Beachy Head Woman: clarifying her origins using a multiproxy anthropological and biomolecular approach

Walton, A ORCID: 0009-0003-3438-5244, Marsh, W ORCID: 0000-0002-8385-3169, Strang, A ORCID: 0009-0008-3063-203X, Seaman, J, Van Doorn, K, Eckardt, H ORCID: 0000-0001-9288-5624, Wilkinson, C ORCID: 0000-0002-4603-5554, Barnes, I ORCID: 0000-0001-8322-6918 and Brace, S ORCID: 0000-0003-2126-6732 (2025) Beachy Head Woman: clarifying her origins using a multiproxy anthropological and biomolecular approach. Journal of Archaeological Science. p. 106445. ISSN 0305-4403

Preview

Text 1-s2.0-S0305440325002948-main.pdf - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (3MB) | Preview

Abstract

The skeletal remains of an individual colloquially referred to as Beachy Head Woman (BHW) were re-discovered in the Eastbourne Town Hall collection in 2012, and have remained the subject of significant public interest since. Radiocarbon dating yielded a calibrated date of between 129 and 311 calCE indicating that she lived during the period of the Roman occupation of Britain and, over more than a decade, there have been several attempts to unravel her geographical origins and ancestry. Here, we present results of all bioanthropological and biomolecular analyses performed to date. Initial osteological analyses indicated possible sub-Saharan origin, with BHW thus presented as one of the earliest Africans in Britain. However, her story was complicated by subsequent (unpublished) biomolecular analyses, which suggested she likely grew up on the south coast of Britain and had recent European ancestry. Here we present high quality ancient DNA data indicating that Beachy Head Woman has a strong genetic affinity to individuals from rural Britain during the Roman occupation and modern day Britons. We find no signals of admixture that would suggest recent sub-Saharan ancestry. Phenotypic predictions suggest she had blue eyes, intermediate (between pale and dark) skin pigmentation and light hair. Combined, our multiproxy approach indicates that Beachy Head Woman was of local British ancestry.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	0402 Geochemistry; 0403 Geology; 2101 Archaeology; Archaeology; 4301 Archaeology
Subjects:	C Auxiliary Sciences of History > CC Archaeology Q Science > QH Natural history > QH426 Genetics
Divisions:	Art and Creative Industries
Publisher:	Elsevier BV
Date of acceptance:	22 December 2025
Date of first compliant Open Access:	17 December 2025
Date Deposited:	17 Dec 2025 17:08
Last Modified:	17 Dec 2025 17:08
DOI or ID number:	10.1016/j.jas.2025.106445
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/27732

View Item