The task of supplying the Roman army was one which relied on the acquisition of both local and far-flung resources. The army had its own craft specialists and, where possible, supplies were sourced locally so issues around the subsistence economy of Roman settlements are closely tied to subsistence in the wider Iron Age community.
The staple food of a military diet is likely to have been cereal which was used in bread, soup and porridge (Davies 1971) but direct evidence from sites in south east Scotland is sparse, due to a lack of systematic retrieval of plant remains as much as poor preservation. Evidence from Elginhaugh confirms the importance of grain in the military diet (Clapham 2007). Granaries, cooking ovens and querns were standard in forts, and all could have been used in the storage, preparation and cooking of grains. It has been estimated that the monthly ration of grain was 25–35kg per man (Tomlin 1998). The amount of locally grown grain used is unknown, and understanding the role of local supply is made harder by the sparse records from excavations of Iron Age sites.
Literary sources suggest that in addition to grain, vegetables, cheese and bacon were the usual fare. The daily meat ration for a Roman soldier has been estimated to be only around 60g per day (Groenman-van Waateringe 1997) and we might expect much of that to have been sourced locally. Evidence from faunal assemblages in other parts of Britain suggests that the meat consumed was mostly beef and pork with sheep/goat only comprising about 10% of the diet (King 1984, 1999; Stallibrass 2000). The acid soils of Scotland are not conducive to the preservation of bone, but where the animal bone record has survived, it seems to be broadly similar. There is also some faunal evidence of the consumption of game, birds, fish and shellfish (Ewart 1911).
Whilst pottery, in which foodstuffs were imported and stored, has survived, the potential preservation of food residues has not had extensive investigation. However, the existence of amphorae suggests the importation of both wines and olive oil. The consumption of figs has been attested at Elginhaugh. Analysis of lipid and protein food residues on pottery might provide more insight into what other goods were imported from afar and this has been productive in studies elsewhere in the UK (eg Greenwood et al 2023).
Evidence for the preparation of food is demonstrated by the existence of ovens around the perimeter of forts. Cavalry barracks at Elginhaugh appear to have shared two ovens (Hanson 2007, 1963). Other forts may have had different styles of cooking depending on the culinary traditions of the occupants. Pottery and querns are generally distributed widely in forts which suggests that the preparation of food and its consumption was done in dispersed groups of soldiers. According to Vivien Swan (2008, 49–51) it appears that for groups of soldiers comprising a contubernium there was a ‘standard issue’ of coarseware for the preparation and consumption of food.
The key importance of integrating modern sampling strategies to retrieve both botanical and faunal remains has been noted in SESARF Chapter 2.9. The example of the Bearsden ditch being used as a cess pit suggests that sampling within ditches may be a particularly rich source of evidence (Knights et al 1983).
Isotopic techniques can be used to understand diet where human bones and teeth are preserved.