During the days of Roman occupation in Britain (43AD to 450AD), did the Roman occupants of Britain interbreed and intermarry with the native British population substantially (is not only a couple of cases but repeatedly)? If so, to what extent was the British population also derived from Roman st...
Downvoted because as written it seems to display a basic ignorance of human nature (what do you expect legions of healthy male Roman soldiers to do?), as well as a lack of simple research, i.e. Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romano-British_culture
@Charlie - are you looking from a historical perspective (narrative) or proof (as in genetic results, your reference to the articles)? I ask because they may not agree (consilience). Good question, by the way.
If I recall there is a genetic discontinuity in English history at /around the Saxon invasion. Not my field, so I can't offer a good researched answer, but it may affect the interpretation of the results.
If I remember my history correctly, by the time Rome was conquering Britain, a substantial portion of the legions weren't actually Roman. If correct that likely had a fairly significant effect on what got mixed with what.
@Perkins - Yes, Bryan Sykes took account of that factor in his study as well. Actually, I wonder if there isn't already a question on this in history SE. Could be an interesting question and answer, identifying the legions and auxiliaries in Roman Britain for all 3(?) campaigns.
I would guess that basically everyone currently living in Britain (and not recently migrated) has some amount of roman blood in their veins, but it is not easily measurable, apart from the pure male and pure female lines.
@JohnDee That depends what you mean by "Romans". If you mean "people from the Roman empire", then the number is probably in the tens of thousands at its peak (there were about 5,000 men in a Roman legion).
A large number would also have been stationed on the frontier in the North.
@Charlie One of the primary sources are memorial inscriptions either set up by the wife for the husband, or vice versa.
@JohnDee The DNA-haplotype in the article is one that is mainly associated with Italian ancestry. A significant percentage of the Legio IX Hispania (one of the 4 legions involved in the Claudian invasion), for example, were presumably recruited in the Iberian peninsula.
The higher-ranking "officer classes" may have been Italian-born (especially in the early days of Roman occupation), but they would have been less likely to settle and raise families in Britain.
Discussion on question by Charlie: Wa…
Discussion on question by Charlie: Wa…