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Beachy Head Woman's origin story: DNA analysis reveals she was local to southern Britain

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The identity of a Roman-era individual found in southern England has finally been resolved after scientists at the Natural History Museum were able to sequence high quality DNA from her skeletal remains.

Once theorized to have origins in sub-Saharan Africa or possibly the Mediterranean, the first comprehensive scientific study to be carried out on the Beachy Head Woman has revealed that her origins were in fact much closer to home.

The nationwide team led by Dr. Selina Brace and Dr. William Marsh at London's Natural History Museum and Andy Walton of University College London, re-examined the ~2,000-year-old individual with the latest technologies and today announced that Beachy Head Woman descended from the local British population of Roman-era southern England. The findings are published in the Journal of Archaeological Science.

True origin of 'first black Briton' revealed

Scientists have shed light on the true origins of the so-called "first black Briton".

The skeletal remains – dating from Roman times – were previously thought to belong to a woman from the sub-Saharan region.

This had led her to be dubbed "one of the earliest Africans in Britain".

But scientists have now said they cannot find DNA evidence that indicates she had recent ancestry from Africa.

They detailed in a paper published online on Wednesday that she actually had a strong genetic similarity to individuals from rural Britain.

She likely had blue eyes, between pale and dark skin and light hair, scientists added.

Beachy Head Woman may be ‘local girl from Eastbourne’, say scientists

Exclusive: DNA advances show Roman-era skeleton, once hailed as first black Briton, came from southern England

Beachy Head Woman, a Roman-era skeleton once hailed as the earliest known black Briton and who scientists later speculated could be of Cypriot descent, has now been shown to have originated from southern England.

The mystery of the skeleton’s shifting identity was finally resolved after advances in DNA sequencing produced a high-quality genetic readout from the remains.

Previously, forensic anthropologists had suggested that the woman may have been of sub-Saharan Africa origin based on an analysis of the skull and, in 2016, a plaque was erected to “to commemorate the first black Briton”.

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