Butchered Bones Offer Clues to Diet in Medieval Scotland

PERTH, SCOTLAND—The Courier reports that butchered bones of medieval cows, sheep, horses, and a cat were unearthed during construction work at the site of a historic theater in central Scotland’s city of Perth. Pottery and clothing shears were also recovered. The back of the theater faced a strip of land where merchants engaged in manufacturing, grew food, and kept animals. Archaeologist Catherine Smith of Alder Archaeology said cats were often kept in the medieval market place and were usually skinned for their pelts, which were used to line clothing and collars. This cat may have been fed to dogs, or eaten by people experiencing hardship, she added. For more on archaeology in Scotland, go to “A Dangerous Island.”