African man living in Stratford 1,700 years ago
The 1,700 year old skeleton of an African man has been discovered buried in Stratford-upon-Avon and indicates that people of African descent have been living in Warwickshire for far longer than thought.
One theory is that the man was a former Roman soldier who chose to retire in Stratford about 1,700 years ago.
The discovery suggests that people of African descent have been living in Warwickshire for far longer than previously thought.
Malin Holst of York Osteoarchaeology Ltd identified elements of the mature African male skeleton in bones unearthed from a Roman period cemetery in Stratford-upon-Avon.
Stuart Palmer of Warwickshire County Council’s ‘Archaeology Warwickshire’ is studying the find, and said: “African skeletons have previously been found in large Romano-British towns like York and African units are known to have formed part of the Hadrian’s Wall garrison, but we had no reason to expect any in Warwickshire and certainly not in a community as small as Roman Stratford.”
Stuart went on to describe the find: “The skeletal remains revealed that the man was heavily built and the bones in his central spine showed he was used to carrying heavy loads. Curved dental wear in the upper jaw was probably related to a task he regularly performed with his teeth. An injury to his shoulder must have been all the worse for his arthritis which was also evident in his hips and lower back. Before he died he suffered from a severe inflammation of the right shin and a painful infection from a dental abscess made his last moments a misery. His teeth showed that his childhood was plagued by disease or malnutrition, but there was no evidence for the cause of death.”
He added: “Currently there is no evidence to suggest whether he was born here, Africa or anywhere else.
“He could for instance have been a merchant, although, based on the evidence of the skeletal pathology it is probably more likely that he was a slave or an army veteran who retired to Stratford.”
Investigation into the man’s background is continuing and analysis of oxygen and strontium isotopes within his teeth might shed further light on his early life, but there is currently no funding available for such work.