The Beachy Head Lady or Beachy Head Woman is an ancient skeleton discovered in

Beachy Head Beachy Head is a Chalk Group, chalk headland in East Sussex, England. It is situated close to Eastbourne, East Sussex, Eastbourne, immediately east of the Seven Sisters, Sussex, Seven Sisters. Beachy Head is located within the administrative ar ...

East Sussex East Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Kent to the north-east, West Sussex to the west, Surrey to the north-west, and the English Channel to the south. The largest settlement ...

, England. The Beachy Head Lady lived during the

Roman period The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

, around 125 to 245 AD. DNA analysis of the woman found that although she was born in the Eastbourne area of Britain, her ancestry was Southern European, most likely from

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

Remains and investigation

As part of the Eastbourne Ancestors project, over 300 sets of human remains excavated from Anglo-Saxon cemeteries were re-examined. Heritage Officer Jo Seaman and his team found two boxes labelled "Beachy Head, something to do with 1956 or 1959". Inside they found a very well-preserved human skeleton. The Beachy Head Lady is the most complete skeleton in the collection. Radiocarbon dating suggested a date range of 125 to 245 AD for the remains.

Isotope analysis Isotope analysis is the identification of isotopic signature, abundance of certain stable isotopes of chemical elements within organic and inorganic compounds. Isotopic analysis can be used to understand the flow of energy through a food we ...

indicated that the Beachy Head Lady grew up in south-east England, and may have been born in the region. Initially, the skull shape led to an assessment that the woman had originated from

Sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lie south of the Sahara. These include Central Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, and West Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the list of sovereign states and ...

. This led some to claim erroneously that she had been the first known person of sub-Saharan origin in Britain. However, further DNA analysis established that the Beachy Head Lady was likely of Southern European origin from Cyprus, which resulted in the parish ordering the removal of a plaque erected by the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

"to commemorate the first black Briton." Beachy Head Lady was aged around 22 to 25 when she died, and would have stood between 4 feet 9 inches and 5 feet 1 inch (1.45 m and 1.55 m) tall. The Beachy Head Lady was exhibited to the public for the first time at the

Eastbourne Redoubt Eastbourne Redoubt is a circular coastal defence fort at Eastbourne, East Sussex, on the south coast of England. It was built in 1805 as part of the British anti-invasion preparations during the Napoleonic Wars. The building is now owned by t ...

. In 2021, the remains were moved to the newly refurbished "Beachy Head Story" visitor centre, closer to where they were found.

References

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External links

Beachy Head Story website
People from East Sussex 3rd-century women Burials in East Sussex Ancient Romans in Britain

Remains and investigation

See also

References

External links