Overview
- Researchers at London’s Natural History Museum report in the Journal of Archaeological Science that her genetic ancestry matches local populations of Roman-era Britain.
- Using capture-array enrichment, the team achieved a more than tenfold increase in DNA coverage, enabling a robust genomic readout.
- Earlier assessments based on skull morphology suggested sub-Saharan African origins and inspired a 2016 plaque and media features, which were later withdrawn following inconclusive low-coverage DNA results.
- Radiocarbon dating places her death between AD 129 and 311, and analyses indicate she was 18–25 years old, just over 4.9 feet tall, had a healed leg injury, and ate a seafood-rich diet consistent with a coastal upbringing.
- A revised reconstruction informed by pigmentation markers and a 3D skull scan depicts fair hair, light skin, and blue eyes, produced in collaboration with Face Lab at Liverpool John Moores University.