In Great Britain, scientists examined the corpse of a man who lived 2,000 years ago: what did they learn

[ad_1]

In Great Britain, scientists have studied the remains of a man who lived 2,000 years ago. Thanks to this, they found evidence that at that time people migrated to Britain from the territories of the Roman Empire.

The man lived between 126-228 AD, reports Phys.org with reference to research results published in the journal Current Biology.

A complete and well-preserved human skeleton was discovered in 2017 during roadworks on the road between Cambridge and Huntington. Scientists from the Francis Crick Institute and Durham University named the man Offord Clooney 203645 – after the village in Cambridgeshire where he was found.

He was buried in a ditch on a railroad track without any personal belongings. But archaeologists say that, most likely, he was a native of the Roman Empire at that time, since he has a lineage connected with the Sarmatians and the inhabitants of the Caucasus.

Archaeologists excavating burials at Offord Cluny 203645. Photo: MOLA Headland Infrastructure

Sarmatians are Iranian-speaking nomadic peoples who mainly lived in the territory of modern Ukraine and southern Russia.

“Genetically, he is very different from other Romano-British people studied so far. In fact, our analysis showed that he shared ancestors with previously studied individuals from the Caucasus and Sarmatian groups,” – noted Marina Suarez de Silva, an employee of the Ancient Genomics Laboratory at the Creek Institute.

According to the scientist, a lot of information was provided by the study of the man’s DNA.

“We extracted DNA from the bone of the human inner ear, because that is where it is best preserved. It is worth noting that this is not similar to studying the DNA of a living person, because this DNA is very fragmented and damaged.

However, we were able to obtain enough material for research to compare it with samples from people who lived at different times and places in the past.” – added Marina Suarez de Silva.

At the same time, the results of DNA analysis could not confirm that the man was born outside of Britain. Scientists have discovered a person’s birthplace from his teeth.

Photo: Krugloff/Getty Images

Researchers from the Department of Archeology at Durham University analyzed the isotopes (particles of carbon, nitrogen, strontium and oxygen) that were in the man’s teeth. So they discovered that the man had migrated to Britain.

For the first six years of his life, he lived in an arid area in the east of continental Europe. At that time, his diet contained many crops, including millet and sorghum, which were not grown in Europe. As an adult, the man migrated west, and these plants disappeared from his diet, scientists say.

It is noted that in 175 AD, the emperor Marcus Aurelius defeated the Sarmatian army on the northeastern border of the Roman Empire and included their cavalry in his legions.

Aurelius later sent about 5,500 Sarmatians to join the Roman legions in Britain. Offord Cluny, whose remains were studied by scientists, was probably one of them.

Scholars have not answered whether the man could have been found as a soldier, given that he was a child when he moved to Britain. But, according to scientists, Cluny was buried between 126 and 228 AD.

“The research suggests that the man was young when he began his journey across the Roman Empire. This is consistent with previous burials in Britain, which suggest that entire families may have joined the 5,500-member Sarmatian cavalry sent by Marcus Aurelius.

We have no finds or objects from his grave that would connect him with the Roman army or the Sarmatians. In general, we have very little evidence of the Sarmatians who were on the territory of Britain”said Alex Smith, manager of MOLA Headland Infrastructure, which participated in the study.

Scientists note that the burial of a young man on the territory of Britain proves the connection between the Roman Empire and England.

We previously reported that scientists discovered that the ancestors of people from Africa lived 1 million years earlier than previously thought.

Read also: Scientists have found evidence of cannibalism in an ancient human tribe in Europe

[ad_2]

Original Source Link