The ‘Headless Romans’: multi-isotope investigations of an unusual burial ground from Roman Britain

Müldner, Gundula; Chenery, Carolyn; Eckardt, Hella

doi:10.1016/j.jas.2010.09.003

Cited by 110 publications

(102 citation statements)

References 72 publications

(100 reference statements)

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“…Comparison with other roughly contemporaneous European sites revealed similar diets as well as dietary practices which rarely show sex and age related patterns (Chenery et al, 2010;Killgrove and Tykot, 2013;Müldner et al, 2011;Pollard et al, 2011;Prowse et al, 2004Prowse et al, , 2005Rutgers et al, 2009;Stevens et al, 2012). Overall, these studies (including the results discussed herein) show that the diet of these populations was more dependent on the environment and local availability of food sources rather than on cultural habits.…”

Section: Dietary Patternssupporting

confidence: 57%

“…Carbon isotope values can be used to distinguish plants using the C 3 and C 4 photosynthetic pathways and the individuals consuming these plants (Budd et al, 2013;Chenery et al, 2010). They can also be used to differentiate terrestrial and aquatic food sources (Chenery et al, 2010;Müldner et al, 2011). Carbon isotopic ratios incorporated into bone collagen derive mainly from dietary proteins (Ambrose and Norr, 1993;Howland et al, 2003;Mays and Beavan, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Stable isotope and multi-analytical investigation of Monte da Cegonha: A Late Antiquity population in southern Portugal

Saragoça

Maurer

Šoberl

et al. 2016

Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports

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This study presents for the first time the diet of a Late Antiquity population in southern Portugal (Civitas of Pax Julia), from the Roman villa of Monte da Cegonha (predominantly 7th century CE). Stable isotope analysis (δ 13 C, δ 15 N, δ 18 O, 87 Sr/ 86 Sr) of human and faunal bone collagen and apatite was conducted in order to understand the influence of Roman subsistence strategies on the way of life of rural inhabitants of the area of Pax Julia and to explore their diet (types of ingested plants, amount of animal resources, terrestrial versus marine resources). X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR) analyses were used to determine the degree of bone diagenesis and assess the reliability of the bone stable isotopic composition for palaeodietary reconstruction. Anthropological analysis revealed a cariogenic diet, rich in starchy food and carbohydrates, in at least in two individuals based on the frequency of dental caries. Collagen and apatite carbon isotopic analysis suggested that C 3 plants were the basis of the population's diet, complemented with some terrestrial meat and its byproducts as reflected by the observed bone collagen nitrogen isotopic composition. Moreover, whilst the fairly low apatite-collagen spacing recorded in some skeletons (at around 4‰) may have been due to freshwater organisms intake, the relatively low nitrogen values observed indicate that this consumption did not occur very often, unless in the form of fresh fish of low trophic level or fish sauces. There were no significant differences in isotopic values depending on gender or burial type. Strontium and oxygen isotopic composition of bone apatite revealed a sedentary community, with the exception of a male individual who probably did not spend his childhood in Monte da Cegonha.

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Section: Dietary Patternssupporting

confidence: 57%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stable isotope and multi-analytical investigation of Monte da Cegonha: A Late Antiquity population in southern Portugal

Saragoça

Maurer

Šoberl

et al. 2016

Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports

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show abstract

“…This was a time when population density increased again and there was much more mobility and trade and contact with people often from more distant places, thus enabling easier transmission of TB between people from different regions. This increased mobility has been corroborated more recently using stable isotope analysis, including on Roman populations 21 . Nevertheless, an increase again in TB appears in the early medieval period when people actually reverted to living in rural environments.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 57%

Old World tuberculosis: Evidence from human remains with a review of current research and future prospects

Roberts

2015

Tuberculosis

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. (2015) 'Old World tuberculosis : evidence from human remains with a review of current research and future prospects.', Tuberculosis., 95 (Supplement 1). S117-S121.Further information on publisher's website: Use policyThe full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-pro t purposes provided that:• a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in DRO • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders.Please consult the full DRO policy for further details. aDNA analysis has provided data on species and strains of the M. tuberculosis complex organisms affecting people in the past. The extant data suggest the first epidemiological transition (Neolithic agriculture and permanent settlements) led to an increase in TB, with later increases in urban environments of the late Medieval period. A number of causative factors were at play. Future research, particularly using biomolecular analysis, has the potential to further contribute to our understanding of the origin and evolution of TB, thus merging the disciplines of palaeopathology and evolutionary medicine.

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“…17 Barber andBowsher (2000); Barber and Hall (2000); Museum of London (n.d.). 18 Farwell and Molleson (1993);Finn (2004); Booth et al (2010); Ottaway et al (2012);Holbrook (2008); Hunter-Mann (n.d.); Müldner et al (2011);Pooley et al (2011);Simmonds et al (2008);Gardner (2005); Weekes (2011);Winton (2009). A similar expansion in development-related cemetery fieldwork can be noted beyond Britain. Surveys by Blaizot and colleagues demonstrate the generation of new data on an equivalent scale in France.19 Amongst the most striking developments is the acquisition of equivalent data from Rome.…”

Section: Fieldwork and Its Distributionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Beyond the Grave. Excavating the Dead in the Late Roman Provinces

Pearce¹

2015

Field Methods and Post-Excavation Techniques in Late Antique Archaeology

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Recent decades have been fruitful for the gathering of new evidence, and for the establishment of new methods and theoretical perspectives in Late Roman funerary archaeology. This paper reflects on three aspects of the new data, distribution, character and dissemination, using examples from Britain and beyond. Grave distribution is strongly biased towards urban contexts, with consequences for socio-cultural and demographic analysis. Opportunities to advance understanding of burial as a process rather than a single depositional moment are discussed, including funerary rituals, commemorative activity, grave marking and the disturbance of human remains. A fuller exploitation of digital dissemination is advocated, in particular to allow one of the richest pre-modern skeletal samples to achieve an impact commensurate with its scale and quality.

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The ‘Headless Romans’: multi-isotope investigations of an unusual burial ground from Roman Britain

Cited by 110 publications

References 72 publications

Stable isotope and multi-analytical investigation of Monte da Cegonha: A Late Antiquity population in southern Portugal

Stable isotope and multi-analytical investigation of Monte da Cegonha: A Late Antiquity population in southern Portugal

Old World tuberculosis: Evidence from human remains with a review of current research and future prospects

Beyond the Grave. Excavating the Dead in the Late Roman Provinces

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