Dear Otto

 

Page (1988, 25-27) discusses the use of bracken for packing fish in Ireland and the Isle of Man in the 19^th century and probably earlier.  He also refers to the use of bracken in England to as a packing material for fresh fruit, especially strawberries, and for cherries in France hence the old French name ‘Fougère a cerises’. Bracken was also used as a packing for potatoes in storage. Page argues that whilst bracken was readily available it also was believed to protect the produce from decay and mould and that when used as a bedding material it was known to keep down the level of pests and parasites.

 

Recent analysis of bracken has shown it to contain chemical substances which are toxic or particularly repellent to insects. The fronds give off cyanide. Page argues that the use of plastic ferns by some fish mongers in this country looks back to a time when fish was packed in and displayed on bracken or ferns as a way of prolonging shelf life.

 

I found charred bracken fronds in 12^th and 13^th century deposits at Townwall Street , Dover. One possible explanation for their presence in the samples is that bracken was used to wrap fish and then subsequently as fuel. There is plentiful evidence for fish processing at the site

 

 

Campbell, G, 2006 Plant remains, in K Parfitt, B Cooke, and J Cotter, Townwall Street, Dover excavations 1996, Canterbury: Canterbury Archaeological Trust, 378-90

 

Page, C N, 1988 Ferns, London: Collins, p25-27

 

 

 

 

Gill Campbell

 

-----Original Message-----
From: The archaeobotany mailing list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Brinkkemper, Otto
Sent: 19 May 2009 07:54
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Subject: Use of plants to prevent pests