Dental disease in childhood has the potential to inform about food availability, social status, andfeeding practices, in addition to contributing to a child’s overall health status. This paper presents the first comprehensiveoverview of carious lesion frequencies in 433 non-adults (1-17 years), and 6,283 erupted permanentand deciduous teeth from 15 urban and rural Romano-British settlements. Pooled deciduous and permanentcaries rates were significantly higher in major urban sites (1.8%) compared to rural settlements (0.4%), with childrenfrom urban sites having significantly higher lesion rates in the deciduous dentition (3.0%), and in youngerage groups with mixed dentitions. The differences in dental caries between urban and rural populations suggestdisparities in maternal oral health, early childhood feeding practices, food preparation and access to refined carbohydrates.A richer, perhaps more ‘Roman’, cuisine was eaten in the urban settlements, as opposed to a moremodest diet in the countryside. The effect of early childhood stress on caries frequency was explored using evidencefor enamel hypoplasia. Co-occurrence of caries and enamel hypoplasia was highest in the major urbancohort (5.8%) and lowest in the rural sample (1.3%), suggesting that environmental stress was a contributing factorto carious lesion development in Romano-British urban children.

Our current understanding of immigration and diasporic disease in Roman Britain has been greatly enhanced by the recent identification of thalassaemia in the non-adult skeletal record. The wide phenotypic variation in the clinical expression of β-thalassaemia, however, means that additional cases may go unrecognised. A probable diagnosis for β-thalassaemia intermedia or a mild form of major in a 1.0-1.5year old skeleton from Butt Road, Colchester, dating to the 4th century AD is discussed here. The assessment was undertaken using macroscopic and radiographic analysis. Several conditions were apparent, including trauma and probable β-thalassaemia and active vitamin D deficiency. Diagnosis proved difficult due to the challenges that non-adult thalassaemia poses for identification in the skeletal record, as in the absence of the cranium only 'rib-within-a-rib' is currently considered as pathognomonic of the condition. This case demonstrates the variations in expression of this type of genetic anaemia and adds emphasis to a more widespread presence of this important condition in Roman Britain.

The Poundbury Camp data on morbidity and mortality are not representative of patterns in Roman England and other major urban sites. Rural children suffered from a distinct set of pathologies described as diseases of deprivation, prompting reconsideration of how Romano-British land management affected those at the bottom of the social hierarchy.

Childhood palaeopathology remains an underutilised resource in the study of Roman Britain, particularly for exploring the lives of the rural population. Lesions in child skeletons provide unique insights into past lifeways and population health, as adverse environmental conditions translate more readily into the osteological record of these vulnerable members of society. To demonstrate the range of information gleaned from the children, 1,279 non-adults (0-17 years) from 26 first-to fifth-century urban and rural settlements were analysed, comparing morbidity and mortality in the most comprehensive study to date. The distribution of ages-atdeath suggests migration between country and town, the latter presenting a stressful and unsanitary environment. However, as demonstrated by high rates of metabolic disease and infections, life in the countryside was hampered by demanding physical labour and potentially oppressive conditions with restricted access to resources. stress; Roman rural settlement INTRUCTION: ROMANO-BRITISH CHILDHOODHuman skeletal remains present the most direct form of evidence for studying past populations. Numerous palaeopathological studies of Romano-British adults have provided insight into population health, diet and lifeways, albeit with a bias towards urban cemeteries. 1 More recently, several studies have reported on health in both urban and rural contexts, yet the children did not receive emphasis. 2 Roman archaeology is no different from other branches of the discipline in its research concerns, therefore the childhood experience has not yet fully evolved as a dedicated subject in Roman scholarship. While stable isotope analysis of Romano-British children has received considerable attention, 3 the actual health status of children remains relatively unexplored and a comprehensive picture of growing up in Roman Britain is still lacking. As children are growing, they reflect adverse environmental conditions more readily than their parents. 4 Child health is therefore a very powerful indicator of overall population health and dynamics, making non-adult (0-17 years) palaeopathology a primary source of evidence for past lifestyles and living environments.The osteological term 'non-adult' is not without problems but allows us to label, observe and discuss immature individuals in the past without involuntarily attaching social age norms. 5The cut-off age of 17 years is a product of the most accurate osteological ageing methods used and allows comparison between bioarchaeological datasets. Alongside age-at-death, a range of acquired conditions of ill-health can be observed in non-adult skeletons, which can provide information regarding cultural change, environmental pressures and life histories. The classical literature on Romano-British children is limited and, as so often in the study of Romano-British lifeways, we are forced to look to Rome for analogies and guidance. The classical literature, epigraphic and iconographic references provide a wealth of information on the Roman childhood experience...

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