Migration and Diversity in Roman Britain: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Identification of Immigrants in Roman York, England

摘要

Previous anthropological investigationsnat Trentholme Drive, in Roman York identified annunusual amount of cranial variation amongst the inhabi-ntants, with some individuals suggested as having origi-nnated from the Middle East or North Africa. The currentnstudy investigates the validity of this assessment usingnmodern anthropological methods to assess cranial varia-ntion in two groups: The Railway and Trentholme Drive.nStrontium and oxygen isotope evidence derived from thendentition of 43 of these individuals was combined withnthe craniometric data to provide information on possiblenlevels of migration and the range of homelands that maynbe represented. The results of the craniometric analysisnindicated that the majority of the York population hadnEuropean origins, but that 11% of the Trentholme Drivenand 12% of The Railway study samples were likely ofnAfrican decent. Oxygen analysis identified four incomers,nthree from areas warmer than the UK and one from ancooler or more continental climate. Although based on anrelatively small sample of the overall population at York,nthis multidisciplinary approach made it possible tonidentify incomers, both men and women, from acrossnthe Empire. Evidence for possible second generationnmigrants was also suggested. The results confirmnthe presence of a heterogeneous population resident innYork and highlight the diversity, rather than thenuniformity, of the population in Roman Britain.