Roman Western cemetery
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The western Roman cemetery lies outside the western boundary of the old Roman settlement of Londinium, situated in the modern area now covered by Atlantic House, St. Bartholomew’s Hospital and Little Britain at the western end of the City of London.
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The cemetery is generally thought to have developed alongside the Roman road between London and Silchester, with the site of Britannia House (OBL97) yielding the earliest dating evidence (late 1st century) and thought to represent the eastern extent of the cemetery. Dating evidence from burials indicates the area remained in use as an organised urban cemetery into the early 5th century AD.
Excavations in the area of the western Roman cemetery have been carried out at several sites over the last 30 years. Initially, excavations were carried out by the Department of Urban Archaeology (DUA), with later sites excavated by Museum of London Archaeological Services (MoLAS).
Burial practices within the cemetery appear to have largely conformed to those observed within the other Roman London cemeteries and indeed continental Roman cemeteries. They included a mix of cremations and inhumations, with the latter largely split into two main groups of alignment (east-west and north-south).
A variety of grave goods were associated with some, but not all burials, including: a cupped-mouth, ring-necked flagon, ceramics, a chicken skeleton, jewellery (including jet, silver and copper-alloy materials), a bone pin, toys, a miniature bronze bell, coins, bone combs and glass.
Preservation
Preservation of the human skeletal remains varied considerably, with the majority of individuals being represented by less than 50% of the skeleton. Consequently, approximately one third of the individuals were unable to be sexed, although they were observed to be of adult age (>18). There were no obvious distinctions between adult males and females or subadults when considering preservation.
Figure 1 Skeletal completeness (N=137)
Demography
Individuals of all age groups except those under one year were observed, with the vast majority of individuals recovered being adults. In the adult categories, mortality increased with age up to the 36-45 year group, after which the rate appeared to drop off suddenly with comparatively few individuals over 46 represented.
Figure 2 Age distribution (N=137)
| Age |
N= |
% |
| Perinatal |
0 |
0 |
| 1-6 month |
0 |
0 |
| 7-11 month |
0 |
0 |
| 1-5 years |
8 |
5.8 |
| 6-11 years |
7 |
5.1 |
| 12-17 years |
12 |
8.8 |
| 18-25 years |
5 |
3.6 |
| 26-35 years |
7 |
5.1 |
| 36-45 years |
16 |
11.7 |
| >46 years |
3 |
2.2 |
| Adult |
74 |
54 |
| Sub adult |
5 |
3.6 |
Table 1 Age distribution (N=137)
Figure 3 Male and female distribution by age in the adult population (N=105)
|
All Adults |
Male |
Female |
| 18-25 years |
5 |
2 |
2 |
| 26-35 years |
7 |
1 |
5 |
| 36-45 years |
16 |
5 |
10 |
| >46 years |
3 |
0 |
2 |
| Unaged adults |
74 |
22 |
8 |
| Total |
105 |
30 |
27 |
Table 2 Male and female distribution by age in the adult population
Stature
| Sex |
Avg_stat |
SD |
VAR |
MIN |
MAX |
N |
| Female |
165.8 |
8.9 |
79.6 |
159.5 |
172.1 |
2 |
| Male |
186.9 |
5.9 |
34.9 |
164 |
175.9 |
4 |
| Unsexed |
164.9 |
1.3 |
1.8 |
163.8 |
166.4 |
3 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Table 3 Stature estimation by femoral length
Pathology
OA of MT 1Healed fractures appeared to have been largely limited to males with a rate of 27%, although a further 4 unaged adults also exhibited healed fractures.
One very well-preserved case of multiple myeloma was observed in an adult male, exhibiting classic characteristics of this blood disorder (see photograph).
One adolescent individual exhibited evidence of widespread systemic infection. Although this was most likely a case of osteomyelitis, the distribution of the changes was consistent with veneral syphilis and a differential diagnosis of treponematosis has been recorded.
Table of Roman western cemetery (Word 80kb)
Vertebral pathology
|
All adults |
Male |
Female |
|
N |
n |
% |
N |
n |
% |
N |
n |
% |
| Osteoarthritis |
59 |
16 |
27.1 |
27 |
10 |
37 |
20 |
3 |
15 |
| Osteophytosis |
59 |
46 |
78 |
27 |
23 |
85.2 |
20 |
14 |
70 |
| IVD |
59 |
38 |
64.4 |
27 |
18 |
66.7 |
20 |
13 |
65 |
| Schmorl's nodes |
59 |
26 |
44.1 |
27 |
13 |
48.1 |
20 |
7 |
35 |
| Fusion |
59 |
2 |
3.4 |
27 |
2 |
7.4 |
20 |
0 |
0 |
Table 4 Distribution of vertebral pathology by sex in adults with one or more vertebrae present
Dental pathology
Over half of all adults with teeth showed evidence of dental caries with males exhibiting a higher prevalence than females. One third of subadults exhibited carious lesions. Over 90% of all adults and three quarters of subadults exhibited evidence of calculus.
Dental enamel hypoplasia rates were high (c.80%) and similar for males, females and subadults, suggesting children were consistently exposed to periods of stress or ill health. At least four individuals (2 older adult males, 1 older adult female and 1 subadult) exhibited unusually severe wear to anterior maxillary teeth.
| |
Caries |
Calculus |
Hypoplasia |
Periodotitis |
Periapical lesions |
| |
N= |
n= |
% |
N= |
n= |
% |
N= |
n= |
% |
N= |
n= |
% |
N= |
n= |
% |
| Male |
28 |
18 |
64.3 |
28 |
27 |
96.4 |
28 |
23 |
82.1 |
28 |
20 |
71.4 |
28 |
10 |
35.7 |
| Female |
15 |
7 |
46.7 |
15 |
15 |
100 |
15 |
12 |
80.0 |
15 |
10 |
66.7 |
15 |
4 |
26.7 |
| All adults |
54 |
29 |
53.7 |
54 |
51 |
94.4 |
54 |
40 |
74.1 |
54 |
33 |
61.1 |
54 |
15 |
27.8 |
| Sub adults |
21 |
7 |
33.3 |
21 |
16 |
76.2 |
21 |
17 |
81.0 |
21 |
6 |
28.6 |
21 |
1 |
4.8 |
Table 4 Distribution of vertebral pathology by sex in adults with one or more vertebrae present
Conclusion
In general, the remains recovered and analysed so far from the western Roman cemetery appear to conform to observations made within other Roman London cemeteries and other cemeteries in the South East (Barber & Bowsher, 2000; Mackinder, 2000; Taylor, 2001). There are, however, differences observed when comparing it with more rural cemeteries from the Roman period such as Poundbury.
As Watson (2003: 38) points out, these distinctions are most likely a consequence of the much larger, urban population that the western cemetery served. London’s inhabitants would have been more cosmopolitan and most likely to have been the first to take up new and more varied customs and beliefs.
Watson notes a need for a wide-ranging study of the western cemetery akin to that of Barber and Bowsher’s (2000) of the eastern Roman cemetery, taking a multi-disciplinary approach, incorporating as much of the archaeological, osteological and environmental evidence as possible.
The sample size is relatively smaller than those for the northern and eastern cemeteries, but it is highly likely future excavations will add to it and there is good potential for a number of research topics including:
- investigation of social stratification through analysis of human remains and comparison of topographical and geographical location of burials.
- investigation of familial relationships within and between grouped clusters of burials described (Bentley & Pritchard, 1982; Watson 2003) e.g. using non-metric trait prevalence.
Links related to the Roman Western cemetery
Links to excavations carried out on this cemetery
Archaeological excavations carried out at the following locations recovered material from this cemetery. Click on the sitecode links to see a summary of the excavation.
- Britannia House, 16-18 Old Bailey, EC4
Sitecode: OBL97
- St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical School,
Giltspur Street, EC1
Sitecode: BAR79
- Atlantic House, 46-50 Holborn Viaduct, EC1
Sitecode: ATC97
- Barnard's Inn, 78-81, 85-90 Fetter Lane, 7-13 Norwich Street, EC1
Sitecode: BAA87
- 1-3 Snow Hill, EC1
Sitecode: SWH86
- 24-30 West Smithfield, 1-4 Giltspur Street, 18-20 Cock Lane, EC1
Sitecode: WES89