheduled Ancient Monument. A substantial coastal fish weir located at the mouth of Tollesbury Fleet, some 600m south east of Old Hall Marshes. The timber weir was first recorded at ground level by Mr Ron Hall, a local amateur archaeologist, in January 1993, and was subsequently photographed from the air by Steve Wallis of the Archaeological Advisory Group of Essex County Council. It is a V-shaped timber weir with walls measuring 120m (north east to south west) and 130m (north-south) converging to the north east, where a long narrow structure also of upright timbers forms an elongated trap area. Evidence for various phases of construction and repair can be discerned; the southernmost wall appears to have at least two phases of rebuilding at slightly different angles. The walls are constructed using upright timbers infilled with panels of hurdling; the latter, in addition to forming the infill for the walls of the weir, may have formed a walkway along the walls in order to allow access to the fish trap areas of the structure. Some of the large timbers from the site have features such as mortice holes and tenons. Samples of the timbers were taken for radiocarbon analysis and gave a date range of AD 664-882. As with several other timber fish weirs constructed in the estuary in the Anglo-Saxon or medieval period, it was clearly designed to exploit the action of the tides in the inter-tidal zone of the day. <9> NRHE data transfer: no new information.