Multi-isotope evidence shows extensive free-roaming pig husbandry endured in medieval England

This study investigates regional variation in pig husbandry in 12th–16th century England and its role in sustaining woodlands, wetlands and small towns. Medieval pig management is often characterised as a transition from forest-dwelling pigs to pigs being increasingly confined in urban sites, a key stage in the evolutionary history of the European domestic pig. However, multi-isotope analysis (δ 13 C, δ 15 N, δ 34 S, 87 Sr/ 86 Sr) of dentine, bone collagen and enamel from 57 pigs (424 measurements) across seven towns, combined with biometric and mortality data, indicates that management strategies remained regionally diverse. The results reveal predominantly extensive, free-roaming systems and demonstrate the resilience of these practices through the demographic and environmental disruptions of the 14th–15th century crises (i.e., Black Death, Great Famine, Little Ice Age). These findings highlight the ecological importance of medieval pig husbandry and its relevance for understanding historically sustainable landscape management.