I am a first-year PhD student at Macquarie University, Australia. My research investigates the long-noted surplus of adult male burials in cemeteries of Roman Britain by examining sex ratios among juveniles. In March 2025, the British Archaeological Association awarded me £500 to support travel within England, enabling me to fulfil a significant portion of my research itinerary.
The imbalanced sex ratio in Roman-period cemeteries—especially in larger urban centres—has been widely discussed, with many hypotheses proposed but few conclusively tested. My project addresses this question by reconstructing a more comprehensive funerary demographic profile through juvenile sex assessment. Compared with adults, juvenile skeletons provide more precise age estimates; where sex can also be determined, they offer a truer demographic baseline that provides insights on mortality and migration patterns. Accordingly, to fulfil my aims I must study a considerable number of juveniles across different settlement types, periods, and regions.
I initially proposed an ambitious programme of visits to eight museums to study nearly 500 juvenile individuals—an itinerary far beyond what my university could support alone. Thanks to the Association’s generosity, I was able to visit seven museums: Hampshire Cultural Trust, Oxfordshire Museum, North Hertfordshire Museum, Discover Bucks Museum, Corinium Museum, Natural History Museum, and Northamptonshire Archaeological Resource Centre. Curators were unfailingly hospitable and supportive, for which I am deeply grateful. In total, I examined more than 400 juvenile individuals, substantially advancing my understanding of Roman demography as well as juvenile health and diet.
Without the BAA’s support, I would have been limited to far fewer collections and a narrower interpretative scope. I am sincerely grateful to the British Archaeological Association for enabling this work, helping to develop my doctoral research, and fostering lasting connections with museums across Britain.
Haoyue Zhao