Fishing and the Church: Ichthyoarchaeological analyses of the visigothic settlement of Aiguafreda de Dalt site (Catalonia, Spain, 7th c.)

Abstract

During the post-Roman centuries, a new political, social and cultural order emerged in the Western Mediterranean. As part of this process, fisheries underwent significant changes, which laid the foundation for the subsequent development of medieval fisheries in the region. However, fishing activities during the Visigothic Kingdom (5th-8th centuries) in the Iberian Peninsula remain underexplored, especially in comparison to other areas such as Italy. This paper presents an analysis of the ichthyoarchaeological assemblage from the 7th-century site of Aiguafreda de Dalt (Catalonia, Spain), one of the first comprehensive studies of a fish assemblage from this period in the region. The results suggest that ecclesiastical elites played a key role in shaping fishing practices in the northeastern Iberian Peninsula and the existence of a small-scale system for transporting fresh fish inland. The study also reveals a continuity in fish consumption practices from the Roman period into the Visigothic era.