Defant, S., Carabia, A., Fetner, R. et al. (6 more authors) (2025) Isotopic data reveal a localist Roman population in Late Roman Albintimilium, Liguria. Scientific Reports, 15. 12097. ISSN 2045-2322
Abstract
This study investigates human diet and mobility to understand the socio-economic organisation of a Late Roman community in Liguria, a transitional region between Italy and Gaul, during the 3rd-5th century CE. By combining archaeological, historical, osteological, and isotopic data with novel Bayesian modelling of multi-isotope data (collagen δ13C, δ15N, bioapatite 87Sr/86Sr) from human and animal skeletal remains, as well as modern plant samples, we provide new insights into this hitherto under-researched region. Our findings suggest the community followed a C3-based diet, heavily reliant on plant resources and carbohydrates, supplemented by animal protein, likely from omnivorous pigs. This characteristically Roman diet contrasts with ancient written sources that claimed Ligurians had a “barbarian” diet and lifestyle. We also identified significant sex-based dietary differences, with men consuming more animal-derived protein than women, reflecting traditional Graeco-Roman societal ideals. Although the overall dietary pattern aligns with Roman norms, there is no isotopic evidence of long-distance migration or consumption of significant amounts of imported food. This indicates that the community may have been more localist, prioritising locally available resources over long-distance imports, which is unexpected given the prevalent idea of a large-scale interconnected food network within the Roman Empire.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2025 The Author(s). This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. |
Keywords: | Archaeology; Biogeochemistry; Biological anthropology; Environmental sciences; Stable isotope analysis |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Arts and Humanities (Sheffield) > School of History, Philosophy and Digital Humanities |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 12 Mar 2025 09:52 |
Last Modified: | 22 Apr 2025 10:27 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Nature Portfolio |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1038/s41598-025-92851-7 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:223987 |