In 1901, during the construction of a railway siding near Sycamore Terrace in York, a richly furnished Roman burial was unearthed. The grave’s contents were delicate jewellery, fragments of ivory, and fine glassware, suggesting that the woman laid to rest here had been someone of considerable status. Over a century later, advances in archaeological science revealed something even more remarkable: the woman, now known as the Ivory Bangle Lady, was of African descent. Her story has since reshaped our understanding of identity, diversity, and belonging in Roman Britain.
A Discovery Reconsidered
When first excavated, the grave was recorded as part of the wider cemetery of Eboracum, the Roman name for York. At that time, archaeology was in its infancy, and interpretation often reflected the biases of the era. The skeleton, catalogued and stored at the Yorkshire Museum, received little special attention until the early 21st century, when researchers from the University of Reading began a project exploring migration in Roman Britain.
Their reanalysis combined traditional archaeology with cutting-edge science. Through isotope analysis of teeth and bones, scientists could infer where a person had spent their childhood, based on the chemical composition of local food and water. The results for the Ivory Bangle Lady were striking: she likely spent her early years in a warmer, more southerly climate, possibly North Africa.
Facial reconstruction and skeletal analysis further confirmed that she had mixed heritage, with features suggesting both African and European ancestry. She was probably in her early twenties when she died, around the 4th century CE, and lived in a city that was one of the most important centres in Roman Britain.
Eboracum: A Cosmopolitan Frontier City
To understand her life, we must consider the world she inhabited. Eboracum, today’s York, was founded in AD 71 as a Roman fortress for the Ninth Legion. Strategically located where the River Foss meets the River Ouse, it grew rapidly into a major military and administrative hub. By the 3rd and 4th centuries, it was the capital of the Roman province of Britannia Inferior, and later a thriving civilian city complete with bathhouses, temples, and townhouses.
Eboracum was not an isolated outpost at the edge of the empire; it was connected through trade and governance to a vast Mediterranean world. Merchants, soldiers, administrators, and enslaved people moved between provinces, bringing with them goods, languages, and beliefs. In this context, the presence of a woman of African descent is not an anomaly but a testament to the mobility and diversity of the Roman Empire.
Historical records tell us that African individuals lived and worked in Britain during Roman rule. The Notitia Dignitatum, a late Roman document, mentions units of North African soldiers stationed along Hadrian’s Wall. Inscriptions and skeletal evidence confirm that people from across the empire, including Syria, Gaul, and North Africa, were part of Britain’s population. The Ivory Bangle Lady, however, stands out because of her wealth and social standing.
A Life of Status and Refinement
The grave goods found with her body reveal much about her position in society. Among them were ivory bangles, a blue glass jug, jet jewellery, a mirror, and a small bone inscription bearing the Latin words SOROR AVE VIVAS IN DEO “Hail, sister, may you live in God.” The phrase suggests a connection to early Christian belief, though it might also have been an affectionate epitaph reflecting wider spiritual trends of the time.
Ivory, imported from Africa or India, was an expensive luxury material. Jet, sourced locally from Whitby on the Yorkshire coast, was also fashionable among the elite in Roman Britain. Together, these materials illustrate a life touched by both global and local influences, a fusion of empire-wide trade and regional craftsmanship.
The richness of the burial and its careful arrangement indicate that she belonged to the social elite of Eboracum. Whether she was born free or arrived enslaved and later gained status is unknown, but by the time of her death she was clearly respected, wealthy, and integrated into the city’s high society.
Challenging Myths of Roman Britain
For decades, public imagination pictured Roman Britain as a largely white, homogenous province, an image reinforced by textbooks, films, and museum displays. The discovery of the Ivory Bangle Lady challenged this narrative profoundly. She became a tangible symbol of a multicultural Roman Britain, reminding us that the story of migration and diversity on these islands stretches back nearly two millennia.
Her story also pushes back against assumptions about social hierarchy and race. The fact that a woman of African descent could hold elite status in 4th-century York complicates modern ideas about identity and belonging. In the Roman world, status and citizenship mattered more than skin colour. While prejudice existed, it was not structured around race in the modern sense. Instead, people were defined by their position within the imperial order, as citizens, freed persons, or slaves, and by their wealth, education, and networks.
Faith and Identity in a Changing Empire
The Christian inscription found in her grave is one of the earliest indications of the new religion’s presence in Roman York. By the 4th century, Christianity was spreading rapidly across the empire, gaining imperial support under Constantine, who was himself proclaimed Emperor in York in AD 306. The Ivory Bangle Lady’s burial, therefore, reflects a moment of transition, when traditional Roman paganism and emerging Christian beliefs coexisted.
It’s possible that she and her community embraced elements of both faiths, honouring Roman customs of burial while adopting Christian language and symbolism. This spiritual hybridity mirrors the cultural diversity of the city itself.
A Legacy Rediscovered
Today, the Ivory Bangle Lady is one of the most evocative figures from Roman Britain. Her reconstructed face, displayed at the Yorkshire Museum, invites visitors to look directly into the eyes of a woman who lived, thrived, and died nearly 1,600 years ago, yet whose story still resonates in modern Britain.
She reminds us that migration, diversity, and cultural exchange are not new phenomena but have been integral to British history since its earliest days. Her life bridges continents, connecting North Africa and northern England through the shared fabric of the Roman Empire.
Archaeologist Dr Hella Eckardt, who led the isotope study, put it succinctly: “The Ivory Bangle Lady is the most high-status example we have of an African in Roman Britain, but she is unlikely to have been unique.” Indeed, her presence suggests a wider community of people of varied origins, soldiers, merchants, artisans, and families, who together made Eboracum a vibrant, cosmopolitan city at the edge of the empire.
You can find our candle inspired by the Ivory Bangle Lady here, featuring a fresh and warming scent using scent notes from Roman Britain.