Ancient Monuments Laboratory
Report 65/89
PLANT REMAINS FROM STRICKLANDGATE,
KENDAL, CUMBRIA.
J P Huntley
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Ancient Monuments Laboratory Report 65/89
PLANT REMAINS FROM STRICKLANDGATE,
KENDAL, CUMBRIA.
J P Huntley
Summary
Bulk samples from medieval Kendal were analysed.
Most
of the material was carbonised and indicated
use
of
four main
cereal grains - bread-wheat, 6-row barley,
cultivated oats and rye.
Some chaff was recovered and
may have been used as animal bedding.
Weeds seeds from
plants requiring different environmental factors were
associated with the
different
cereal crops,
this
possibly indicates cultivation in different
areas
albeit locally.
The carbonised
material was all
associated with hearths but probably indicates casual
disposal rather
than
a
function
of
the
hearths.
Well-preserved waterlogged material in one 18th century
sample
possibly represents a garden soil with seeds of
hops
and,
now, ornamental plants being dominant.
It
demonstrates the importance of examining material from
all periods,
Author's address :-
J P Huntley
Biological Laboratory, Archaeology II
University of Durham
Science Laboratories, Woodside Building
South Road, DURHAM
DHl 3LE
G)
Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England
Plant remains from Stricklandgate, Kendal, Cumbria
J.P. Huntley
Introduction
Soil samples were taken during excavation of Medieval burgage plots at Stricklandgate,
Kendal, Cumbria principally to assess the environmental potential of this site.
Small fragments of wood and charcoal were also sampled but the wood was too badly
preserved to allow identification.
Methods
The samples were all between 3 and 5 litres and were therefore simply hand-washed
through a stack of sieves, the finest mesh being 500 microns. Botanical remains were handsorted from these sieves and Identified, using a binocular microscope at up to x50
magnification, by comparison with modern reference material held In the Biological Laboratory.
Results
Table 1 lists the contexts analysed and Tables 2a-c the botanical results.
Seven of the samples had no identifiable plant remains in them, five had identifiable
charcoal (fable 2a), seven had carbonlsed seeds (fable 2b) and one had waterlogged material
(fable 2c).
Although the initial samples were quite small there should have been evidence of some
plant material present. The samples with no seeds were predominantly of miscellaneous gravel,
clay and Shap granite chlppings. Most of these seem to have come from the fabric of the
hearths but give no evidence as to function of those hearths. Non-carbonised material, giving
information about the local vegetation compared with the plants being used in the vicinity, is
unlikely to be preserved under non-waterlogged conditions.
One sample was from a waterlogged context and gave good preservation of plant
material.
Table 1: Contextual information of samples analysed
Year
SCP 87
Biolab Sample Context
code number
1109
1103
1104
1111
1112
1113
1110
1108
SCP 88
1106
1102
1107
1105
1101
377
384
385
378
379
380
381
382
383
387
376
169
206
169
174
185/1
185/2
185/3
185/4
201
174
59
192
193
194
173
191
179
175
188
190
189
171
144
200
183
85
70
17
6
76
12
Phase
Description
1
1
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
6a
plough/garden soil
oak charcoal
oak charcoal
hearth
hearth
red clay
hearth
brown silt
hearth
black
hearth
brown clay
post-hole
hearth
hearth? fill
la
la
la
la
lb
lb
lc
2
3a
3b
(no seeds in samples with Biolab code"-")
N.B. Phases for the two sites do not equate.
<2>
ash over hearth 144
hearth
surface
surface - oak charcoal
pit fill
surface - hazel twig charcoal
birch/alder/hazel charcoal
?bowl furnace
surface?
hearth
Table2a:
Charcoal identified from Stricklandgate, Kendal.
BioLab code number
Sample number
Context number
Quercus charcoal
BetulajCorylusjAlnus charcoal
Corylus charcoal
1103 1104 1105 1106 1107
384 385 175 183 179
206 169
17 173
70
+
+
+
+
+
Quercus (oak) and Gory/us (hazel) charcoal were specifically identified. Another piece
was either birchjhazeljalder, the three are not easily separated particularly if small and poorly
preserved. They are all trees which are found locally and nothing further may be inferred.
The wood samples were not well enough preserved to be Identified. If possible, any wood
should be carefully washed on-site and wrapped Immediately. For identification waterlogged
wood needs to be frozen and subsequently sectioned. This is almost impossible to do if the
material Is covered with clay and other inorganic material, and the clay etc. Is almost
impossible to wash off after storage for some time. If the wood disintegrates during on-site
washing then it is unlikely to survive further treatment prior to identification in any case.
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Table 2b: Strlcklandgate, Kendal (carbonised plant remains)
BioLab code number
Sample number
Context number
Phase
1987
1109 1110 1111 1112 1113
377 378 378 381 383
169 174 174 185 201
1
2
2
2
2
Avena grain
Cerealia undiff.
6
3
9
1
Triticum aestivum grain
1
1
Hordeum hulled
Secale cereale grain
Hordeum 6-row rachis interno
Avena awn
Avena sativa floret base
1
7
1
1
1
4
3
Secale rachis internode
Pisum sativum
1
Gramineae undiff.
Sieglingia decumbens
4
Rumex acetosella
1
1
1
1
Bromus sp(p). grain
Rumex obtusifolius-type
Spergula arvensis
24
2
12
2
1
3
1
1
2
1
2
3
3
1
1
Cerastium arvense
Chenopodium album
Lapsana communis
Plantago lanceolata
Polygonum aviculare
Polygonum lapathifolium
Atriplex sp(p).
Galium aparine
Polygonum lapth.jpersicaria
Legume <4mm
Fallopia convolvulus
Ranunculus repens-type
Chenopodiaceae undiff.
Lepidium heterophyllum
Trifolium sp(p). pod
Prunella vulgaris
2
3
Pteridium aquilinum
1
4
1
1
2
1
12
2
2
1
6
3
4
1
1
4
1
1
2
1
3
1
1
2
Isolepis setaceus
3
1
1
1
Ranunculus flammula
Carex (lenticular)
Carex hostiana-type
Juncus
Total number of seeds
2
1
1
2
2
1
1
10
1
3
3
3
2
2
1
1
1
2
1
2
Sinapis arvensis
Brassica sp(p).
Tree bud
Corylus avellana nut frag.
Sambucus nigra
Sambucus nigra (mineralised)
Carex (trigonous)
Eleocharis palustris
Ranunculus sceleratus
1988
1101 1102
189 191
85
12
3b
lb
10
82
<4>
36
9
6
21
2
100
None of the samples were particularly rich in seeds but do give some indication of the
plants being used on this site.
Avena (oats), Hordeum (barley), Triticum (wheat) and Seca/e (rye) grains were all
recovered. The chaff from all except wheat was also found possibly indicating the use of straw
and cereal processing debris, for example In animal bedding or chicken feed. Floret bases of
the cultivated oat (Avena sativa) were found and therefore the oats were probably being grown
as a crop and not occurring as a weed when A. fatua (the wild oat) floret bases would be
expected. The wheat was bread wheat (Triticum aestivum), the species most commonly grown
from the Medieval period onwards. The chaff of barley suggests that it was the 6-row variety
which was grown up to the Medieval period but then became superceded by the 2-row which
is still the most common barley grown today over most of Britain. Their presence probably
indicates that the cereals were being locally grown.
The cereals were only found in the four samples from phase 2 of site 1, all of which were
from hearths dating probably from the 14th century. The low numbers of seeds suggest that
material was probably casually discarded on the fires rather than to a specific use. These four
samples also have seeds of cultivation weeds and grassland plants. These may have been
imported with the cereals as weeds from the fields or some of them may have been from plants
which were growing in the immediate vicinity and which shed seeds subsequently blown onto
the hearths, assuming that the hearths were not in buildings. The phase information describes
this phase as a series of stone spreads which may be yard surfaces although there is no
evidence of buildings on-site and therefore the hearths may be assumed to be in the open.
Oats were most abundant in context 174 (a hearth) and their associated weeds seeds
suggest a wetter community than that represented In context 201 (a post-hole only 1.5m to the
north of 174) which has mainly rye grains. This could indicate that although the crops were
being grown locally they were growing under different conditions and therefore in different
fields. Rye prefers a drier, sandy soil, whereas oats will grow on damper soils.
Other than cereals the only food plant represented is pea (Pisum sativum) and that is
from the earlier phase 1 of site 1. The sample was from a ?ploughsoil layer. The other species
represented in this sample are all plants from cultivated ground and a soil layer is possible from
the botanical evidence.
<5>
Table 2c: Strlcklandgate, Kendal (waterlogged plant remains)
BioLab code number
Sample number
Context number
1108
376
59
Humulus lupulus
Corylus avellana nut fragment
Chrysanthemum segetum
Polygonum persicaria
Rumex acetosella
Chenopodium album
Fallopia convolvulus
Ranunculus repens-type
Brassica campestris
Reseda luteola
Raphanus raphanistrum pod frag.
Lapsana communis
Ajuga reptans
Achillea millefolium
Hyoscyamus niger
Polygonum lapathjpersicaria
254
60
35
23
22
21
19
17
15
12
12
11
9
4
4
3
2
Aphanes arvensis
2
Dianthus cf. gratianipolitanus
Silene vulgaris
Sinapis arvensis
Raphanus raphanistrum
Centaurea cyanus
Galeopsis tetrahit
Lycopus europaeus
Potentilla reptans
Prunella vulgaris
Pteridium aquilinum -frond frag.
Stellaria media
Carex (lenticular)
Cirsium sp(p).
Luzula sp(p).
Stachys sp(p).
Sphagnum sp(p)
Viola sp(p).
Compositae (pappus)
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
3
2
1
1
1
4
3
This sample was taken from a hearth fill within a structure probably dating from the 18th
century. The sample was waterlogged and plant preservation excellent. The sample was
dominated by seeds of hops (Humulus /upu/us) and these may be the remains of a local
brewing industry even if only at a domestic level. The other plants represented are mainly of
cultivated and disturbed ground taxa such as found growing in garden plots or allotments. In
addition, several are from plants now commonly cultivated as garden species and it may be
that this sample represents a garden flora. Such species include Centaurea cyanus
(cornflower) and Chtysanthemum segetum (corn marigold), both of which are traditional
weeds of arable fields, but there Is no indication of cereal crops in this sample. Hyoscyamus
niger (henbane) is a drug plant once widely grown for its medicinal use, as were Stachys
species (woundworts). Lycopus europaeus (gypsywort) is a plant of the herbaceous border
<6>
today as well as, naturally, occurring on river banks and marshes. A particularly interesting
species found was Dianthus ct. gratianopolitanus (Cheddar Pink). Although left as "cf." this was
because the reference collection at the Biological Laboratory only has this species and D.
de/to/des and therefore a full comparison of all species was not possible. The two seeds found
do, however, very closely Identify with those of the Cheddar Pink. The Cheddar Pink is, as its
name suggests, only found In the Cheddar Gorge naturally although widely grown in gardens.
This sample may represent a garden community, some plants in which were grown
purely for ornamental reasons. The dominant hop seeds may have been from brewing residue
but could also have been from an ornamental hop vine.
These communities are rarely found In material from earlier dates when "practical"
aspects of daily life are most common and it Is very interesting to find such a potential record
here. This sample emphasises the Importance of not just stripping off the top layers of soil
because it Is post-Medieval and therefore not "as interesting" as the Medieval or Roman levels
below. Although the VIctorians have been called vandals in the past for their tearing down old
buildings the 20th-21st century archaeologists and environmental archaeologists must not
follow In their footsteps simply because It Is not fashionable, or economic one has to say, to
look at post 17th century material today. If we strip it off now to look at Roman material it will
not be there for future study.
Overall, these few samples Indicate that there have been considerable changes In the
local vegetation around Kendal with time, and that more work is needed from the area. The
carbonised remains from the Medieval period show that cereals were used, and probably
locally grown, and Included bread wheat, oats, barley and rye. Peas were used at an earlier
stage. The few contexts which were waterlogged had extremely well preserved plant material
and gave new insight into garden plants of the 18th/19th centuries.
<7>