Diversity aboard a Tudor warship: investigating the origins of the Mary Rose crew using multi-isotope analysis

Author:

Scorrer Jessica1ORCID,Faillace Katie E.1ORCID,Hildred Alexzandra2,Nederbragt Alexandra J.3,Andersen Morten B.3ORCID,Millet Marc-Alban3ORCID,Lamb Angela L.4ORCID,Madgwick Richard1ORCID

Affiliation:

1. School of History, Archaeology and Religion, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF10 3EU, UK

2. Mary Rose Trust, HM Naval Base, Portsmouth PO1 3LX, UK

3. School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF10 3AT, UK

4. National Environmental Isotope Facility, British Geological Survey, Keyworth, Nottinghamshire NG12 5GG, UK

Abstract

The great Tudor warship, the Mary Rose , which sank tragically in the Solent in 1545 AD, presents a rare archaeological opportunity to research individuals for whom the precise timing and nature of death are known. A long-standing question surrounds the composition of the Tudor navy and whether the crew were largely British or had more diverse origins. This study takes a multi-isotope approach, combining strontium ( 87 Sr/ 86 Sr), oxygen (δ 18 O), sulfur (δ 34 S), carbon (δ 13 C) and nitrogen (δ 15 N) isotope analysis of dental samples to reconstruct the childhood diet and origins of eight of the Mary Rose crew. Forensic ancestry estimation was also employed on a subsample. Provenancing isotope data tentatively suggests as many as three of the crew may have originated from warmer, more southerly climates than Britain. Five have isotope values indicative of childhoods spent in western Britain, one of which had cranial morphology suggestive of African ancestry. The general trend of relatively high δ 15 N and low δ 13 C values suggests a broadly comparable diet to contemporaneous British and European communities. This multi-isotope approach and the nature of the archaeological context has allowed the reconstruction of the biographies of eight Tudor individuals to a higher resolution than is usually possible.

Funder

Cardiff University Early Career research fund

Publisher

The Royal Society

Subject

Multidisciplinary

Reference139 articles.

1. Loades D, Knighton CS. 2002 Letters from the Mary Rose. Stroud, UK: Sutton.

2. Marsden P. 2003 Sealed by time: the loss and recovery of the Mary Rose. Archaeology of the Mary Rose, vol. 1. Portsmouth, UK: Mary Rose Trust.

3. Gardiner J, Allen MJ. 2005 Before the mast: life and death aboard the Mary Rose. Archaeology of the Mary Rose, vol. 4. Portsmouth, UK: Mary Rose Trust.

4. Hildred A. 2011 Weapons of warre: the armaments of the Mary Rose. Archaeology of the Mary Rose, vol. 3. Portsmouth, UK: Mary Rose Trust.

5. Marsden P, McElvogue D. 2009 Mary Rose: your noblest shippe: Anatomy of a Tudor warship. Archaeology of the Mary Rose, vol. 2. Portsmouth, UK: Mary Rose Trust.

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