Food & Agriculture in Prehistoric & Medieval Scotland with Maureen Kilpatrick

Today I am speaking with Maureen Kilpatrick of Guard Archaeology, a Scottish archaeology firm that has dug sites all over Scotland, but today we are focusing on one site called Guardbridge, in Fife, where the timespan the finds ranged from is astounding: from the Stone Age to the 13th century. Several finds were food-related.

The site is amazing – there’s an Iron Age fort, there are field demarcations, evidence of food and how it was processed and cooked, as well as lots of evidence of the community moving from a nomadic hunter-gatherer lifestyle to a settled farming one.

We talk about the material objects found on site, such as saddle querns, axes and ploughing tools, food remains like emmer wheat, barley, cockles and the indestructible hazelnut, non-slip pottery and the surprisingly late appearance of oats, amongst many other things.

Those listening to the secret podcast get some bonus material where we discuss whether modern agriculture with its mechanised ploughs is a help or a hindrance to archaeologists these days.

Read the full report: ARO61: Guardbridge, Fife: A multi-period settlement with a multi-vallate fort

Follow Guard Archaeology in X/Twitter @GUARD_Archaeol

Season 10 of the podcast is sponsored by Netherton Foundry, makers of high-quality kitchen and outdoor cookware. Netherton Foundry ships to several countries outside of the UK, including the USA and Canada. Visit www.netherton-foundry.co.uk to find out more about their wonderful products – approved not just by me but by folk such as Tom Parker-Bowles, Diana Henry and Nigella Lawson.

The mixing and sound engineering were done by Thomas Ndinas of The Delicious Legacy podcast

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Things mentioned in today’s episode

ARO55: Excavations at the site of Bell’s Pottery, Stafford Street/Kyle Street, Glasgow

BBC News Article: 'Whole prehistory of Fife' found in one field, experts say

Serve it Forth Food History Festival EARLY BIRD TICKETS AVAILABLE NOW!

Ludlow Food Festival 2026

My appearance on the Offscript podcast as part of their Albion season

Previous pertinent podcast episodes

Bronze Age Food & Foodways with Chris Wakefield & Rachel Ballantyne

Neil’s blogs and YouTube channel:

‘British Food: a History’

The British Food History Channel

‘Neil Cooks Grigson’

Neil’s books:

Before Mrs Beeton: Elizabeth Raffald, England’s Most Influential Housekeeper

A Dark History of Sugar

Knead to Know: a History of Baking

The Philosophy of Puddings

Don’t forget, there will be postbag episodes in the future, so if you have any questions or queries about today’s episode, or indeed any episode, or have a question about the history of British food please email me at neil@britishfoodhistory.com, or on twitter and BlueSky @neilbuttery, or Instagram and Threads dr_neil_buttery. My DMs are open.

You can also join the British Food: a History Facebook discussion page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/britishfoodhistory

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