Eboracum

A Roman skeleton discovered recently at 'the world's only well-preserved gladiator cemetery' has gone on display in York. The skeleton, one of 80 found in the city over the past seven years, went on show at the Jorvik Viking Centre on Tuesday (June 22) and promises to be a hit with visitors.

Around 80 gladiators have been discovered in what experts are calling the world's only well-preserved gladiator cemetery, in the northern British town of York. The grisly find, made ahead of modern building works since 2004, includes the skeletons of men who had been killed with swords, axes and hammers - and one who had been bitten by a tiger.

Recent news reports suggest that Britain's north-south divide is still alive and as pronounced as ever. Whether you're talking about heart disease, house prices or teenage pregnancy, statistics show that the invisible line that divides the north of Britain from the south is all too real.

Using the latest techniques in forensic archaeology, the University of Reading has revealed a new image of multi-cultural Roman Britain. New research demonstrates that 4th century AD York had individuals of North African descent moving in the highest social circles.

The research conducted by the University of Reading's Department of Archaeology used modern forensic ancestry assessment and isotope (oxygen and strontium) analysis of Romano-British skeletal remains such as the ‘Ivory Bangle Lady', in conjunction with evidence from grave goods buried with her.

The ancestry assessment suggests a mixture of 'black' and 'white' ancestral traits, and the isotope signature indicates that she may have come from somewhere slightly warmer than the UK.

A fourth skeleton has been unearthed at the site of York University's proposed new campus at Heslington East, 3.5 km outside the city of York. The skeleton is well preserved and was found laid with feet pointing north to south, rather than the east-west direction common in Christian burials of that time. It was discovered buried next to a less well-preserved skeleton in a separate grave.

So far little is known about the individual – except that it is male. Cath Neal, Field Officer for the Heslington East archaeological project, hopes that the good condition of this skeleton will enable them to discover more about the person's life. Isotope tests will provide more details about the diet and provenance of the person – for example, traces of a Mediterranean diet might indicate that the person had travelled north to reach Roman Eboracum (the modern city of York in North Yorkshire). The skeleton is currently being cleaned and will then be sent to an osteo-archaeologist for further tests.