Insect tales: Stable isotope evidence of Romano-British socioeconomic activities in northern England

Insect remains from archaeological contexts have proven to be valuable indicators of past human activity and have provided unique insight into land-use patterns, palaeodiet, and the role of domestic animals and plants in industry. The present study reports the first application of stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes towards waterlog-preserved beetle and bug remains from Romano-British sites in the north of England. The results of the isotope analyses found the insect chitin signatures to be comparable to previous studies of contemporaneous bone collagen in the area. The marriage of stable isotope analysis to archaeoentomology during this preliminary investigation provided new data for the study of animal husbandry and agricultural practices during the Roman Period. It offers insight into the availability and use of agricultural crops as well as the diet and grazing environments of domesticates.