Roman Household National Archaeology week

29 January 2008

As in previous years the Centre was actively involved in National Archaeology Week 2007 where the theme was the Roman Household. There were lots of activities as ever for the public to get involved in during the week.

At the museum there was the opportunity to really get a feel of the make up of a roman household. There were Roman household items being made using traditional materials and tools and excavated artefacts associated with the everyday lives of a Roman Londoner.

A major component of the roman household would have been food and the preparation of food. To this end, evidence exhibited in relation to diet was clearly expressed in the skeletal remains of individuals excavated from London’s roman cemeteries.

Osteologists from the Centre were able to display a selection of roman skeletal remains, primarily dentition, excavated from the Eastern and Western cemetery. The dentition manifested various dental diseases and processes that indicated the type of diet of the individual.

The dentition for many of the individuals was heavily worn and attributed to a coarse and gritty diet. There were also delightful examples of abscesses, calculus and carious lesions, suggesting an increase in carbohydrate rich foodstuffs and as they were from the roman period probably dried fruits and honey.

Other dietary indicators for deficiency and excess were also shown in the defects of the enamel with linear enamel hypoplasia, which suggest periods of arrested growth during childhood. Examples of early stage DISH (fusion of the spine) was also presented, a condition seen more commonly today due to the dramatic increase of obesity within the population.

There was also an opportunity to learn about the analysis of human remains and how to estimate age, gender and stature of skeletons.