INEQUALITY AT LATE ROMAN BALDOCK, UK The Impact of Social Factors on Health and Diet

This study explores the impact of social inequality through a study of health and diet involving the analysis of skeletal remains and grave furnishings from the Roman period cemetery of Baldock, UK. Analysis revealed correlations between the presence of different types of grave furnishing with aspects of childhood health, and consistent differences in diet between individuals with different quantities and types of furnishings. These findings suggest that inequality may have had a considerable impact upon both health and diet at Baldock. The further observation of patterns in diet by sex and in grave furnishings by sex and age-at-death suggests that these factors may have played an important role in determining access to resources within the community at Baldock.