Transcript Document

A long way from home –
diasporas in RomanoBritish towns
Hella Eckardt,
Mary Lewis & Gundula Müldner
Carolyn Chenery & Stephany Leach
University of
Reading
• How many foreigners lived in
Romano-British towns?
• What are the sources of evidence
for their presence?
• What levels of mobility and
migration do we expect in the
Roman Empire?
• How well integrated were
incomers and locals?
To the spirits of the
departed,
Regina, freedwoman
and wife of Barates
from Palmyra who
is herself of
Catuvellaunian
descent
She lived for 30
years
What levels of mobility do we
expect, especially in towns?
Noy 2000:
5% of
people living in the City of
Rome during the
high Empire were incomers
Rowland, R.J. 1976. Foreigners in Roman Britain. Acta
Archaeologica Academiae Scientiarium Hungaricae 28, 443-447.
Elsewhere in Britain
Gaul
Italy
Germany
Spain
Thrace
Pannonia
Noricum
Syria
Africa
Greece
Roman'
Dalmatia
Dacia
126 out of 2218 recorded inscriptions from RomanRaetia
Britain mention
migrants = 5% (after Rowlands 1976)
The uneven
distribution of
epigraphic
evidence from
Roman Britain
We hope to address the lived
experience of diaspora
communities, by combining
archaeological and scientific
techniques
Foodways & diet (Carbon &
Nitrogen isotopes)
Health (Osteology)
DIASPORA COMMUNITIES
Migration: Str & O isotopes
Artefacts & Burial rite
Osteological
ancestry
assessments
"Diaspora theory is about creating and
maintaining identity in communities
dispersed among other peoples.
It is about the local and non-local and how,
through processes of hybridity and
creolization, some groups of people can be
both at the same time."
(I. Lilley, 2004: 287)
To the spirits of the
departed,
Regina, freedwoman and
wife of Barates from
Palmyra who is herself of
Catuvellaunian descent
She lived for 30 years
Note the inscription in
Palmyrene script, which
reads:
Regina, freedwoman of
Barate(s), alas!
You Are What You Eat
• All body tissues including bone are
synthesized from the molecular components
of the food and drink consumed
• Isotopic "fingerprints" of food become
incorporated in consumer bones
87Sr/86Sr
d15N
d13C
d18O
"Migration Isotopes": Oxygen
 d18O of precipitation varies between regions,
mainly according to
– climate
– weather
– geography
Incorporated in human
skeleton via drinking water
www.waterisotopes.org
"Migration Isotopes": Strontium
•
87Sr/86Sr
ratios in soils vary
according to surface geology
– type of bedrock
– geological age of bedrock
Incorporated in human
skeleton via (locally grown)
foods
© NIGL
2 year project
150 samples
Previous
published
migration isotope
studies for Roman
Britain: 24
Eboracum – Roman York
•
•
•
•
provincial capital of Britannia Inferior
military, economic and administrative centre of the North
Septimius Severus and imperial court in York, 208-11 AD
Constantine the Great proclaimed emperor 306 AD
Cooler
further East or North
more continental
Warmer
further West or South
more coastal
Too hot for the UK
Cooler
further East or North
more continental
Warmer
further West or South
more coastal
Too cold for the UK
Cooler
further East or North
more continental
Warmer
further West or South
more coastal
Roman Winchester
Venta Belgarum
Clarke describes 16 graves dated to AD 350-410 as
intrusive: 8 men, 4 adult women and 4 young women
‘Intrusive’ men
40 samples
from Lankhills
+ 18 from
previous study
Evans, J., Stoodley, N.,
Chenery, C., 2006. A
strontium and oxygen
isotope assessment of a
possible fourth century
immigrant population in a
Hampshire cemetery,
southern England. Journal
of Archaeological Science
33, 265-272.
Clarke describes 16 graves dated to AD 350-410 as
intrusive: 8 men, 4 adult women and 4 young women
‘Intrusive’ men
Discrepancy
between
archaeological &
scientific data….
2nd generation
immigrant?
Intermarriage?
Impact of age,
gender, status?
• How many foreigners lived in
Romano-British towns?
• What are the sources of evidence
for their presence?
• What levels of mobility and
migration do we expect in the
Roman Empire?
• How well integrated were
incomers and locals?
“Local”
York
Probably
from
elsewhere in
Britain
40 (59%) 13 (19%)
Probable Total
longSample
distance
migrants
15 (22%) 68
Catterick
12 (46%) 11 (42%)
3 (12%)
26
Gloucester 10 (48%) 4 (19%)
7 (33%)
21
Lankhills
20 (34%) 58
30 (52%) 8 (14%)
Conclusions
• Large numbers of individuals can be
defined as non-local isotopically
• Not just men but also women migrating
• As expected, the relationship between
burial rite and origin is complex
• The benefits of a multi-disciplinary
approach
• Challenge stereotype of essentially
homogenous Romano-British society
through active out-reach
Outreach
Yorkshire Museum – 2010 The People of
Roman York Exhibition
Aaron Watson
http://www.monumental.
uk.com
Outreach:
Short stories and teaching packs with
Caroline Lawrence
http://www.romanmysteries.com/indexflash.htm
Thank You!
Andrew Morrison and the Yorkshire Museum
York Archaeological Trust
The Natural History Museum, London