Fish remains from a 16 century noble household in Unterseen

Fish remains from a 16th century noble household in Unterseen, Bernese
Oberland, Switzerland
Marc Nussbaumer and André Rehazek, Natural History Museum, Berne, Switzerland
Abstract
In 2003 the Archaeological services of the Canton of Berne investigated an area near the southern entrance
to Unterseen in the Bernese Oberland. In addition to several foundations of private houses and sectors
indicating handicraft activities a pit was found filled with household and food refuse from the second half
of the sixteenth century. Together with a large amount of mammal and bird remains several thousand fish
bones were recovered from this pit and given to the Natural History Museum in Berne for analysis.
The predominance of indigenous freshwater fish such as whitefish, burbot, cyprinids and perch indicates
that mostly local resources (e.g. the nearby lakes of Thun and Brienz) had been used for fishery. The high
occurrence of valued species like pike, burbot and salmonids along with the refined choice of meat from
mammals and birds leads to the assumption that the food remains originate from an upper class society,
most probably from the Schultheiss’ (town mayor) household.
Keywords: Archaeozoology, Switzerland, Canton of Berne, Post-Medieval, Fish Remains, Social Status,
High-Class Food
1
Zusammenfassung
Im Jahre 2003 führte der Archäologische Dienst des Kantons Bern archäologische Ausgrabungen in der
Nähe des südlichen Stadttores von Unterseen durch. Neben zahlreichen Hausgrundrissen und Befunden, die
handwerkliche Tätigkeiten in diesem Areal vermuten liessen, wurde auch eine mit Steinplatten
ausgekleidete Abfallgrube entdeckt, deren Inhalt in die zweite Hälfte des 16. Jahrhunderts datiert. Neben
einer grossen Anzahl von Säugetier- und Vogelknochen konnten auch mehrere tausend Fischreste geborgen
und dem Naturhistorischen Museum in Bern zur Untersuchung übergeben werden.
In der Mehrzahl handelte es sich bei ihnen um Knochen von einheimischen Fischarten wie Felchen,
Trüschen, Cypriniden und Flussbarschen, welche wohl aus dem angrenzenden Brienzer- und Thunersee
stammen.
Die hohen Anteile von Edelfischen wie Hecht, Trüsche und Salmoniden lassen zusammen mit dem
Nachweis von qualitätvollem Säuger- und Vogelfleisch vermuten, dass es sich bei den Speiseabfällen um
Nahrungsreste aus dem Haushalt eines Angehörigen der sozialen Oberschicht, wahrscheinlich des
Schultheissen von Unterseen, handelt.
Schlagworte: Archäozoologie, Schweiz, Kanton Bern, Frühe Neuzeit, Fischreste, Sozialer Status, Erlesene
Speisen
Introduction
The town of Unterseen is situated on the north slope of the Alps on the banks of the Aare River, which links
the two adjoining Lakes of Brienz and Thun. Unterseen is also on the main itinerary to the four Alpine
passes of Brünig, Joch, Susten and Grimsel. It was founded in the 13th century by Berchtold III von
Eschenbach-Oberhofen and until the Reformation in 1528 was the seat of a large Augustinian monastery
(“monasterii Interlacensis”, Interlaken), which owed its wealth to this favourable strategic location. Land,
passage, fishing and hunting rights lay mainly in the hands of the abbot. After the Reformation, Berne
turned the monastery into a Landvogtei, a bailiff seat. Unterseen, a former Habsburg possession and from
1397 on part of Berne’s city-state, kept its Schultheiss (mayor), who continued to rule over the town
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(Gutscher & Studer 2003). From then on disputes between Interlaken and Unterseen (e.g. over hunting and
fishing rights), which were quite common as long as the abbot ruled in Interlaken, seemed to have lessened.
Fishing in the open waters of the lakes, however, never turned into a cause for dispute (Rennefahrt 1966,
1967; Graf-Fuchs 1957).
Nowadays Unterseen is a small town of roughly 5’000 residents. It has lost some of its historic prominence,
but not its charm, to neighbouring Interlaken, a town internationally renowned for its summer and winter
tourism.
In 2003, Berne’s Archaeological Services carried out considerable explorations in Unterseen, triggered by
urban development. In the course of these surveys, a small pit (75 cm x 75 cm x 40 cm) bordered by stones
was discovered and excavated. Its contents were dated to the second half of the 16th century, clearly post
Reformation. In that period, the pit was situated inside the town walls, on public soil right next to one of
two main gateways. Nonetheless, the archaeologists connect it to a large solid stone house where the pit
was flanking a stairway to its cellar (Figure 1). There is no formal report from the archaeologists yet, but
what we have gathered up to now, is that they tend to believe some upper-class household (most probably
the town mayor) resided there. These conclusions were mainly drawn from historical sources, the quality
and size of the building and from archaeological findings like shards of high-class drinking glasses and
other remains in said pit. Due to its geographic location, this site was labelled “Unterseen-West”.
Material and Methods
Overall, we received roughly 28’000 remains of bones weighing around 20kg. Of these 2’800 originated
from fishes, 2’000 from domestic animals, and 200 from wild mammals and birds. The remaining 23’000
could not be determined (including 12’000 scales).
The total contents of the pit were water-sieved down to a mesh-size of 2mm.
Results
The percentage of wild mammals and birds to domestic animals at this post-medieval site is rather high
(8%), the usual quantity being around 1% or less. This aspect alone is therefore quite remarkable. The
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species identified include marmot, arctic hare, squirrel, black grouse, several species of thrushes and some
ducks (Figure 2). Many bones bear cut marks, clearly demonstrating that those animals had been consumed.
Another interesting aspect is the assemblage of domestic animals, since the percentage of pigs is
surprisingly low at 5%, whereas in comparable sites they regularly score at about 20%. On the other hand,
the small ruminants, sheep and goats, make up around 45% of the domestic animals, whilst their usual
percentage in comparable sites from the same period lies around 30%. The remaining bones from domestic
animals are mostly from cattle and poultry, cattle at nearly 40% and poultry at an unusual high, 10%. The
latter are typically associated with taxes due by the populace – an interpretation that could likewise apply to
our site.
This assemblage of domestic and wild mammals and birds represents a rather unusual mix, and together
with a high amount of remains from very young animals suggests very discerning consumers with a
distinguished, refined taste. Such an attitude is – and has always been - a familiar attribute of high social
status.
Sixty percent of the fish bones could be identified to species, genus, or at least to the family level. Their
distribution over the whole skeleton suggests that leftovers from mostly complete fishes had been discarded
into the pit. We identified at least 87 individuals.
Overall, ten different families could be identified. Whitefish and salmonids are in the majority, followed by
gadoid fishes, cyprinids, perch and pike (Figure 3).
Not surprisingly, all fishes except for the herring are freshwater or catadromous fishes such as eel.
Whitefish are most frequent and together with burbot, perch, pike and trout they make up 90% of all
identified specimens.
We have reason to believe that the fishes were caught in the immediate vicinity of the site and only herring
was imported, most probably from the North Sea via the Rhine valley. As the first fishing regulation in the
Canton of Berne in 1537 mentions the term Bückling (which in Northern Germany today signifies an
unsalted smoked herring) instead of Hering, we think that – at least in this period – only smoked and not
salted herrings were imported.
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An estimation of body sizes reveals that most fishes were of moderate lengths between 15 cm and 50 cm
(15 - 25 cm: 40%; 25 - 50 cm: 50%). The most frequent species, notably herring and whitefish, belonged to
the medium-sized category (~30 cm). We assume that this uniformity in whitefish is based on equally
standard mesh size of the fishing nets, which allowed only equally sized adults to be caught. Most likely,
this went along with a preference by the consumers for easy-to-handle, medium-sized fishes, ideal for a
private household.
As already mentioned, the Lakes of Thun and Brienz and the intersecting Aare River provided the main
fishing grounds. Whitefish and perch could be caught with floating nets in the open water of the lakes.
Burbots, which tend to hide out in the depths, were presumably caught with fishing hooks or basket weirs.
We likewise know that a stationary fish trap was situated near Unterseen right on the banks of the Aare. It
had been in use since the Middle Ages and its local name Pferchli means “to confine”. To make the trap
more effective, dams had been erected in the river to raise the water level, divert its flow and redirect
migrating fishes into the trap. From 1485 onwards, the monastery of Interlaken, who owned the trap, was
bound by contract to open the dams for one fortnight in April and one in August to ease fish migration and
to secure the reproduction of e.g. whitefish, lake trout and eel.
Comparing our data with recent local catch statistics, we notice - besides a surprisingly similar range of
identified species - analogous proportional shares, whitefish being the most frequent one, followed by
burbot and perch (Figure 4). The astonishingly high percentage of whitefish in recent statistics is easily
explained by the fact that the local fishery department restocks the population year by year with well over
1.4 million fingerlings (Jahresbericht 2004). Furthermore, the historical abundance of pike may
undoubtedly be justified by the fact of periodically flooded meadows west of Unterseen on the shores of
Lake Thun and the Aare River delta, which provided an ideal habitat for spawning pike; meadows, which
nowadays are converted to an all-season golf court.
If we consider these facts, the apparent divergences in fish exploitation begin to fade out. What we are now
seeing, are very similar patterns of fishing and fish consumption between the 16th century and today.
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Conclusions
Summarizing our findings, we argue that the taxonomic spectrum and the frequency of the freshwaterspecies identified in our historical “noble household” most likely reflect their local occurrence in the 16th
century and no particular preference can be accounted for. A preference for suitable sizes, however, is
clearly visible. These facts only seemingly contrast the results obtained for mammals and birds with their
very unusual variety and selection, which clearly reflect social status. The residents liked and enjoyed what
the lakes and the fisherfolk provided, just as we do today. Let us not forget: from a historical gourmet
perspective, modern consumers all have high status tastes. The residents of Unterseen took pleasure in the
natural diversity and price quite obviously did not play a role – otherwise they would have had to be more
selective.
At the moment, we do not have any archaeological site from the same period with such abundant fish
remains, but from a socially inferior household. This comparison, which surely should prove interesting,
will have to wait.
Acknowledgements
We are indebted to Dr. Peter Friedli, Head of Berne’s fishery department, for discussing and reviewing our
results.
References
Gutscher, Daniel; Studer, Barbara. Gegner am Rande: Kleinstadtgründungen. In: Berns mutige Zeit. Das 13. und 14. Jahrhundert
neu entdeckt. Bern 2003, 186-194.
Graf-Fuchs, Margret. Die Rechtsquellen des Kantons Bern. Zweiter Teil: Rechte der Landschaft. Sechster Band: Das Recht der
Ämter Interlaken und Unterseen. Aarau 1957.
Rennefahrt, Hermann. Die Rechtsquellen des Kantons Bern. Erster Teil: Stadtrechte. Achter Band, erste Hälfte: Das Stadtrecht von
Bern VIII 1. Wirtschaftsrecht. Aarau 1966.
Rennefahrt, Hermann. Die Rechtsquellen des Kantons Bern. Erster Teil: Stadtrechte. Neunter Band, erste Hälfte: Das Stadtrecht
von Bern IX 1. Gebiet, Haushalt, Regalien. Aarau 1967.
Fischereiinspektorat des Kantons Bern (ed.). Jahresbericht. Bern 2004.
Wyss, Christoph (ed.). Stadthaus Unterseen. Ausstellungskatalog. Unterseen 1991.
6
Figure 1: Unterseen in the 18th century, viewed from the south. The pit was situated on the left behind the
gateway (Wyss 1991).
7
number
(n)
species
domestic
animals
mammals
birds
35.3
Canis dom.
dog
1
0.0
0.3
0.0
Capra hircus
goat
6
0.3
229.7
1.1
Capra/Ovis
goat/sheep
850
37.7
2875.2
14.3
Gallus dom.
chicken
196
8.7
123.8
0.6
Ovis aries
sheep
113
5.0
2696.9
13.4
Sus dom.
pig
115
5.1
1079.4
5.4
92.1
13093.0
weight
(%)
cattle
2075
wild
animals
grand
total
794
weight (g)
Bos taurus
total
total
number
(%)
20098.3
65.0
99.7
Kleinsäuger
small mammal
4
0.2
0.7
0.0
Apodemus sylvaticus
woodmouse
2
0.1
0.2
0.0
Lepus timidus
arctic hare
12
0.5
6.7
0.0
Marmota marmota
marmot
23
1.0
8.6
0.0
Rattus spec.
rat
22
1.0
3.5
0.0
Sciurus vulgaris
squirrel
52
2.3
10.7
0.1
Anas acuta
pintail
2
0.1
0.9
0.0
Anas platyrhynchos
mallard
9
0.4
7.3
0.0
Anatidae genspec.
duck
1
0.0
0.2
0.0
Columba palumbus
woodpigeon
15
0.7
5.1
0.0
Columba spec.
pigeon
7
0.3
1.1
0.0
Corvus monedula
blackbird
2
0.1
0.2
0.0
Fulica atra
moorhen
1
0.0
1.8
0.0
Garrulus glandarius
jaybird
3
0.1
1.1
0.0
Tetrao tetrix
black grouse
3
0.1
3.3
0.0
Turdus indet.
thrush spec.
7
0.3
0.5
0.0
Turdus merula
jackdaw
9
0.4
0.9
0.0
Turdus philomelos
song thrush
3
0.1
0.3
0.0
Turdus pilaris
field fare
5
0.2
0.5
0.0
Turdus viscivorus
mistle thrush
2
0.1
0.3
0.0
177
2252
7.9
100.0
52.8
20151.1
0.3
100.0
Figure 2: List of mammals and birds (numbers and weights of determined bones together with their
respective percentages).
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species / family
Coregonus spec.
Lota lota
Cyprinidae
Perca fluviatilis
Esox lucius
Salmo trutta
Clupea harengus
Coregonidae/Salmonidae/Thymallidae
Anguilla anguilla
Leuciscus cephalus
Cottus gobio
Leuciscus leuciscus
Rutilus rutilus
Thymallus thymallus
Abramis bjoerkna
Tinca tinca
total det.
number (n)
number (%)
923
559
356
313
259
132
131
78
16
12
11
9
4
4
1
1
2809
32.9
19.9
12.7
11.1
9.2
4.7
4.7
2.8
0.6
0.4
0.4
0.3
0.1
0.1
0.0
0.0
100.0
whitefish
burbot
perch
pike
trout
herring
eel
chub
bullhead
dace
roach
greyling
white bream
tench
fish indet.
scales
total indet.
1846
11730
13576
16385
grand total
Figure 3: List of fishes (numbers and percentages of determined and undetermined bones).
Whitefish
Burbot
Perch
Pike
Trout
Greyling
others
0.0%
10.0%
20.0%
30.0%
40.0%
NMI Unterseen-West
50.0%
60.0%
70.0%
80.0%
90.0%
100.0%
Catch statistics Region of Unterseen 2003
Figure 4: Frequencies of fish species from the pit compared with modern fish statistics.
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