The skeletal remains of an individual colloquially referred to as Beachy Head Woman were re-discovered in the Eastbourne Town Hall collection in 2012, and have remained the subject of significant public interest since. Radiocarbon dating yielded a date of between 129 and 311 CE indicating that she lived during the period of the Roman occupation of Britain, and, over more than a decade, there have been several attempts to unravel her geographical origins and ancestry. Once theorized to have origins in sub-Saharan Africa or possibly the Mediterranean, the new DNA study indicates that she has a strong genetic affinity to individuals from rural Britain during the Roman occupation and modern day Britons.
The facial depiction of the Beachy Head Woman. Image credit: Face Lab, Liverpool John Moores University.
Little has been certain about the Beachy Head Woman since her discovery, until now.
Radiocarbon dating showed she died between 129 and 311 CE, corresponding to the Roman occupation of Britain.
Analysis of her skeletal remains suggest that she was around 18-25 years old when she died and stood at just over 1.5 m (4.9 feet) tall.
A healed wound on her leg suggests a serious but non-fatal injury at some point in her life.
Dietary analysis looking at the carbon and nitrogen values in her bones also revealed that her diet likely included a lot of seafood.
“By using state-of-the-art DNA techniques we were able to resolve the origins of this individual,” said Dr. William Marsh, a researcher at London’s Natural History Museum.
“We show she carries genetic ancestry that is most similar to other individuals from the local population of Roman-era Britain.”
The Beachy Head Woman was brought to light in 2012 when her remains were uncovered in the collections of Eastbourne Town Hall.
Details on the box she was found within suggested that the skeleton had been found at the nearby headland, Beachy Head, in the 1950s but no details of an excavation have yet to be recovered.
The Beachy Head Woman’s story became more intriguing when initial morphometric analysis suggested she originated from sub-Saharan Africa. This result informed a display at the Eastbourne Museum and captured media attention.
Then in 2017, unpublished DNA work suggested she was more likely to have come from the Mediterranean rather than Africa, possibly Cyprus.
However, this finding was based upon limited DNA data, insufficient for robust conclusions, leaving many questions about the Beachy Head Woman unanswered.
“Our scientific knowledge and understanding is constantly evolving, and as scientists, it’s our job to keep pushing for answers,” said Dr. Selina Brace, also from London’s Natural History Museum.
“Thanks to the advancement of technology that has occurred in the past decade since Beachy Head Woman first came to light, we are excited to report these new comprehensive data and share more about this individual and her life.”
The team’s paper was published this month in the Journal of Archaeological Science.
_____
Andy Walton et al. Beachy Head Woman: clarifying her origins using a multiproxy anthropological and biomolecular approach. Journal of Archaeological Science, published online December 17, 2025; doi: 10.1016/j.jas.2025.106445
