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This study utilises multi-isotope approaches to investigate early medieval diet and childhood origins of individuals interred in an unusual group burial from Lothian, Scotland. In 1976, the skeletal remains of nine adults and five infants were unearthed from the infill of a latrine of a bathhouse at the Roman fort at Cramond, Edinburgh. Originally thought to be later medieval (14th/15th century), but recently dated to the 6th century AD, these remains represent a rare opportunity to gain deeper insights into the dietary histories and lifetime mobility of the inhabitants of early medieval south-central Scotland. Bone and teeth from the adults (n=9) were sampled, along with local faunal bone from a range of species (n=12). Long-term dietary trends were explored using stable carbon (δ13C), nitrogen (δ15N) and sulphur (δ34S) isotope analyses of bone collagen, focusing on inter-individual variability and the potential inclusion of marine protein in the diet. Sulphur (δ34S) was also utilised as a possible indicator of later-life mobility. Strontium (87Sr/86Sr) and oxygen (δ18OCARB) ratios of tooth enamel were employed to identify potential locals and non-locals, as well as possible locations of childhood origin. No intra-group dietary variability was detected, and the results are similar to other contemporary populations from southern Britain. The sulphur isotope data indicate that all of the individuals likely lived locally in their last few decades of life. However, based on isotopic data from tooth enamel, at least one or perhaps two of the individuals likely spent their childhoods in other locations.

This contribution describes the discovery and subsequent investigation of a cist in a rock-cut pit at Achavanich, Highland. Discovered and excavated in 1987, the cist was found to contain the tightly contracted skeletal remains of a young woman, accompanied by a Beaker, three flint artefacts and a cattle scapula. Initial post excavation work established a date for the skeleton together with details of her age and sex, and preliminary pollen analysis of sediments attaching to the Beaker was undertaken. The findings were never fully published and, upon the death of the excavator, Robert Gourlay, the documentary archive was left in the Highland Council Archaeology Unit. Fresh research in 2014–17, initiated and co-ordinated by the first-named author and funded by the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland with assistance from National Museums Scotland, the Natural History Museum and Harvard Medical School, has produced a significant amount of new information on the individual and on some of the items with which she was buried. This new information includes two further radiocarbon dates, a more detailed osteological report, isotopic information pertaining to the place where she had been raised and to her diet, histological information on the decomposition of her body, and genetic information that sheds light on her ancestry, her hair, eye and skin colour and her intolerance of lactose. (This is the first time that an ancient DNA report has been published in the Proceedings.) Moreover, a facial reconstruction adds virtual flesh to her bones. The significance of this discovery within the Chalcolithic to Early Bronze Age of this part of Scotland is discussed, along with the many and innovative ways in which information on this individual, dubbed ‘Ava’, has been disseminated around the world.

This project is an innovative mixture of medical imaging and forensics with holography, animation, art and virtual reality. This alliance of art and science explores, presents and communicates the history of violence and the violence of history to diverse audiences. Anatomical detail provides the substrate for forensic analysis and interpretation while digital technologies and creative art nourish fictitious scenarios on unexplained historical crimes. The aesthetics of the virtual world create an immersive environment for diverse audiences. The emotional, ethical and aesthetic impact of violence becomes a site of reflection, empathy, learning and performative imagination.

The isotope composition of tooth enamel and associated dentine and lead concentration was analyzed for strontium and oxygen (enamel) and carbon and nitrogen (dentine) from ten skulls taken from a burial pit found on the Chalk at Ridgeway Hill north of Weymouth, Dorset, on the south coast of England. These individuals are a subset of the 51 men in this pit, all of whom had been decapitated. The results from the ten individuals show that they were a diverse group of individuals. ATMS radiocarbon dating of three individuals gave dates that are statistically consistent and their weighted mean, when calibrated, provides a date range of AD 970–1025 (93% probability). The oxygen isotope composition ranges between 13.7‰ SMOW and 16.5‰SMOW, which result in drinking-water values between -15.4‰ SMOW and -9.2‰ VSMOW using the adapted Levinson calculation. They were raised in a climate that is colder than that of Britain, and one man has a signature that is consistent with an Arctic origin. The 87Sr/86Sr isot...

Wessex Archaeology was commissioned by Mouchel Advisory and Project Services on behalf of the Square Chapel Centre for the Arts (hereafter 'the Client') to undertake mitigation works in the form of a strip and record at the Square Chapel, Halifax, West Yorkshire. This phase of excavation has facilitated osteological recording of 122 skeletons from Halifax dating from around 1772 until at least 1885. This evidence adds to an existing corpus of 203 skeletons excavated in 2014 (Williams 2016). The skeletons recovered from the Square Chapel represent a reasonably healthy population with low rates of osteoarthritis, infection and metabolic disease, who are likely to have avoided the worst overcrowding of the period. High rates of sinusitis and pulmonary conditions (and a possible case of tuberculoid meningitis) may have been promoted by air pollution. Rates for all dental pathologies among the adults were higher than the averages for the period. Rates of ante-mortem tooth loss were particularly high. A diet rich in sugar and other cariogenic foods combined with poor oral hygiene is likely. Trauma and degenerative joint disease were common among the adults from this group. Two families were traced using information from depositum plates. The contrasting lives of these two families highlight both the inequalities of the industrial revolution and the egalitarian nature of religious practice of the period, particularly of non-conformism. The foundations of the early 19th century former sunday school were also recorded.

Excavation of the cemetery associated with Littlemore Baptist Chapel, Oxford, revealed a total of 31 graves and coffins dating to the second half of the 19th century. The remains of 30 individuals survived. Coffin fittings were not plain as expected, but rather followed the Anglican tradition of the time. The skeletal evidence indicated a population where some suffered nutritional deficiencies in childhood, while others experienced longevity in adulthood, with the majority of pathological conditions being linked to old age. Evidence of trauma and degenerative change linked to manual labour were largely absent. Two examples of neoplastic disease were identified and these are discussed in detail.

Radiocarbon dating of unaccompanied skeletons discovered during the excavation of an Iron Age, Roman and Saxon settlement at Yarnton, Oxfordshire, unexpectedly revealed the presence of a middle Iron Age cemetery (3rd or 4th century cal BC). British Iron Age burials before the 1st century BC are usually found as individuals, often in pits on settlement sites, or are repersented by disarticulated human bone. This paper explores whether cemeteries were a more common part of Iron Age burial practice than hitherto believed, or whether the Yarnton burials were a highly unusual and localized phenomenon? It highlights the merits of obtaining radiocarbon determinations on otherwise undated burials.