How Ethnically Diverse Was Roman Britain? | HistoryExtra

What do we know about ethnic diversity in Roman Britain? Dr Hella Eckardt, who has led a research project into Roman migration, gives us a ... SubscribeColumnistsNewslettersHistoricalTVandFilmTodayinhistoryTheofficialwebsiteforBBCHistoryMagazineandBBCHistoryRevealedSearchPeriodBacktoMainmenuRomanVikingAnglo-SaxonMedievalTudorSecondWorldWarViewallPeriodsPeopleBacktoMainmenuTutankhamunRichardIIIHenryVIIIElizabethIQueenVictoriaWinstonChurchillViewallPeopleTopicsBacktoMainmenuKingsandqueensWeirdandwonderfulSexandloveSocialhistoryReligioushistoryWomen'shistoryHistoricalQ&AsHeritagevisitsHistoryheroHistoricalrecipesTurningpointsinBritishhistoryViewallTopicsPodcastBacktoMainmenuAllpodcastsPodcastseriesBacktoPodcastTutankhamun|Podcastseries15minutesoffameTheendofRomanBritainTheBlackDeathSalemwitchtrialsTranscriptsVideoBacktoMainmenuTudorRoyalWomenMedievalMasterclasswithDanJonesMonarchyMasterclasswithTracyBorman|HistoryvideoseriesQuizzesMasterclassesMagazinesBacktoMainmenuBBCHistoryMagazineBBCHistoryRevealedBBCWorldHistoriesMagazineSubscriberdownloadsSpecialeditionsAboutusSubscribeSubscribeSubscribeColumnistsNewslettersHistoricalTVandFilmTodayinhistoryHomePeriodRomanHowethnicallydiversewasRomanBritain?HowethnicallydiversewasRomanBritain?WhatdoweknowaboutethnicdiversityinRomanBritain?DrHellaEckardt,whohasledaresearchprojectintoRomanmigration,givesusaprimer...Published:October14,2021at3:20pmTry6issuesforonly£9.99whenyousubscribetoBBCHistoryMagazineorBBCHistoryRevealedShareonfacebookShareontwitterShareonwhatsappEmailtoafriendWhatdoweknowaboutethnicdiversityinRomanBritain?ThereisnodoubtatallthattherewerepeoplefromotherpartsoftheworldinRomanBritain.Wedon’tnecessarilyknowwhatskincolourthesepeoplehad,butwedoknowthattherewasmovement;wehaveNorthAfricansattestedonHadrian’sWall,forexample.However,it’sverydifficulttoquantifyexactnumbers,asourevidenceisfullofuncertainties.AdvertisementWhatevidenceistheretosuggestthatRomanBritainwasethnicallydiverse?Wehaveinscriptionswhichtelluswherepeoplewerefrom.Thesemightsay,forexample,thatsomeonecomesfromNorthAfricaorfromItaly.Thereareanumberoffamousones,likeVictor‘theMoor’,andBarateswhocamefromPalmyraintheSyriandesert.Otherevidenceisbasedonisotopeanalysis,whichcaninvolvelookingatthechemicalsignaturespreservedinteeth.Thewaterandfoodthatapersonconsumesshapestheirisotopicsignature,whichgivesusaroughindicationofwheretheyoriginallycamefrom.Atthemoment,wecanonlysaybroadlythattheywerefromsomewherecoolerorwarmer,andwecansuggestwhethersomeoneislikelytohavebeenalocalornot.Mostofthepeoplewe’velookedatwerefromcoolerareas,suchasGermanyorPoland,whichmakessensebecauseweknowthatmercenariescamefromthoseareastoserveintheRomanarmy.Anothertechniqueyoucanuseistolookattheskullofanindividual.Bymeasuringitsshape,youcansaywhethersomeonehasAfricanorCaucasianancestry.Forexample,the‘IvoryBangleLady’appearstohavesomeAfricanancestrybutwaslivinginRomanYork.YoucanalsolookatDNA:theDNAprofileofanotherindividualfromYorksuggeststhathewasfromtheMiddleEast,andhisisotopicsignatureisalsoveryunusual.HowdidRomansthinkaboutethnicityandrace?TheRomansdidn’tthinkofraceinthewaythatitmightbelinkedwithsocialsignifierstoday.Theyweren’tparticularlyinterestedinskincolour,anditwasn’tsomethingthattheywouldwriteaboutahugeamount.TheyweremoreconcernedaboutwhetherapersonspokeLatinwell,orwhethertheyhadtherightsortofsocialpositionorrank.Today,whenwethinkaboutethnicity,weareverymuchpreoccupiedwiththingslikeskincolourbutinthepast,thatwouldn’tnecessarilyhavebeenthecaseandfactorssuchaslanguage,education,wealth,kinshipandplaceoforiginwereprobablymoreimportant.WhatkindoflifedidmigrantsinRomanBritainlead?Oftentheskeletonswelookedatwerefromverywealthygraves.Forexample,the‘IvoryBangleLady’wasfoundinastonesarcophagusalongsideglassvesselsandexpensivejewellery.Ourresearchisobviouslybiasedbecausewefocusedonsamplingunusualskeletons;however,itislikelythatmanymigrantsinthisperiodwerewealthy.Theywerealsomorelikelytobethepeopleincharge;afterall,you’remorelikelytobemovingacrosstheentireRomanempireifyou’reinvolvedintheRomanmilitaryortheRomanadministration.Therewaseventourism–butallofthattendedtobepreservedfortheeliteofsociety.Ontheotherhand,somepeopleprobablymovedagainsttheirwill,forexampleRomanslavesandsoldiers.Readnext:CouldRomanslavesbuytheirownfreedom?AdvertisementDrHellaEckardtisanassociateprofessorinthearchaeologydepartmentattheUniversityofReading.ShehaspreviouslyledaresearchprojectinvestigatingtheevidenceforincomersinRomano-BritishtownsanddevelopedRomansRevealed,ateachingresourceforchildren,usingtheresultsAdvertisementAdvertisementTry5issuesfor£5-that'sjust£1perissuetoBBCHistoryMagazine!SUBSCRIBENOWAdvertisementSponsoredcontentSignupfortheweeklyHistoryExtranewsletterSignuptoreceiveournewsletter!EmailaddressSignUpByenteringyourdetails,youareagreeingtoourtermsandconditionsandprivacypolicy.Youcanunsubscribeatanytime.SUMMERSALE-subscribeandsaveupto85%Subscribefrom£1perissuetoeitherBBCHistoryMagazineorBBCHistoryRevealed!SubscribenowUSASubscriptionoffer!Save65%ontheshoppricewhenyousubscribetoday-Get13issuesforjust$49.99SubscribenowHistoryExtrapodcastListentothelatestepisodesnowListenhere