New Opportunities in Getting Information From the Past

The last few days I had time to read something interesting. Every now and then I come across interesting posts. I want to share one of them with you.

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There is something exciting about lifting the veil of obscurity on a mystery. The discovery of more and more modern methods of obtaining information makes it possible to read even those historical finds that, it would seem, could not tell anything more. It is about such a case that will be discussed further.

A find that begged questions

A few years ago, in the English county of Cambridgeshire, excavations were carried out on the A14 between Cambridge and Huntingdon. Among the findings of archaeologists was a completely preserved human skeleton buried in a ditch. It was named Offord 203645 after the village nearby.

Further research revealed that the skeleton dates back to between 126 and 228, meaning the man lived during the Roman occupation of Britain. At first glance, nothing unusual, just a successful archaeological find. However, the skeleton was very different from the skeletons of the Romano-British people who lived in the area at the time.

Further research

Scientists are very curious people. If this skeleton raised more questions than it answered, it was an object of considerable interest. Therefore, the researchers extracted DNA from the small bone of the skeleton's inner ear and deciphered its DNA. They found out why he was different from other local ldei. It turned out that this man was a Sarmatian.

Who are the Sarmatians?

Sarmatians are nomadic tribes who lived in the territory of modern Ukraine from the 2nd to the 4th century AD. Ukrainian archaeologists have explored many barrows - burials of the Sarmatian nobility. Thanks to this, most of the information about this people was obtained.

The Sarmatians were very warlike and had extremely strong heavy cavalry and mounted archers. Their cavalry instilled fear in the surrounding peoples and enjoyed wide popularity in the Roman Empire.

Since the Sarmatians lived in the territory of Ukraine for a long time, and many archaeological monuments of their culture are located here, the study of these tribes leads to the school program of any Ukrainian. Perhaps that is why I was interested in the article about the Sarmatians, which somehow ended up in Britain.

Partial revelation of the secret

The DNA provided interesting information, but also raised additional questions. Therefore, the scientists went further and carried out a chemical analysis of the teeth of the skeleton.

Chemical analysis of teeth is a fairly new way of obtaining information about the living conditions of a person. Teeth develop over time, so like tree rings, each tooth layer reflects a snapshot of chemicals absorbed at some point in life.

Recent studies have yielded interesting results. The analysis showed that until the age of six, the Sarmatian ate millet that grew in Ukraine, but over time he switched to wheat grown in Western Europe. Together with the already available knowledge of that era, we can guess what was the fate of this Sarmatian.

So, as a child, he lived with his parents at home. At the age of six, an event happened that changed his life. Somehow he gets into Western Europe. He could move with a squad of mercenaries, he could be captured or sold into slavery.

It is known that during the life of this man, a unit of Sarmatian cavalry was sent to Britain. It is obvious that he was in this unit, but it is not known in which role - a warrior or a slave.

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Sources:

• cell.com
• bbc.com
• informator.ua