Intramural human remains from Roman towns in Britain: a case study from Late Iron Age and Roman Silchester

Fulford, M. G. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8780-9691 and Hamilton, D. (2025) Intramural human remains from Roman towns in Britain: a case study from Late Iron Age and Roman Silchester. Britannia, 56. ISSN 1753-5352 doi: 10.1017/S0068113X25100366

Abstract/Summary

Intramural adult human remains, whether articulated or disarticulated, from Roman towns in Britain are uncommon. There is evidence for some remains to have been deliberately curated and/or treated post mortem in a particular way before final deposition. This paper focuses on the disarticulated human remains from late Iron Age and Roman Silchester (Calleva Atrebatum), noting the parts of the skeleton represented, their contexts, and whether there is evidence for curation or treatment post mortem. Twenty-one examples have been radiocarbon dated enabling an assessment of changes in spatial patterning over time. An early and a late cluster are identified. The results from Silchester follow a review of comparable evidence from the major towns of Roman Britain. This reveals a broad similarity in patterning between Silchester and the Romano-British countryside. There are several urban parallels for Silchester’s late cluster, but only London for the early grouping.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/id/eprint/124390
Identification Number/DOI	10.1017/S0068113X25100366
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Science > School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science > Department of Archaeology
Publisher	Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies
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