Janet Montgomery

Durham University | DU · Department of Archaeology

The purported migrations that have formed the peoples of Britain have been the focus of generations of scholarly controversy. However, this has not benefited from direct analyses of ancient genomes. Here we report nine ancient genomes (∼1 ×) of individuals from northern Britain: seven from a Roman era York cemetery, bookended by earlier Iron-Age an...

Development of agriculture is often assumed to be accompanied by a decline in residential mobility, and sedentism is frequently proposed to provide the basis for economic intensification, population growth and increasing social complexity. In Britain, however, the nature of the agricultural transition (ca 4000 BC) and its effect on residence patter...

Studies of the carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios (δ(13) C and δ(15) N) of modern tissues with a fast turnover, such as hair and fingernails, have established the relationship between these values in mothers and their infants during breastfeeding and weaning. Using collagen from high-resolution dentine sections of teeth, which form in the pe...

Identifying people of exotic origins with isotopes depends upon finding isotopic attributes that are inconsistent with the indigenous population. This task is seldom straightforward and may vary with physical geography, through time, and with cultural practices. Isotopes and trace elements were measured in four Viking Age (8th to 10th centuries A.D...

Stable isotope analysis has provided crucial new insights into dietary change at the Neolithic transition in north-west Europe, indicating an unexpectedly sudden and radical shift from marine to terrestrial resources in coastal and island locations. Investigations of early Neolithic skeletal material from Sumburgh on Shetland, at the far-flung marg...

Despite an increasing number of studies, the application of stable sulfur (δ 34 S) isotope analysis to prehistoric bone collagen remains in its infancy. Conventionally, stable sulfur isotope compositions reflect coastal proximity and the interaction between humans and animals. Here, we undertook stable carbon (δ 13 C), nitrogen (δ 15 N) and sulfur...

Since 1992 the prehistoric Nivåfjord in northeast Zealand, Denmark, has yielded an appreciable number of inhumation burials and cremations dating to the Mesolithic, especially the sites of Nivå 10 and Nivågård. Unfortunately, the micro-region is characterised by poor organic preservation, restricting the successful application of biomolecular techn...

Child labour is the most common form of child abuse in the world today, with almost half of child workers employed in hazardous industries. The large-scale employment of children during the rapid industrialisation of the late 18th and early 19th centuries in England is well documented. During this period, the removal of pauper children from workhou...

The burial of multiple individuals within a single funerary monument invites speculation about the relationships between the deceased: were they chosen on the basis of status, gender or relatedness, for example? Here, the authors present the results of aDNA and isotope analyses conducted on seven individuals from an Early Iron Age barrow at Dolge n...

Many of the most significant archaeological sites in Europe were excavated by antiquarians over one hundred years ago. Modern museum collections therefore frequently contain human remains that were recovered during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Here we apply multi-isotope analysis (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr, δ¹⁸O, δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N) and ¹⁴C dating to eval...

The barrow cemetery at Heath Wood, Derbyshire, is the only known Viking cremation cemetery in the British Isles. It dates to the late ninth century and is associated with the over-wintering of the Viking Great Army at nearby Repton in AD 873–4. Only the cremated remains of three humans and of a few animals are still available for research. Using st...

BURIAL SK 3870 WAS EXCAVATED AT ALL SAINTS CHURCH, FISHERGATE, YORK, IN 2007. This unusual, tightly crouched burial was found in a large grave in the church apse. Preliminary research at the time of excavation suggested that this skeleton may represent the remains of Lady Isabel German, a prominent anchoress who resided at All Saints in the 15th ce...

Migration is driven by the young but despite this, few isotope studies focus on adolescent migrants or the intricatenature of their movement. Using a multi-analytical approach, the authors explore this mobility and the impact of urban living on the diet and health of adolescents from the pre-and post-Black Death periods of Northern England. Isotope...

In the summer of 1986 a mass grave was discovered along the bank of the river Tryggevælde Å where it empties into Køge Bugt, the bay south of modern Copenhagen, Denmark. The human remains, dating to the late Mesolithic Ertebølle culture, consisted of eight individuals of multiple ages, ranging c. 35–45 years old to newborn children. Four were arran...

This study documents a transect of ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr values from a variety of plant, soil and rock samples across the ancient woodland of the Sherwood Forest National Nature Reserve (SFNNR) and into adjoining farmland in Britain. All samples were collected from the Triassic Sherwood Sandstone Group. A shift of +0.0037 in ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr values is observed betwee...

The aims of this study were to explore the origins of 19 children buried in two mass graves and the general cemetery at the post‐medieval St Gertrude Church cemetery in Riga, Latvia, using strontium isotope analysis (87Sr/86Sr), and to establish local soil Sr biosphere ranges from faunal samples from two areas of Latvia. The results confirmed the p...

Objectives This study examines the biological sex and geographical origins of adolescents buried at the St Mary Magdalen leprosarium (Winchester, UK). The data are combined with archaeological and palaeopathological evidence to broaden the understanding of mobility and its relationship to leprosy and leprosaria in Medieval England. Materials and M...

Objectives This study investigates if palaeodietary information can be obtained from pulp stones through stable isotope analysis, presents a method for their extraction from tooth samples, and assesses their utility as a source of paleodietary information when coupled with the incremental dentine method. Materials and Methods Six tooth samples (2...

This study presents the results of complementary isotopic and dental calculus analyses of a number of individuals buried in two cemeteries of Roman and medieval chronology in Lamon, northern Italy. Eleven individuals from the Roman cemetery of San Donato and six from the medieval cemetery of San Pietro are presented and discussed. The results sugge...

Leprosy is one of the most notorious diseases in history, widely associated with social stigma and exclusion. This study builds on previous work to re‐evaluate the medicohistorical evidence for social stigma in relation to leprosy. This is achieved by isotopic and palaeopathological analyses of adolescent skeletons (10 – 25 years old) from the Angl...

The use of lead was ubiquitous throughout the Roman Empire, including material for water pipes, eating vessels, medicine and even as a sweetener for wine. The toxicity of lead is well established today, resulting in long‐term psychological and neurological deficits as well as metabolic diseases. Children are particularly susceptible to the effects...

This research note introduces the methodology of the FoodCult Project, with the aim of stimulating discussion regarding the interdisciplinary potential for historical food studies. The project represents the first major attempt to establish both the fundamentals of everyday diet, and the cultural ‘meaning’ of food and drink in early modern Ireland,...

Objectives This study tests, for the first time, the applicability of a new method of sex estimation utilizing enamel peptides on a sample of deciduous and permanent teeth at different stages of mineralization, from nonadults of unknown sex, including perinates. Materials and methods A total of 43 teeth from 29 nonadult individuals aged from 40 ge...

After the Battle Dunbar between English and Scottish forces in 1650, captured Scottish soldiers were imprisoned in Durham and many hundreds died there within a few weeks. The partial skeletal remains of 28 of these men were discovered in 2013. Building on previous osteological work, here we report wide-ranging scientific studies of the remains to a...

Isotope ratios of tooth enamel from ten Early Neolithic individuals buried in a long cairn at Whitwell in central England were measured to determine where they sourced their childhood diet. Five individuals have low Sr concentrations (11-66 ppm) and high 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratios (0.7164-0.7212). Three individuals have relatively low 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratios...

The origins of decorated ostrich eggs in the ancient Mediterranean and Middle East - Tamar Hodos, Caroline R. Cartwright, Janet Montgomery, Geoff Nowell, Kayla Crowder, Alexandra C. Fletcher, Yvonne Gönster

The Archiud “Hânsuri” cemetery in Transylvania, Romania is the burial site of a barbarian population from the Kingdom of the Gepids (4th–7th Cent AD). Previous work examining the dietary isotope life-histories and palaeopathological profiles of the non–adults (<16 years) has been published (Crowder et al., 2019). Strontium, carbon and oxygen isotop...

An excavation was undertaken by CFA Archaeology Ltd (CFA) between August and November 2010 on the site of the new Musselburgh Primary Health Care Centre. The site, which lies to the south of Inveresk Road, is centred on NGR 33430 67224. Until its demolition, the area had been occupied by Brunton Wireworks. The Scheduled Monument of Inveresk Roman F...

Recent excavations at Musselburgh, East Lothian (Scotland) revealed twelve skeletons, radiocarbon dated to the Iron Age and Roman period. The high incidence of skeletal trauma characteristic of decapitation in those of Roman date makes this site unusual. A multi-isotope investigation of seven of these individuals was conducted to explore any link b...

Objectives: A multi-isotope study was conducted on individuals buried at Skriðuklaustur monastery (AD 1493-1554) to investigate their geographic origins and dietary composition. Comparative material from individuals excavated from Skeljastaðir, an inland farm site was also analyzed. Materials and methods: Bone collagen was extracted from 50 huma...

Carbon and nitrogen isotope profiles were obtained from incremental dentine analysis of 19 non‐adults from a cemetery in Riga, Latvia. The research aimed to compare life histories and diet between people buried in two mass graves and the general cemetery. The δ13C profiles of several children from the mass graves were similar but did not resemble p...

In 2016, Wardell Armstrong undertook an archaeological excavation at St Mary’s (Leith) RC Primary School, Edinburgh. The archaeological excavation revealed four phases of activity; Phases 1 and 2 comprised coffined and uncoffined human burials. The lack of infectious pathognomic skeletal lesions, the dating of the finds, the dendrochronological ana...

The question of whether rock grit ingested unintentionally from querns, metates or millstones, or deliberately through pica or geophagy, is bioaccessible in the human gut has not been addressed in archaeological strontium (Sr) isotope studies. This study employed the unified bioaccessibility method and determined that ingested rock grit can provide...

Aims and Objectives Macroscopic skeletal analysis and stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses were employed to examine the relationship between skeletal “stress” lesions and changes in the isotopic life‐history profiles of six non‐adults from the Gepid population buried at the Archiud “Hânsuri” Cemetery (4th–7th Cent AD). Materials and Methods...

A single domestic dog (Canis familiaris) tooth was recovered from the Mesolithic site of Blick Mead in the Stonehenge landscape. As no human remains were recovered from the site, the dog tooth provides a potential proxy for reconstructing human diet. Previous studies have shown that domestic dogs often have similar δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values to their hum...

Members of religious orders during the later medieval period in Britain were expected to adhere to strict rules governing their daily lives which restricted their consumption of meat. This study aims to investigate whether this switch to a ‘religious diet’ can be isotopically detected in presumed religious individuals upon their entry into a religi...

The Coneybury ‘Anomaly’ is an Early Neolithic pit located just south-east of Stonehenge, Wiltshire. Excavations recovered a faunal assemblage unique in its composition, consisting of both wild and domestic species, as well as large quantities of ceramics and stone tools, including a substantial proportion of blades/bladelets. We present a suite of...

Figure S3. Incremental dentine carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotope ratio profiles by estimated age for deciduous tooth from Raunds matching profile type 3

Figure S1. Incremental dentine carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotope ratio profiles by estimated age for deciduous teeth from Raunds matching profile type 1

Figure S4. Incremental dentine carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotope ratio profiles by estimated age for deciduous teeth from Raunds matching profile type 2

Figure S5 (a,b) Incremental dentine carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotope ratio profiles by estimated age for permanent teeth from Raunds demonstrating variable profiles including flat (R5093), co‐varying (R5154) opposing co‐variance (R5021 and R5235) and wide range of variable values (R5187 and R5338).

Figure S2. (a,b) Incremental dentine carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotope ratio profiles by estimated age for deciduous teeth from Raunds matching profile type 2

For human dental enamel, what is the precise mineralization progression spatially and the precise timing of mineralization? This is an important question in the fundamental understanding of matrix-mediated biomineralization events, but in particular because we can use our understanding of this natural tissue growth in humans to develop biomimetic a...

Objectives: Recent developments in incremental dentine analysis allowing increased temporal resolution for tissues formed during the first 1,000 days of life have cast doubt on the veracity of weaning studies using bone collagen carbon (δ 13 C) and nitrogen (δ 15 N) isotope ratio data from infants. Here, we compare published bone data from the well...

The nature of landscape use and residence patterns during the British earlier Neolithic has often been debated. Here we use strontium and oxygen isotope analysis of tooth enamel, from individuals buried at the Hambledon Hill causewayed enclosure monument complex in Dorset, England to evaluate patterns of landscape use during the earlier Neolithic....

Tooth enamel from six cattle mandibles excavated from Roman deposits at The Hive development site, Worcester (mid-2nd to early 4th century AD) was subjected to strontium, oxygen and carbon isotope analyses (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr, δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C) to investigate the movement of cattle into Worcester, a purported regional cattle market, during the Roman period. St...

Objectives Recent developments in incremental dentine analysis allowing increased temporal resolution for tissues formed during the first 1,000 days of life have cast doubt on the veracity of weaning studies using bone collagen carbon (δ¹³C) and nitrogen (δ¹⁵N) isotope ratio data from infants. Here, we compare published bone data from the well‐pres...

This article presents evidence of population movements in Thessaly, Greece, during the Early Iron Age (Protogeometric period, eleventh–ninth centuries bc ). The method we employed to detect non-local individuals is strontium isotope analysis ( ⁸⁷ Sr/ ⁸⁶ Sr) of tooth enamel integrated with the contextual analysis of mortuary practices and osteologic...

This research explores oral health indicators and stable carbon and nitrogen isotope data to explore diet, and differences in diet, between people buried in the four different contexts of the St Gertrude Church cemetery (15th– 17th centuries AD): the general cemetery, two mass graves, and a collective mass burial pit within the general cemetery. Th...

Prevalence of calculus deposits in non-adult individuals by affected/observed individual/tooth count. (PDF)

Details of measurement data for δ15N and δ13C isotopes. (PDF)

Prevalence of caries, periapical lesions, periodontal disease and AMTL by affected/observed individuals and tooth/quadrant/alveolus count in young and older adults. (PDF)

Results of statistical analysis for dental attrition, dental disease, and isotope analysis. (PDF)

Prevalence of calculus deposits in adult individuals by affected/observed individual/tooth count. (PDF)