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Paul Montgomery @stonefishweirs.bsky.social · 8h

Along with this industry came a material culture, type of architecture shaped to support the production/transportation of this process material. Ranging from shallow ditches built on the beach to burn seaweed, to kelp kilns ,and later in large structured buildings to store the processed kelp.

kelp fires drawing, by Rivers, Elizabeth, 1903-1964, artist

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Paul Montgomery @stonefishweirs.bsky.social · 8h

Smoke from the Atlantic coast was a common feature of the kelp industry from the 17th to the early 20th centuries, producing soda and later iodine for contemporary industries. Seaweed were gathered and dried to be burned for a time, with pillars of smoke and smouldering along the shore at night.

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Paul Montgomery @stonefishweirs.bsky.social · 8h

As the first steps of the Industrial Revolution took hold across England, other industries had already taken hold along the Atlantic coast. It was a laborious process that turned kelp into essential base chemicals, potash & lime, and was based along North Atlantic coast. #coastalhistory #muSEAum

Kelp burning on Papa Westray, Orkney. �SCRAN/British Geological Survey

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Paul Montgomery @stonefishweirs.bsky.social · 9h

The tradition used #Kei #indigenouspeople of #Indonesia who speak an Australasian dialect. Wer warat has become more common, being utilised as part of cultural tourism. Rather than just feeding people with fish, it draws tourists to take part in this community activity. 3/3

Fishing Culture (Wer Warat) in Kei Islands
Kei Islands : More Than a Pristine Beach
September 25, 2018
http://thespicerouteend.com/kei-islands-kecil-besar.../

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Paul Montgomery @stonefishweirs.bsky.social · 9h

During the encirclement, the rope is agitated and beaten up, and this scares fish into a smaller area as the rope is drawn together to form a corral, which is tightened and made smaller and smaller so as to catch them more easily by the communities.

Traditional Fishing Culture (Wer Warat) in Kei Islands and the Festival of Enchantment Meti Kei
https://www.coretanzone.id/.../traditional-fishing...

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Paul Montgomery @stonefishweirs.bsky.social · 9h

Human net of communities fishing in Wer warat of the #MalukuIslands, #Indonesia. A traditional fishing method involving a long rope bound with coconut leaves, used to enclose fish at low tide and let the whole community spear and net them. #coastalhistory #muSEAum

Images

Traditional Fishing Culture (Wer Warat) in Kei Islands and the Festival of Enchantment Meti Kei

https://www.coretanzone.id/.../traditional-fishing.

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Reposted by Paul Montgomery

NiCHE Canada @nichecanada.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

“'Will it be possible to save this salt marsh?' Rosemary Gilliat Eaton and the Preservation of Environmental Heritage in Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia" by Vivian Lamoureux is part of the series “Gender and Atlantic Ocean Environments." niche-canada.org/2026/10/06/r... #envhist #wmnshist #cdnhist

niche-canada.org

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Reposted by Paul Montgomery

James Reeves @jamesreeves.co · 07/10/2026

There’s a new episode of Fall of Civilizations! And man, it’s such a specific delight when @paulmmcooper.com starts telling the story of a society by saying “Earth’s surface is a thin crust of solid rock…” Tectonic plates are destiny.

youtu.be

21. Majapahit - Empire of the Islands

YouTube video by Fall of Civilizations

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Paul Montgomery @stonefishweirs.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Recent receding water levels in 2022 have also revealed submerged settlements adding even morr aquatic aspect to the archaeology of Mesopotamia and modern day Iraq. Such as the possable Mittani Empire-era metropolis remnants of Zakhiku at Mosul reservoir.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/art-culture/drought-reveals-ruins-of-3400-year-old-lost-city-in-iraq

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Paul Montgomery @stonefishweirs.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

A fitting icon for Mesopotamian mythological fish-human Oannes, an Apkallu, or wise one, passing on antediluvian knowledge of culture and civilisation, teach humankind how to cultivate the soil, and offer sacrifice to the gods. #Assyrian #nimrud #iraq #coastalhistory #muSEAum

A 14th-century B.C. relief depicts a "fish-man" carrying a pinecone and bucket, symbols of purification.Temple of the Storm God Adda, under Citadel of Aleppo

Image of Engraving of the fish-god Dagon, from the entrance of a temple at Nimrud or a Fish-garbed priest bas-relief on temple of the god Ninurta at Kalhu (biblical Calah), ca. 883-859 BCE Assurnasirpal II (p. 83. fig. 65. "fish-garbed figure."
Anthony Green. Gods, Demons and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia, An Illustrated Dictionary. London, British Museum, in association with the University of Texas Press. Austin. 1992. ISBN 0-292-70794-0. paperback).

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Paul Montgomery @stonefishweirs.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Yeah that's for sure, when I was doing my PhD I was trying to find early archaeological evidence of its use in Ireland. As we already know that in the case of Scotland we have archaeological evidence dating back to the Picts in North of Scotland.

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Paul Montgomery @stonefishweirs.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

that's a good point David! Communities across Ireland Scotland as well as the islands and isles utilise these resources and also produced kelp grids of different sizes and scale. farming the sea and farming the land!

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Paul Montgomery @stonefishweirs.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

During this period, seaweeds Laminaria was burned in stone pits to produce ash rich in soda, potash, & later iodine. Seaweed utilisation by coastal communities in the Atlantic dates back to antiquity, being used as a food source, animal feed and also agricultural resource. #coastalhistory #muSEAum

Bladder wrack seaweed propagation from Lough Swilly, Co. Donegal Ireland. Picture by Paul Montgomery

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Paul Montgomery @stonefishweirs.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Kelp & wrack on the seashore? Nature's chemical storehouse & humans' chemical factory! B&W picture from Co. Antrim in Northern Ireland, 1900, showing seaweed such as Laminaria being collected and burnt in a stone kiln to produce soda, potash, Barilla and, later iodine. #coastalhistory #muSEAum

Stacking seaweed to dry. Antrim Coast, Co Antrim. early 1900s. (National Museums Northern Ireland)

Palmentang. A junge, B alte Pflanze, verkleinert; 1 Stück des Stieles mit Querschnitt, nat. Gr.; 2 mikroskopischer Querschnitt aus dem äusseren Theile des Stieles, mit den Schleimhöhlen, vergrössert; 3 Sporenschläuche, desgl.; 4 Sporenschlauch mit Paraphyse, desgl.; 5 Schwärmsporen, desgl. Die Figuren 3, 4, 5 gehören der L. saccharina Lam. an.

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Paul Montgomery @stonefishweirs.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Drawing of fish smoking in Kamchatka, Russia, 18th Century. This drawing comes from an 18th-century travel book, shows the Indigenous peoples #Itelmen, also called #Kamchadal, found in the #Arctic #Kamchatka Peninsula. It shows the process of butchering and smoking salmon. #coastalhistory #muSEAum

Fish smoking in Kamchatka, Russia, 18th-century artwork. This engraving is from a 1771 volume of Allgemeine Historie der Reisen zu Wasser und Lande (General history of travel by sea and land), a travelogue edited by the German scholar Johann Joachim Schwabe (1714-1784).

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Paul Montgomery @stonefishweirs.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Morphologically the shape has been found in fish traps from the medieval period around 1500 to 1600. The written records in relation to them are much later from the 18th and 19th century. They may have had use during both periods!

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Paul Montgomery @stonefishweirs.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

In the case of the ‘Lady Annesley’s traps’ a stone #fishweir located at Newcastle Beach. The beach, has a very gentle slope and an extensive intertidal zone of of almost 400 metres at average low tide, making it an ideal location for building intertidal structures. 2/2 #coastalhistory #muSEAum

Images of the Lady Annesley Fish Trap Newcastle, NI UK. ©Paul Montgomery. https://www.geograph.ie/

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Paul Montgomery @stonefishweirs.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Stone #fishweirs on the shore of Newcastle Beach Co. Down Northern Ireland/UK. The construction of stone fish weirs in the intertidal zone gives us a window into the knowledge and experience local fishing communities must have gathered over the ages. 1/2 #coastalhistory #muSEAum

Aerial satellite imagery of Lady Annesley’s traps. source Google Maps.

Remains of the Lady Annesley Fish Trap on the foreshore of the Central Promenade
This is a registered archaeology site.

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Paul Montgomery @stonefishweirs.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

From the salty sea to up in smoke! 18th century illustration of the smoking of #sardines/#herring in#France. A method of conserving protein, especially fish, that has been part of the human repertoire since the Palaeolithic and, in some respects, hasn't changed in ages. #coastalhistory #muSEAum

18th century illustration of smoking of #sardines and #herring #France. Published in "A Diderot Pictorial Encyclopedia of Trades and Industry. Manufacturing and published from 1751 to 1772. #coastalhistory

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Paul Montgomery @stonefishweirs.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Picture of a Thames wooden fish trap(7th to 8th century AD) at Isleworth in the London Borough of Hounslow faces downstream; Chelsea is facing upstream. Structurally, the traps appear to be part of a headwear and an ebb catch fish going up and down with the tides. #coastalhistory #muSEAum #fishtrap

Chelsea (Fish trap 1 – dated to AD 730-900) and Isleworth (dated to AD 650-890).
Source : Thames Discover

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Paul Montgomery @stonefishweirs.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

By integrating insights from both disciplines, we gain a holistic understanding of how human societies interact with and impact their natural environments, equipping us to address the complex social and ecological issues that shape our planet’s future. #coastalhistory #muSEAum #fishtrap #fishweirs

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Paul Montgomery @stonefishweirs.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Humanities & marine ecology foster critical thinking, ethical reasoning, and a deep appreciation for cultural diversity, enabling us to interpret human progress and challenges from multiple perspectives. Letting us understand intricate relationships within ocean ecosystems that sustain life on Earth

Stone and wood #fishweirs from Strangford Lough Norther Ireland/UK.

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Paul Montgomery @stonefishweirs.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Yesterday we celebrated #WorldMaritimeDay! Our home is the blue planet, with 70% covered by water. The study of humanities and marine ecology together offers a profound lens for understanding the development of our world.

Stone and wood #fishweirs from Strangford Lough, Northern Ireland/UK. Picture by Paul montgomery. See less

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Paul Montgomery @stonefishweirs.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Black and white photo of a fisherman from the island of #Pantelleria, off the coast of #Sicily, making a woven #fishtrap or #nassa. The conical traps had one entrance, allowing fish to swim in, investigate the bait, and find it hard to get out. Deployed with long lines. #coastalhistory #muSEAum

Source

The Sea Museum of Pantelleria, Sicily, Italy.https://www.enjoysicilia.it/en/isola-di-pantelleria/pantelleria/museo-del-mare-pantelleria/

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Paul Montgomery @stonefishweirs.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Fence-fishing, North Siberia, Russia. Selkup (Northern minority) fishermen pull burbots from traps, built in river Hudosey. construction has stationary traps on the ice to take advantage of the movement of fish up and down the river during the winter months.

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Paul Montgomery @stonefishweirs.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Below ice fish trapping in Arctic and Subarctic. Examples of fish weirs in Siberia fished during frozen winters. Images of #Mansi #fishweir 1903 in a stream, #Janytshkova, #Siberia. The Mansi are an Ugric #indigenouspeople living in Khanty–Mansia Tyumen Oblast, #Russia. #coastalhistory #muSEAum

Wood fish weir Siberia Russia Photo by Artturi Kannisto, National Board of Antiquities (SUK35:130).

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Paul Montgomery @stonefishweirs.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

New blog released by team at the coasts in mind about research and community in the Swale estuary Kent. Community cooperation on the Swale Estuary Coast By Paul Montgomery and Harry Farmer lnkd.in/eDKD74TM #coastalhistory #muSEAum #CoastsInMind #Coastalhistory #whistableharbour #KentCoast

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Paul Montgomery @stonefishweirs.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

A B &W picture of fisherman in Sant Andreu de Llavanere,s Barcelona's northern suburbs, constructing nanses fish traps in a workshop in 1942. An area of traditional fishermen's neighbourhood (barri mariner), made fishing gear like traps (nanses) by hand. #coastalhistory #muSEAum

Pescador fent una nansa . Està assegut en una cadira, en el interior de la seva vivenda ubicada al carrer Can Sans , número 13 ( Barri Can sans de Mar), a Sant Andreu de Llavaneres ( Maresme). L'habitació té nanses penjades del sostre i nanses apilades al terra. 1942. Autor desconegut. 25995F MMB

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Paul Montgomery @stonefishweirs.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Thanks Philip I posted in the picture notes also for any of those who wanted to look it up.

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Paul Montgomery @stonefishweirs.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

An example of a fishing technique from Sweden in the early 20th century. Fishermen deploying a handheld stake or drift net into a small river, effectively blocking all fish, is ecologically damaging. Described in secondary literature as an illegal fishing method. #coastalhistory #muSEAum

Fishing gear used by local farmers in a stream outside Uppsala in the early twentieth century. It was an illegal fishing method when the photo was taken by Ivar Arwidsson. However, the local villagers still used it at least once a year (Courtesy: Nordic Museum, Stockholm)
Svanberg, I. and Locker, A., 2020. Ethnoichthyology of freshwater fish in Europe: a review of vanishing traditional fisheries and their cultural significance in changing landscapes from the later medieval period with a focus on northern Europe. Journal of ethnobiology and ethnomedicine, 16(1), p.68.

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Paul Montgomery @stonefishweirs.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

An example of one of the stone #fishweir known as “shi hu”(石滬) from #Penghu, #Taiwan. On of huge number of stone weirs found along the shores of the #Penghu Islands. Picture by Prof. 李明儒/Ming-Ju Lee #coastalhistory #muSEAum

BY 李明儒 Ming-Ju Lee
13 September 2022 · Penghu, Taiwan
後壁滬：弧形，約190公尺長。

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Paul Montgomery @stonefishweirs.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Slive gold of the Bristol Channel! Atlantic Herring landed at ports and sometimes on the share in traps and nets as the sholes passed by in the season #coastalhistory #muSEAum

Millions of herring per day were landed during the early 20th century. (credit www.broadlandmemories.co.uk)

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Paul Montgomery @stonefishweirs.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Porlock Weir is one of three intertidal structures fish traps in Somerset, England. The #fishweirs were built in the medieval and/or post-medieval period. Used as oyster beds in the 19th Century. Mapped from aerial photographs taken in 1946 and 1999. #coastalhistory #muSEAum

LiDAR images of the coastline at Porlock Weir Harbour, located near the town of Somerset, England.
© Environment Agency copyright and/or database right 2022. All rights reserved.

Porlock Weir is a harbour settlement approximately 1.5 miles west of the inland village of Porlock, Somerset, England. Source Google Maps

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Paul Montgomery @stonefishweirs.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Fish traps a prominent feature of many coastlines, these monuments form part of the wider maritime cultural landscape and can occasionally pose navigation hazards to local fishermen and sailors. the common part of not only maps but also cultural landscapes coded in memory and oral history.

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Paul Montgomery @stonefishweirs.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

They also offer insights into the nature of the coastline and how an artist or mapmaker viewed it. Filled with unknown dangers and foreboding that populate old maps. While also being the world's largest daily economic catches, i.e., cod, tuna, as sorces of protein. #coastalhistory #muSEAum

Images of the coast of Cadiz, by Braun Georg & Hogenberg Frans. 1623

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Paul Montgomery @stonefishweirs.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Depictions of #fishweirs in art and maps across periods reflect their role in the physical and cultural landscape, as well as their economic value. They serve as both a tangible and abstract representation of human interaction with the ocean. #coastalhistory #muSEAum

OS map Kent coastline with the outline of wood fish trap. Kent Sheet XXII.SE
Revised: 1906, Published: 1908
Size: map 31 x 46 cm (ca. 12 x 18 inches), on sheet ca. 43 x 58 cm (ca. 17 x 23 inches)

Plan of Brewarrina fish traps drawn in 1906 by A. W. Mullen, surveyor to the Western Lands Board (in North, 1916 Plate XXVII).

The oldest image Head Weirb at Duncannon Ireland circa 1685 from a sketch by Thomas Philips(original held by NLI)

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Paul Montgomery @stonefishweirs.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Indigenous People, Traditional Ecological Knowledge, and Climate Change: The Iconic Underwater Cultural Heritage of Stone Tidal Weirs Project Group. #oceanspast #oceanaction46159 #MaritimeHeritage #Indigenouspeoples #oceandecadeheritage oceandecadechfp.org/.../indigeno... 4/4

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Paul Montgomery @stonefishweirs.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Although artificial, they have become part of the local ecology & support a wide range of species that use their surfaces to feed/breed. A local fish-catch management system, focusing on size/numbers, is in place and implemented by the community of fishermen who use the weirs.3/4

Aerial image of stone fish traps on coast of Andalusia Spain. Image source google maps. Capture by P. Montgomery.

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Paul Montgomery @stonefishweirs.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Examples of fish, crustaceans, cephalopods common in the fishweirs in Andalusia, Spain. Many species are seasonal & are only found at select times in inshore. They intertwine their feeding behaviour with the rhythm of the tide and changes in local ecology as the seasons shift.2/4

Examples of illustrations of the fish, crustations and cephalopods common in the stone #fishweirs in #Andalusia #Spain. Species illustrated are seasonal on our only found at select times in inshore waters.

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Paul Montgomery @stonefishweirs.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Ecological diversity and cultural fishing traditions of the stone fish weirs on the coast of Chipiona, a town and municipality on the Atlantic coast in the province of #Cádiz, #Spain. The corrales, aka traps, are built in the intertidal zone in front of the village. 1/4 #coastalhistory

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Paul Montgomery @stonefishweirs.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Fishermen of #Savo fishing. Savo Island, 1950s. Savo Island is an island in the # SolomonIslands in the South Pacific Ocean. Administratively, Savo Island is part of the Central Province of the Solomon Islands. Photo: Postcards. #fishweirs #fishing

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ScARF @scarf-scot.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

It's been a busy summer for the ScARF team! We are excited to share a brand-new update to the Archaeological Science framework focussing on human remains, and to invite you to three upcoming events. Read more in our September newsletter: bit.ly/4cupAbA #HESSupported

Top: Participants of the SIRFA Symposium in South Uist © ScARF; Bottom left: Fellows enjoying the 2025 Summer excursion in Kilmartin Glen © Society of Antiquaries of Scotland; Bottom right: Remains of the Carmelite Friary Of Tullilum, Whitefriar's Street, Perth © HES

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Paul Montgomery @stonefishweirs.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

The core of historical fishing in this region focuses primarily on the capture of the elusive and highly valued gamba roja Red Shrimp (Aristeus antennatus) and Blanca White Shrimp (Parapenaeus longirostris). 2/2

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Paul Montgomery @stonefishweirs.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Traditional artisanal fishing and economies of scale on the Western Mediterranean coastline. Located in the Northern parts of the Andalusian province of almeria the port of Garrucha is exemplary of the fluctuations for coasts communities. 1/2 #coastalhistory

Imagines
Port of Garrucha, Almeria Spain.
Picture by Paul Montgomery

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Paul Montgomery @stonefishweirs.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

This form of early aquaculture took advantage of natural ecological niches, with areas of the foreshore farmed to propagate large numbers of bivalves and other marine species, which were regularly harvested and eaten by indigenous communities. 3/3

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Paul Montgomery @stonefishweirs.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

The shape of the walls & rich shellfish ecology of the intertidal zone at Chaffinch Island have led to the suggestion that it was also a "clam garden". "Clam gardens" is a traditional Indigenous management system used principally by coastal peoples in North America/Canada. 2/3

Sea shells at the fish trap Chaffinch Island, Connecticut, USA.
http://wakinguponturtleisland.blogspot.com/search...

Fish trap Chaffinch Island, Connecticut, USA.
http://wakinguponturtleisland.blogspot.com/search...

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Paul Montgomery @stonefishweirs.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Stone fish weirs on the coast at Chaffinch Island, Connecticut, USA believed to be made by the #indigenouspeoples. L-shaped weir cutting into a shallow bay & forming an enclosure 200m long. The wall is made up of several layers of stone set into the mud of the intertidal zone.1/3 #coastalhistory

Stone fish trap wall at Chaffinch Island, Connecticut, USA, Sourse Google image, Capture by P Montgomery.

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Paul Montgomery @stonefishweirs.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Rapa Nui/Easter Island is home to 1000s of petroglyphs. Usually, carvings are found in smooth areas of lava flow (called "papa" in Rapanui) & basalt. Most of these surfaces occur along coastal areas and often are associated with major ceremonial centres, showing fish and sea birds. #coastalhistory

Petroglyphs depicting the tuna,“kahi” in Rapanui, the fertility symbol “komari” and the creator god Make-Make taken at the Papa Vaka archeological site on Rapa Nui. Photo credit: Elena Kouneski Rapu.

Delgado, J.P., Brennan, M.L., Haoa, S.A.R., Leong, J.H.R., Gaymer, C.F., Carabias, D., Stokes, E. and Wagner, D., 2022. The hidden landscape: maritime cultural heritage of the Salas y Gómez and Nazca ridges with implications for conservation on the high seas. Marine Policy, 136, p.104877.

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