Recent excavations at two U.S. coastal Oregon sites have identified wood stake fishing weirs in surprising settings.  One is in a narrow channel under a concrete bridge, and the other is in a former dairy farm pasture. In many ways these weirs are typical of the 65 intertidal fishing weir sites I recorded as part of my dissertation research in the 1990s, but their locations are somewhat surprising. For complete report see: Fishing Weirs in Unexpected Settings 3-8-10
Close to 100 archaeological fishing weir sites have been recorded on the Oregon State coast, USA, since 1993. In many areas weirs are now more common than any other site type.Â
The scope of research topics that can be addressed involving weirs is also growing, as exemplified by Robert Losey of the University of Alberta, Canada, in the current issue of Cambridge Archaeological Journal:Â http://journals.cambridge.org/action/quickSearch?inputField1=Robert+Losey&quickSearchType=search_journal&fieldStartMonth=01&fieldStartYear=1800&fieldEndMonth=12&fieldEndYear=2010&searchType=ADVANCESEARCH&fieldScjrnl=All&fieldSccats=All&selectField1=%23
Scott Byram
Byram Archaeological Consulting and
Archaeological Research Facility, University of California, Berkeley
Many tribes in California still use weirs because they are more ecologically sound than web net fishing which can be done at anytime, high water, low water, night or day with minimal work (one set).