A long way from home – diasporas in Romano- British towns Hella Eckardt, Mary Lewis & Gundula...
-
Upload
silvester-norris -
Category
Documents
-
view
216 -
download
0
Transcript of A long way from home – diasporas in Romano- British towns Hella Eckardt, Mary Lewis & Gundula...
A long way from home – diasporas in Romano-
British townsHella 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
Raetia126 out of 2218 recorded inscriptions from Roman 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
Artefacts & Burial rite
Foodways & diet (Carbon & Nitrogen isotopes) Health (Osteology)
Osteological ancestry assessments
DIASPORA COMMUNITIES
Migration: Str & O isotopes
"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
13C
18O
87Sr/86Sr15N
"Migration Isotopes": Oxygen 18O of precipitation varies between regions,
mainly according to– climate– weather– geography
Incorporated in humanskeleton via drinking water
www.waterisotopes.org
"Migration Isotopes": Strontium
• 87Sr/86Sr ratios in soils varyaccording to surface geology– type of bedrock– geological age of bedrock
Incorporated in humanskeleton 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
WarmerWarmerfurther West or South
more coastal
CoolerCoolerfurther East or North
more continental
WarmerWarmerfurther West or South
more coastal
CoolerCoolerfurther East or North
more continental
Too hot for the UK
WarmerWarmerfurther West or South
more coastal
CoolerCoolerfurther East or North
more continental
Too cold for the UK
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
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.
40 samples from Lankhills + 18 from previous study
Clarke describes 16 graves dated to AD 350-410 as intrusive: 8 men, 4 adult women and 4 young women
‘Intrusive’ men
Pannonian Family, National Museum Budapest
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” Probably from elsewhere in Britain
Probable long-distance migrants
Total Sample
York 40 (59%) 13 (19%) 15 (22%) 68
Catterick 12 (46%) 11 (42%) 3 (12%) 26
Gloucester 10 (48%) 4 (19%) 7 (33%) 21
Lankhills 30 (52%) 8 (14%) 20 (34%) 58
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 Watsonhttp://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