In 2022, archaeologists worked on the ancient DNA from a number of early medieval cemeteries, and found two individuals that stood out. One was from Updown Eastry in Kent, known as Updown girl, and the other was a young man from Worth Matravers in Dorset. Both were dated to the 7th century and both appeared to have west African heritage.

Two recent papers on these findings, along with other discoveries, highlight that English people from this time with west African heritage spanned generations and social status. The burials of these individuals also show that they were integrated into their respective communities. For example, Updown girl was buried next to her maternal relatives.

As a result, the presence of African heritage should not be a surprise. Early medieval society was much richer and more globally connected than most people believe.

Updown Eastry is a cemetery associated with the early Anglo-Saxon Kentish elite and part of a royal network. Updown girl was aged between 11 and 13 at her time of death and was buried around the middle of the seventh century.

An analysis of her autosomal DNA (which derives from both parents) found she was 67% continental northern European and 33% west African – most closely related to modern-day Esan and Yoruba populations in Nigeria. One of her great grandparents was 100% west African. Some of her maternal relatives were buried close by and their ancestry derived from northern Europe.

The second burial was of a young man aged between 17 and 25 at the time of his death. He was found in a grave with an unrelated adult male in a small cemetery that was in use for around 100 years, with his burial dated between AD605 to AD650.

Analysis of the site shows that the burial population had predominantly (77%) western British and Irish ancestry. Worth Matravers contained four primary family groups mostly related along the maternal line, suggesting a degree of matrilocality (where women remain after marriage) within this community. The young man also stood out because his Y-chromosome DNA was consistent with west African ancestry (25%) coming from his grandfather.

Some, modern ideas of medieval England paint it as an insular place with little or no diversity. However, England was much more connected to the rest of the world and its society was, as a result, much less homogenous than we imagine. Some early Anglo Saxon’s had brown eyes and African Ancestors.

Finds connecting Britain to the world

Royal burials like that at Sutton Hoo, Suffolk, and Prittlewell, Essex, contained objects from far afield, including Byzantine silver bowls and a jug from the eastern Mediterranean.

Amethysts and garnets have been found in seventh century jewellery and these stones were mined in Sri Lanka and India. Analysis of loop-like bag openings found in female graves from the fifth to seventh century revealed that these were made from African elephant ivory.

The Byzantium reconquest of north Africa in AD634 to AD635 provided new sources of sub-Saharan gold. In the west of Britain, fragments of red slip ware (distinctive Byzantium amphora vessels or pottery) have been found at sites associated with elites, like Tintagel in northern Cornwall. There is also evidence of glass beads made in early medieval England being found in contemporary Tanzania.

The newly emerging elite of seventh century England were looking east and were building new ideas about governance derived from old or far-flung places. Christianity, for instance, came from Rome, part of Byzantium.

There were also historical references to people from the African continent known to be part of society at the time. For instance, in the late seventh century, the African Abbot, Hadrian, joined Archbishop Theodore in Canterbury. And later in the 10th century, an Old English vernacular verse from Exodus described “the African maiden on the ocean’s shore, adorned with gold”.

While we cannot rule out the possibility that the ancestors of Updown Girl and the young man from Worth Matravers had been slaves, we must also be careful of interpreting the evidence though a post-colonial bias. The closer we look, the richer and more complex the connections between Britain, Byzantium and Africa are.

We do not know if these Africans were slaves, but we do know that early medieval slaves would have included western British, Frankish and Anglo-Saxon people too.

At a royal centre like Eastry in Kent, many accents might be found as well as different ways of wearing clothing. These places contained well-travelled people connected via family and marriage. DNA and isotopic studies also show that movement for marriage was common among early medieval elite women, who married into wealthy families, particularly in the east of Britain. So, we must also consider other possibilities alongside slavery, include religion, trading, travelling, marriage and seafaring.

Indeed the difference between Updown Eastry, an elite site, and Worth Matravers, a small coastal community, is critical to understanding the range of possibilities. African ancestry is found at both ends of the social spectrum and in the east and west of England.

Though England was more diverse than we think, life was not easy and, like these two examples, people died young. As well as disease, death by violence was also known – the weapons we find in early medieval graves were displayed as well as being functional objects.

DNA and cemetery evidence points to the importance of kinship and family for survival. These units provided shelter, protection, food and care. The evidence suggests that both of these African descendants were fully integrated into their respective communities sharing family ties and even the grave.

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This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Duncan Sayer, University of Lancashire

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Duncan Sayer does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.