Conclusions

The periods examined here represent a shift from prehistory to history in the British archaeological record, and this upheaval and transformation is cap­tured in the human remains.

In the Roman period we have greater numbers of individuals from urban, rural and military cemeteries, reflecting the introduction of new settlement patterns and social structures. This is also a period of migration and more visible social hierarchies, and bioarchaeological research has been able to identify and show how these factors directly impacted on people's health and funerary rites. During this period there is a greater number of primary source materials, but these focus on historical events and exclude lower social groups, especially children and the elderly. Analysis of human remains allows us to establish an independent and unique data set which can be used to see how life in Roman Britain impacted on the ‘silent majority'.

The use of a Web of Violence approach reveals that in these contrasting periods, similar types of violence took place in communities (e.g. ritual), reflecting its power as an important social tool. In both periods the evidence is often obfuscated by funerary rituals and our limited understanding of the socio-cultural context in which these events occurred, such as the disposal of body parts and people in liminal places. By focusing on the theme of inequal­ity, it is hoped that the bioarchaeological evidence presented here shows that violence is not limited to injuries but also impacts health and mortality risks, often throughout the life course, because no violent action happens in isolation.