Assessing the impact of Roman occupation on England through the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) hypothesis

Pitt, R. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-3896-8620 (2025) Assessing the impact of Roman occupation on England through the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) hypothesis. Antiquity. ISSN 0003-598X doi: 10.15184/aqy.2025.10263

Abstract/Summary

The Roman occupation of England (AD 43–410), characterised by urbanisation and militarisation, is generally understood to have had a negative impact on population health. Yet our understanding of associated socioeconomic changes is hindered by the comparatively limited analysis of inhumations from the preceding Iron Age. Deploying the DOHaD hypothesis, this study examines negative health markers in the skeletons of 274 adult females of childbearing age and 372 non-adults aged below 3.5 years from Iron Age and Roman contexts, revealing the long-lasting negative influence of urbanisation but with a more limited impact in rural communities implying continuation of cultural norms.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/id/eprint/127600
Identification Number/DOI	10.15184/aqy.2025.10263
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Science > School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science > Department of Archaeology
Publisher	Cambridge University Press
Download/View statistics	View download statistics for this item