But were the other inhabitants actually Roman? Italian perhaps - there is, for example, an inscription fragment, from Hooper Street (HOO88), from the tombstone of Lucius Pompeius Licetus who came from Arretium, modern-day Arezzo, in Italy.
Epigraphic evidence suggests that at least some London residents were Greek or from the Greek East as opposed to the Latin West. Although her birthplace is not recorded, the Eucarpia part of the name of Aurelia Eucarpia, suggests that she was Greek. The Aurelia part of her name indicates she gained citizenship after the Edict of Caracalla in the early 3rd century.
A lead plaque with a supplication written in Greek script by Demetrius, presumably also Greek, asks the gods for protection from the plague. Although usually worn as an amulet, this plaque had been deposited in the Thames at Vintry (VRY89) perhaps hopeful that his prayers would be heeded by the gods.
Further examples of Greek writing, such as a child’s shoe inscribed with the name Hector and the word Orator scratched on some wall plaster from Pudding Lane (PDN81), suggest that Greek as well as Latin was spoken and written in Roman London.
The identification of foreigners in burials could provide tangible evidence for migration. Traditionally, it has been done by the analysis of skeletal traits, like the size and shape of the skull, the type of burial and burial goods.
Two adjacent burials from the eastern cemetery at Mansell Street (MSL87), for example, had grave goods which may have been Germanic in origin. One burial, a female, was wearing two silver brooches and had with her a triangular comb made of antler, Germanic in style. The other burial, a male, had buried with him a military belt-set, the equivalent of an administrative badge of office, a brooch and two glass flagons, all made in Germany.
Their bones indicated that there were no obvious racial differences from the other skeletons in the cemetery but the grave goods, being either German in style or actually made in Germany, indicated that the owners may have hailed from Germany.
Various chemical analyses are aiding these identifications, as has been the case with the Spitalfields woman. DNA and isotope analysis has shown that she was a first generation immigrant, born in a country warmer than Britain and who is identified as coming from Southern France, Spain or Italy.
