A medieval African on English soil?

[Melvadius]

Discovery reports on the probable discovery of an individual of north African descent on English soil at a medieval friary - although stangely enough the article doesn't say which friary or what part of the country it was located in.

 

For this information you have to go to the University of Dundee's press release which makes clear that the discovery was in Ipswich in East Anglia.

 

Opening lines from Discovery:

 

London - A 13th century skeleton unearthed on the grounds of a friary may be the earliest physical evidence that Africans lived in England in medieval times, a team of researchers said on Sunday.

 

Forensics experts at the University of Dundee Scotland say that the bones most likely belonged to a man from modern-day Tunisia who spent about a decade living in England before he died.

 

"I believe that this is the first physical evidence of Africans in medieval England," said Jim Bolton, a historian at Queen Mary, University of London who wasn't involved in the discovery.

 

"Finding a skeleton like this is of major interest," he said.

 

The man - who appears to have died of a spinal abscess - was identified as African by studying his skeleton and the historical record of the friary where he was buried.

.....

 

University of Dundee press release opening lines:

BBC's History Cold Case highlights Dundee forensics work

* History Cold Case

* News series begins Thursday 6 May at 9pm on BBC Two

 

Skeleton of Medieval African found in Ipswich sheds new light on Britain

[Viggen]

...bah, they should have asked Robin Hood