Domestic animals played a central role in the early medieval societies of north-west Europe. As pillars of the economy, they provided food, wealth, raw materials, and labor (McCormick, 2014; O'Connor, 2014), and also played key symbolic roles in human lifeworlds (Crabtree, 1995; Bond, 1996). The remains of livestock are therefore a valuable material to study human-animal relationships during the 1st Millennium AD and are of far greater significance than just proxies for diet (O'Connor, 2011). While there is a growing body of research on early medieval animal use in Europe (Castillo, 2014), northern Britain and Pictland (Figure 1), in particular, appear as zooarchaeological blackholes when compared to contemporary neighbors like Ireland and England (O'Connor, 2011, 2014; McCormick, 2014; McCormick and Murray, 2017). In Pictland, the main underlying reason is the limited number of sites that have been identified and investigated (Foster, 2014, p. 105–106; Noble et al., 2019a; Noble, 2020), combined with poor bone preservation due to acidic soils. Faunal assemblages large enough to generate valuable interpretative data have been limited to a handful of sites located on coastal or insular sandy soils, mostly in the northwestern-most edges of Pictland (Dockrill et al., 2010) or lie in other adjacent kingdoms such as Dál Riata (Lane and Campbell, 2000; Murray et al., 2004) or be Lothians/Northumbria (Perry, 2000; Crone et al., 2016). Furthermore, unlike Ireland and England, there is a lack of historical sources for Pictland that could provide valuable complementary information on animal use (Foster, 2014, p. 62; Noble and Evans, 2022, 1–22). Amplified by the scarce zooarchaeological evidence, our understanding of the role of domestic animals in Pictish society and the economy more broadly remains poorly characterized.

First mentioned in late Roman sources as a collective name for people living north of the Roman frontier, the Picts went on to dominate a large part of present-day Scotland until the late first millennium AD (Noble and Evans, 2022). The emergence of the Pictish over-kingdom, the precursor of the kingdom of Scotland, was part of broader changes in northern Europe that laid the foundations for the modern states of Europe. The major legacies of the Picts include iconic symbol stones (e.g., RCAHMS, 2007), but other than this, the archaeological and historical record for this region c. 300–900 AD has been traditionally diffuse and difficult—famously dubbed the “Problem of the Picts” (Wainwright, 1955). Our understanding of the socio-political organization of Pictland is poor, but there are securely documented Pictish kings from the 6th century onwards and there was an overkingship of Pictland from at least the 7th century AD, centered initially around the Moray Firth region (Woolf, 2006), with the center of power shifting southwards in the Viking Age (Noble and Evans, 2022, p. 290–293). With regards to the archaeology, recent excavations, have begun to reveal a whole host of new sites and evidence providing important insights into the functioning of Pictish society and the international connections that rulers in Pictland were able to draw upon (Carver et al., 2016; Noble et al., 2019a,c, 2020).

Since 2010, the University of Aberdeen has investigated a range of power-centers including previously unknown examples (Noble et al., 2013, 2019b,c). Since late 2017, the Leverhulme/Historic Environment Scotland-funded Comparative Kingship Project has targeted over 40 sites for excavation, including hillforts, promontory forts, ecclesiastic enclosures, cemeteries, and the location of in-situ carved stones, providing a wealth of new knowledge (Noble and Evans, 2022). At most sites, faunal remains were either absent or limited to a few bone and teeth fragments, but in some rare cases, well-preserved animal bone were recovered. As most excavations consisted of small-scale evaluations, these new faunal assemblages remain small in comparison to contemporary English and Irish sites. Nevertheless, they provide a rare opportunity to add to the body of evidence regarding animal use in Pictish society and address some key research questions. What economic practices were livestock involved in at these sites and is there inter-site variability? Is the animal economy at Pictish elite sites a self-sufficient operation or is it part of network of producer and consumer sites? These new assemblages also highlight the potential of some of these sites to yield larger faunal assemblages of greater interpretative value. This paper presents the first archaeozoological data from the secular elite sites of Burghead, Mither Tap, and Craig Rock (Figure 1) and discusses animal exploitation in eastern Pictland, the archaeozoological potential of these sites, and highlights future research directions.

The sites presented here (Burghead, Craig Rock and Mither Tap) comprise fortified high-status hill- or promontory forts (Noble et al., 2019c, p. 58), monument types that are often associated with elite occupation and interpreted as centers of power and authority. The size, location, and material culture from these sites correspond well with this narrative, with excavations producing evidence for monumental buildings, high-status metal-working and other elite indicators.

The main domesticates dominated all three assemblages, representing approximately 90% of identified remains (NISP; Table 1). Cattle (Bos taurus) was the most common taxon, representing at least half of all specimens. Cattle were slightly more frequent at Burghead (56.27%) than at Mither Tap (50.63%) or Craig Rock (49.21%). Pigs (Sus scrofa) ranked second, representing ~30% NISP on average, though they appear to be less frequent at Burghead (14.26%) where pigs and sheep (Ovis aries) and/or goat (Capra hircus) are almost equally represented, though pigs are more frequent based on MNI. Ovicaprids ranked third with a mean NISP of 14.9%.

The predominance of cattle remains at the sites adds to the body of evidence regarding the importance of cattle in the Pictish economy (Dockrill et al., 2010; Foster, 2014, p. 201–208; Carver et al., 2016) and echoes the ubiquitous pattern identified throughout early medieval Britain and Ireland (McCormick, 2008; Holmes, 2014; O'Connor, 2014). Based on the available data, cattle were raised for secondary products, and beef production. The presence of all skeletal components indicates that livestock are likely to have been brought to sites “on the hoof.” Contrary to Mither Tap and Craig Rock, multiple age groups of cattle were represented at Burghead, which may indicate husbandry at or near the site. At present, the absence of cattle fetal and/or neonatal remains (under 1 month) at Craig Rock and Mither Tap may indicate a lack of breeding close to these sites. On the other hand, the presence of this age group at Burghead, albeit in low numbers, suggests some calving took place within the fort or nearby and most likely represented accidental deaths. The lack of calves in the assemblages is an indication that intensive dairying and calf skin exploitation were not carried out at these sites (Halstead and Isaakidou, 2017, p. 119; Gidney, 2018, 4). This contrasts with the monastic site of Portmahomack where a greater proportion of juveniles was related to vellum production (Carver et al., 2016). The presence of subadults and young adults in all assemblages attest that a proportion of cattle were slaughtered for meat production, likely representing young males that were surplus to requirements (McCormick, 2014, p. 122). At Craig Rock and Mither Tap this age group appears to be better represented, though the picture is incomplete due to the absence of age data based on teeth. Nevertheless, it cannot be ruled out that Craig Rock and Mither Tap are consumer sites and the provisioning of beef to these hillforts was an integral part of the local economy. Of particular interest was the apparent difference in the proportion of 2–4-year-old cattle with Burghead. Though there is a “peak” in subadults and young adults, older adults predominated, indicating that cattle had a primary function other than meat production such as dairying, labor and breeding as part of a mixed strategy (Holmes et al., 2021, 5). There appears to be a lack or absence of older adult cattle at the hillforts, though the dearth of suitable teeth for aging hinders the reconstruction of detailed age profiles.

In the absence of reliable sex data, it is not yet possible to ascertain the role of older cattle at Burghead. However, the few specimens for which sex could be determined suggest females may be predominant and be indicative of the presence of dairy cows. Individuals over 8 years are likely to represent the overhaul of dairy stock (Balasse et al., 2000, p. 44; Kamjan et al., 2021, 5). The current consensus is that dairying was an important component of a mixed economy of pastoral and arable farming in Iron Age and early medieval Scotland (Mulville et al., 2005; Foster, 2014, p. 167). The importance of draft animals cannot be underestimated, however, considering the role of cereal production in generating surplus and wealth (McCormick, 2008, p. 219). Other by-products of cattle would also have been valuable, such as hides, bones and horns as raw materials and there is growing evidence of craft activities taking place at Burghead.

Pigs were the second most important domesticate on all three sites, though appear to be better represented at Craig Rock and Mither Tap. Pigs are often associated with high-status sites and are considered an animal of choice for feasting (Smith, 2000, p. 720; Madgwick et al., 2019) and the apparent predominance of age Group II (1–4 years) indicates pigs were generally slaughtered once they reached optimal size. The presence of older individuals at all sites could represent breeding stock and pig rearing but also animals given as rents or payments (McCormick, 2014, p. 123). Ovicaprids ranked third and appear to be of minor economic importance, contrasting with the higher frequency of sheep found in insular or “marginal” environments (Dockrill et al., 2010; McCormick, 2014, p. 124) or in England (Holmes, 2014, 2017; O'Connor, 2014). Sheep/goat appear to have been primarily slaughtered for meat at 2–4 years old. The presence of various age groups at Burghead, including lambs and mature adults, implies the presence and management of a sheep flock nearby for meat and possibly the small-scale production of wool and milk as well as for reproduction.

Compared to Pictland, Ireland and England have numerous and sizeable early medieval faunal assemblages, providing opportunities to identify producer/consumer and consumer sites (McCormick et al., 2011, p. 99–105; Holmes, 2014). There is a shift in England between the 7th and 9th Century AD from a self-sufficient economy to an emerging market-based economy (Holmes, 2014, p. 125). Increasing political, economic and social complexity led to the development of producer and consumer sites involving the provisioning of high-status secular and ecclesiastical centers and proto-urban settlements (Crabtree, 1996, p. 73; Holmes, 2014, p. 123–125). That level of resolution for early medieval Scotland is well beyond the capabilities of the current available data. Hoverer, as new datasets emerge, a more comprehensive and nuanced understanding of the Pictish animal economy will be gained. The possibility that smaller hillforts such as Mither Tap and Craig Rock may have restricted age groups, at least for cattle, could indicate high-status consumer sites (Crabtree, 1990, p. 162), perhaps supplemented by local pig rearing. A large fort such as Burghead would certainly have had the capacity to keep some livestock, and some local production cannot be excluded considering the greater variety of age groups present at the site, though this may be in part due to a larger sample. The high-status nature of this major power center would certainly make it an ideal candidate for a consumer or a producer-consumer site. Certainly, the extent of local cattle rearing around Burghead is nebulous and cattle were possibly used as currency and received as tribute payment to elites, as in early medieval Ireland (Kelly, 2016, p. 44) where a dairy cow, pregnant or with a calf, commanded a higher value (McCormick, 2014, p. 121). Burghead would have been in a position to receive tax payments in the form of cattle from its hinterland or the wider region it had influence on. Determining the geographical provenience of livestock, through strontium isotope analysis for example (Britton, 2020), will be key to better understanding the geographical “catchment” of power centers such as Burghead.

While the current study confirms that cattle were the predominant domestic animal in Pictland, future excavations at these three sites (or at others) are needed to yield the more expansive datasets to support the initial findings and synthesis outlined here. Bigger samples are necessary (Crabtree, 2018) to explore, for example, potential differences between larger lowland and coastal sites and hillforts in terms of the economic context they operated in. Although the findings here are a welcome addition to the thin body of evidence, husbandry practices and herd management are also still poorly understood. For example, while there is currently no evidence of specialized milk production based on age data from any of the sites, this does not mean that dairying did not occur. In addition to increasing the size of assemblages through further excavations, isotopic approaches, such as oxygen isotope analysis, combined with intra-tooth sampling, could be used to explore cattle birth seasonality and dairying. Such approaches have identified multiple birth seasons at first millennium AD Pool in Orkney, implying the economic importance of ongoing provision of fresh milk (Towers et al., 2017). It is plausible, perhaps, that in Pictland, as in Iron Age north-west Europe, cattle were part of a mixed farming subsistence strategy where small-scale dairying was undertaken for local production ensuring year-round availability of milk by increasing the birthing season (Groot et al., 2021, p. 14). Age and isotopic data can be integrated with sex ratios, inferred from morphological traits and biometric study or ancient DNA analysis (Svensson et al., 2008; Ruscillo, 2014) to further explore the prevalence and intensity of dairying. An ongoing pilot study has successfully extracted aDNA from Burghead and Mither Tap, showing good preservation of DNA in the faunal assemblages (Girdland-Flink, unpublished data), which confirms this could be a fruitful line of enquiry.

Stable isotope analyses and other specialized approaches may also be pivotal in better understanding other aspects of animal husbandry in Pictland, such as grazing and foddering strategies. Carbon and nitrogen isotope data from faunal bone collagen from the monastic site of Portmahomack, for example, have highlighted that salt-marsh grazing may have been practiced in the management of sheep (Curtis-Summers et al., 2014, 2020). Unpublished stable isotope data from Burghead sheep suggest that this may have also been the case at the site (Czére et al., 2021), although these coastal sites are not representative of how sheep may have been raised in more inland or central areas. Further isotopic studies are required to not only explore salt-marsh grazing but also other strategies such as leaf-foddering or even sea-weed grazing of ungulates and the provisioning of other domesticates such as dogs. Preliminary analysis of pigs, for example, suggest a spread in carbon isotopic data which could be indicative of a range of diets, including some animals feeding in wooded environments (Fawcett, Czére and Britton, unpublished data). This could suggest a diversity of managements strategies (e.g., “backyard”, panage), though the occasional exploitation of wild boar cannot be excluded. The analysis of microbotanical residues, such as phytoliths and starch grains, extracted from external dental surfaces can also be used to explore the plants an animal consumes before death (Middleton and Rovner, 1994; Weber and Price, 2016). A pilot study has successfully extracted phytoliths (grass, arboreal, and dicot) and starch grains (barley and oat) from cattle, pig and caprines molars from Burghead, Mither Tap, and Craig Rock (Prado, unpublished data) demonstrating the significant potential of microbotanical residues for understanding livestock feeding regimes in Pictland. Beyond biomolecular analysis, the recovery and study of larger faunal assemblages must be an ongoing priority. If more comprehensively excavated, Burghead could produce the largest faunal assemblage for the early medieval period in Scotland. While the preservation of animal bone was poorer at Mither Tap and Craig Rock, there appears to have been significant accumulation of bone at the foot of ramparts creating an alkaline environment conducive to bone preservation. The discard of large quantities of bone at the foot of ramparts also raises important social aspects for the construction of these deposits. In Ireland, for example, the symbolic value of settlement enclosures made them a location of choice for discarding food waste, particularly from feasts (O'Sullivan and Nicholl, 2011). It may be that the deposition of faunal materials at these high-status sites in north-east Scotland was also a conscious decision, reflecting their role as power centers, as opposed to a reflection of expediency in waste management. A social zooarchaeology of Pictland, incorporating biomolecular analysis, historical sources and animal depictions on Pictish symbol stones, may help to disentangle both the economic and more esoteric aspects of Pictish human-animal relationships.

The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/Supplementary material, further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.

EM-M designed the study (with GN), undertook the analysis, and wrote the initial draft of the manuscript, with input from KB and GN. EF, VL, and SN contributed to the analysis and provided critical reviews of the manuscript. GN, JO'D, EM-M, and SN led the excavations of the sites presented here and provided critical review of and contributions to subsequent versions of the manuscript. KB, JF, and OC were undertaking isotope analysis of the material presented here and provided critical review of and contributions to subsequent versions of the manuscript. SP was undertaking ongoing analysis of microbotanical remains and provided critical review of and contributions to subsequent versions of the manuscript. L-GF was undertaking ongoing analysis of aDNA and contributed to this manuscript. All authors provided critical review of and contributions to subsequent versions of the manuscript.