Cromwell’s Citadel, built 1651 and reused during the Jacobite period, unfortunately provides little evidence of animal use as there is good reason to suspect the bone material is redeposited late medieval material from elsewhere in the town (Smith 2002, 162).
Outside of Perth, Allt na Moine Buidhe excavated by Stewart, thought to have been occupied during the early 18th–early 19th centuries produced only a small quantity of burnt bone, one possibly from sheep (Smith 1999, 126).
The Ben Lawers project was similarly, and sadly, unproductive as regards animal bone of the post-medieval period (Atkinson 2016).
Evidence for the 18th to 20th centuries is sparse within urban Perth, in part due to the removal of much material during the construction of cellarage in the 18th and 19th centuries. This is unfortunate as the period of agricultural improvement saw many changes to stock breeding and management, leading to the increased height, weight and appearance of many livestock breeds and the extinction of (wrongly) undervalued native breeds. Changes in butchery practice, however, are not thought to have occurred much before the 19th century and possibly remained unchanged in rural Perthshire until after WW2.
Research Priorities
The post-medieval period in Perthshire is poorly represented in terms of faunal assemblages. Opportunities to study the faunal assemblages seem vanishingly rare.
The demolition and renovation of post-improvement farm buildings (eg steading conversions) should be closely monitored for faunal evidence.
Estate records can provide evidence.