Medieval History
A BBC documentary will be revealing that a medieval African lived in England in the thirteenth century and was buried in a friary in Ipswich. This is the earliest evidence that an African was living in the country since the Roman period.
The programme, History Cold Case, will be broadcasting its premiere episode on Thursday night on BBC 2. It follows a team of experts from the Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification at the University of Dundee as they analyze a skeletons from history.
The male skeleton they discovered has been carbon dated to the period 1190-1300, and from examinations of the skull, teeth and thigh bone, it was determined that the man originally came from Tunisia.
It has been suggested that the person may have been captured during the crusades. His body was buried in a Carmelite priory known as the Ipswich Whitefriars. The monastic house stood near the centre of the medieval town of Ipswich, the county of Suffolk. The Priory was founded around the years 1278-79 and lasted until the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 1530s. Nothing above ground remains of the site but the priory's cemetery has been explored by archaeologists.
The discovery of the man in the priory's cemetery suggests that the African man was a Christian by the time he died, and that he was not just a servant or slave. "He would have had to been of some note to be buried in the friary," said Xanthe Mallett, one of the members of the Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification who is part of the show.
According to programme notes for History Cold Case, the show will reveal a facial reconstruction and "discover the tragic truth about how he died."
According to the Times, three people identified in tax records as black Africans lived in England in the fifteenth century.
Earlier this year it was revealed that the remains of an African woman living in the city of York during the 4th century AD. Click here to read the article Africans in Roman York?
Sources: BBC, Times, Associated Press
- Archaeologists Discover Medieval Church And 300 Burials In Ipswich
A team from Oxford Archaeology, in partnership with Pre-Construct Archaeology, has so far uncovered some 300 burials dating to the late Saxon and medieval periods from a site in Ipswich. Ipswich was an important Saxon town and trading centre, and excavation...
- Researchers Recreate Face Of Ancient Human
A reconstruction based on the skull of Norway?s best-preserved Stone Age skeleton makes it possible to study the features of a boy who lived in Scandinavia 7,500 years ago. ?It is hoped that this reconstruction is a good likeness and that, if someone...
- Remains Of Anglo-saxon Saint Discovered?
Archaeologists working in the Oxfordshire town of Bicester believe they have discovered a reliquary containing some of the bones of Saint Edburg, a seventh-century saint. John Moore Heritage Services is conducting the excavations of a site of former apartment...
- Bodies Of 17 Jews From Medieval Norwich May Have Been Mass-murder Victims, Scholars Believe
Scholars from the University of Dundee believe that the remains of 17 people found in a well in Norwich were members of the medieval Jewish community who were murdered or committed suicide during anti-Jewish violence. The results are being presented on...
- Face Of A Medieval Knight Revealed
Historic Scotland has released an image showing the dramatic reconstruction of a medieval knight whose skeleton was discovered at Stirling Castle. The skeleton was discovered with nine other individuals, including two children, during preparatory work...
Medieval History
Medieval African discovered in England
A BBC documentary will be revealing that a medieval African lived in England in the thirteenth century and was buried in a friary in Ipswich. This is the earliest evidence that an African was living in the country since the Roman period.
The programme, History Cold Case, will be broadcasting its premiere episode on Thursday night on BBC 2. It follows a team of experts from the Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification at the University of Dundee as they analyze a skeletons from history.
The male skeleton they discovered has been carbon dated to the period 1190-1300, and from examinations of the skull, teeth and thigh bone, it was determined that the man originally came from Tunisia.
It has been suggested that the person may have been captured during the crusades. His body was buried in a Carmelite priory known as the Ipswich Whitefriars. The monastic house stood near the centre of the medieval town of Ipswich, the county of Suffolk. The Priory was founded around the years 1278-79 and lasted until the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 1530s. Nothing above ground remains of the site but the priory's cemetery has been explored by archaeologists.
The discovery of the man in the priory's cemetery suggests that the African man was a Christian by the time he died, and that he was not just a servant or slave. "He would have had to been of some note to be buried in the friary," said Xanthe Mallett, one of the members of the Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification who is part of the show.
According to programme notes for History Cold Case, the show will reveal a facial reconstruction and "discover the tragic truth about how he died."
According to the Times, three people identified in tax records as black Africans lived in England in the fifteenth century.
Earlier this year it was revealed that the remains of an African woman living in the city of York during the 4th century AD. Click here to read the article Africans in Roman York?
Sources: BBC, Times, Associated Press
- Archaeologists Discover Medieval Church And 300 Burials In Ipswich
A team from Oxford Archaeology, in partnership with Pre-Construct Archaeology, has so far uncovered some 300 burials dating to the late Saxon and medieval periods from a site in Ipswich. Ipswich was an important Saxon town and trading centre, and excavation...
- Researchers Recreate Face Of Ancient Human
A reconstruction based on the skull of Norway?s best-preserved Stone Age skeleton makes it possible to study the features of a boy who lived in Scandinavia 7,500 years ago. ?It is hoped that this reconstruction is a good likeness and that, if someone...
- Remains Of Anglo-saxon Saint Discovered?
Archaeologists working in the Oxfordshire town of Bicester believe they have discovered a reliquary containing some of the bones of Saint Edburg, a seventh-century saint. John Moore Heritage Services is conducting the excavations of a site of former apartment...
- Bodies Of 17 Jews From Medieval Norwich May Have Been Mass-murder Victims, Scholars Believe
Scholars from the University of Dundee believe that the remains of 17 people found in a well in Norwich were members of the medieval Jewish community who were murdered or committed suicide during anti-Jewish violence. The results are being presented on...
- Face Of A Medieval Knight Revealed
Historic Scotland has released an image showing the dramatic reconstruction of a medieval knight whose skeleton was discovered at Stirling Castle. The skeleton was discovered with nine other individuals, including two children, during preparatory work...