Santander, February 19th-22nd 2008 - Aranzadi

A large-scale exploitation of oysters during the Middle Ages at Beauvoir-sur-Mer (France)
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were intended to be cooked and put in ragouts.
Texts dating from the 18 th century, like the report of
Le Masson du Parc in 1730, attest to these modes
of export in baskets either fresh during the winter,
or pickled at other times, for the towns of Cancale
and Granville. The curing of oysters in salt cannot
be excluded at Beauvoir-sur-Mer, because this
marine product of high value was exploited and
exported from there.
The system of gathering which resulted in the
accumulations of Beauvoir-sur-Mer and Saint-
Michel-en-L’Herm seems particularly destructive
for the oyster beds. Because of the massive gathering
procedures, young oysters are taken before
they could reach a satisfactory size, and some
were discarded during the extraction of the meat.
In addition, removing dead shells reduces the surfaces
on which spat oysters can grow. Thus, this
activity could have a considerable impact on natural
oyster-beds and lead to reducing the long-term
viability of the industry. Today, these beds of oysters
have disappeared. A few of them still existed
during the 19 th century but were in danger of overexploitation
(Cavoleau 1844).
The potential of the information which could
be gained from the shell midden at Beauvoir-sur-
Mer has been undoubtedly underestimated. This
archaeological site is perhaps not an epiphenomenon.
It could be part of a complex supply network
of marine products for the cities. Indeed,
there are indications of archaeological sites with
a similar activity known but which have not yet
been explored. The recent development (less
than 5 years) of malacological analyses along the
French Atlantic façade for historical contexts
shows that villages located on the limit of old
marshes show an exclusive exploitation of oysters
outside habitat zones. The composition of
these deposits contrasts with food refuse of the
local populations. These coastal populations
(Roman and medieval) also gathered limpets
Patella sp., periwinkles Littorina littorea, fan scallops
Chlamys varia, common edible cockles
Cerastoderma edule, thick topped shells Osilinus
lineatus, mussels Mytilus edulis, peppery furrow
shells Scrobicularia plana and clams Ruditapes
decussatus.
It would be interesting to know if all these sites
with an exclusive exploitation of oysters are contemporary.
The recent study at Langon, mentioned
earlier, provides the beginning of answer.
Although most of these sites seem to be medieval,
this activity may have begun by the 1 st century
AD. We can also observe that oyster shells
are found in lower quantities at medieval sites far
from the sea compared with Roman ones. While
this can be linked to archaeological biases (excavation
of food refuses is less systematic in medieval
contexts) we can suggest other possibilities. If
exploitation of oysters increased during the
Middle Ages, to what do these industrial exploitations
of oysters correspond? Do they reflect an
increased request from urban populations for
marine products? The extraction of the meat from
the shell would reduce the weight of product to
be transported. Are new processes of preservation,
such as the use of salt, the initiator of this
new activity? Did the evolution of tastes and recipes
get a new request? Historical sources are
missing on this subject or have not yet been
found. The limits of preservation conditions do
not enable one to follow the course of the oyster
meat from place of production to point of consumption
because of the lack of associated artefacts
currently found in these shell middens
(ceramics for example) and the scarcity of excavations
of such archaeological sites. One can,
however, wonder whether the consumption of
oysters and its economic impact during the
Middle Ages, have been underestimated.
4. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I am grateful to the different members of the
“Service Régional d’Archéologie des Pays de la
Loire” D. Le Gouestre, B. Mandy, N. Le Meur, who
allowed the funding of this study and particularly N.
Rouzeau who managed the excavation. I thank D.
Lubell and Y. Carrion for their helpful corrections of
the English and the Spanish and the anonymous
reviewers. Finally, I am much indebted to Y. Gruet
who agreed to identify the barnacle.
5. BIBLIOGRAPHY
BAUDOIN, M.
1912 “La chaussée et la butte d’huîtres de Beauvoir-sur-Mer
(Vendée)”. Bulletins et Mémoires de la Société d’Anthropologie
de Paris, VIe s. 3 (3-4): 222–242.
1916 “Démonstration d’un Monument cultuel, du type des
Tertres animaux en forme de Serpent et d’origine
Nordique, aux Buttes coquillières des Chauds, commune
de Saint-Michel-en-L’Herm (Vendée) [actions humaines
exécutées sur huîtres entières]”. Bulletin de la Société
Préhistorique Française, 13: 369–384; 503–516.
BEGOUEN, C.
1937 “A propos des huîtres de Saint-Michel-en-l’Herm”. Revue
du Bas-Poitou, 50 (1): 85–91.
MUNIBE Suplemento - Gehigarria 31, 2010
S.C. Aranzadi. Z.E. Donostia/San Sebastián