Blood Lines: a Social, Palaeopathological and Biomolecular Examination of the Impact of Genetic Anaemia in Romano-British Poundbury Camp
September 2023 – August 2026
The University of Reading has funded a three-year PhD Studentship to support innovative collaborative research between the University’s Heritage and Creativity Theme and the Natural History Museum’s Collections and Culture Theme.
Lily Garnett began the project, developed and supervised by Mary Lewis, Hella Eckardt (UoR), Selina Brace and Rachel Ives (NHM), in September 2023.
Poundbury Camp cemetery in Dorset represents the largest collection of individuals living and dying under Roman rule excavated in the UK, with c.1200 individuals cared for in the collection at the Natural History Museum. This project focuses on the reanalysis of over 650 adult individuals from the site. It aims to explore long term issues of health, migration and power over resources in an invaded population. In addition, this innovative project is the first to apply ancient DNA (aDNA) analysis to explore the evolution of thalassaemia in Britain, at a time when it is believed to have first arrived on these shores.