The post-medieval period saw notable changes to the diet of the residents of South East Scotland. Among other trends, the 17th and 18th centuries saw a greater diversity of fruits and nuts being eaten in the region. Innovations regarding fruit walls and hothouses over the course of the 17th and 18th centuries enabled the cultivation of luxuries such peaches and grapes. Meanwhile, efforts were also made to enhance cultivation of traditional types of fruit such as apples and pears. More research into the physical traces of fruit growing in the region would be desirable. There is also the potential for more comparative work on where fruit stones and seeds are found, which could cast light on the consumption of fruit and nuts across different communities and ranks in society. The National Orchard Inventory is gradually working to record historic orchards across Scotland and to assess the scale of loss. They have published an initial report on the Scottish Borders, but work on Edinburgh and Lothians (areas which had significant orchards but which are also undergoing major development) is yet to be completed.
This period also saw the introduction of new foodstuffs from outside of Europe – including some, such as potatoes, which became staple foods. Indeed, the South East appears to have been at the forefront of the adoption of potato farming in Scotland. In the 1690s Lord Belhaven advised the farmers of East Lothian to plant potatoes, and specific potato gardens appear to have been successfully established in the outskirts of Edinburgh by the 1720s (Belhaven 1699, 33). The role potato crops played in 18th-century Scottish agriculture and nutrition deserves further research. It has been claimed that the introduction of potato farming to the Scottish Lowlands encouraged enclosure, reduced cereal production, and hastened the abolition of common grazing of stubble (Salaman 1986). Interdisciplinary approaches may further our understanding of the impact of this new food on the South East of Scotland. Interestingly, very few post-medieval potato pits or other forms of potato storage are recorded in the Historic Environment Records for this region, despite their presence in other parts of Scotland – for instance Headland Archaeology have excavated a group of post-medieval potato pits at Culduthel near Inverness. This may reflect potato storage practices which have left less trace in the archaeological record, although it is also possible that this reflects inconsistencies in recording across different parts of the country. Other vegetables introduced to the region during the 18th century included swedes (or rutabaga) and sweet potatoes – although these often appear to have been intended as animal fodder. For example, in the 1790s it was reported that around Athelstaneford in East Lothian the ‘Surinam Potato’ (i.e. sweet potato) had recently been introduced and that cattle were ‘uncommonly fond of them (Goldie 1794, 165).
There is some evidence that the types of fish being consumed altered during the 17th and 18th centuries. For example, excavations at Queensberry House revealed a growing prevalence of cod and haddock bones during the post-medieval period (Holyrood Archaeology Project Team 2010, 106). Written sources indicate that this period also saw a decline in oyster beds in the Firth of Forth. Further study of the shifting ways in which marine resources were exploited, including any evidence of over-fishing, could be of interest.
Urban excavations have produced large assemblages of 17th and 18th-century animal bones. Valuable analysis of this type of find is routinely undertaken. However, it would be helpful to have a better understanding of how the consumption of animal products in urban and rural areas compared. There is also potential for more research into where the animals which were eaten by the residents of Edinburgh and other urban centres originated, and the lives these creatures led before slaughter.
Of course, analysis of human bones can also provide valuable information about past diets, as well as providing insights into wider questions of health and mortality. Substantial numbers of post-medieval burials have been excavated in the region, in particular in and around Edinburgh and Leith. Notably, the 2010s saw the discovery in Leith of a plague burial ground from the 1640s (Stoakley 2019). As with many aspects of post-medieval archaeology, far more human remains have been excavated in urban areas than in rural areas. Yet, this perhaps lead to a distorted understanding of post-medieval health outcomes. Written sources indicate that urban areas may have experienced greater mortality than rural areas. Excavations of rural graveyards are therefore of considerable importance. It is possible that the changes of use which many church buildings are facing may provide opportunities to sensitively investigate post-medieval rural burials.