Meet the medieval Shambles inYork, UK
The York's medieval quarter that is known as the Shambles is a favourite amongst visitors' attractions. Shambles is an archaic term for an al fresco slaughterhouse and meat market. An interestingly good amount of history could be revealed by a place name. Such is the case of the aptly named "The Shambles", the beautiful medieval cobbled street in York that was once lined with butchers' shops and stalls, or benches for displaying meat known as " Shamels " in the Anglo-Saxon dialect of the era. The meat was hung up outside the shops and laid out for sale on what are now the shop window-bottoms. It is still possible to see some of the original butcher’s meat-hooks attached to the shop fronts. Lacking modern-day sanitation facilities, there was a constant problem of how to dispose of the waste produced by the slaughter of animals in the city. The pavements are raised either side of the cobbled street to form a channel wher...