12-05-2013, 04:58 PM
"The other two principle trade routes with south saharan Africa should not be dismissed. Black people could also have entered the Empire either via the red sea ports or through the central sahara."
I think it would be impossible to dismiss the seaborne movement of people and goods up the west coast of Africa, although I know very little about the archaeology of this. At the moment there is a dna group E1b1b1b L19 A & B which appears in the UK, Germany and Spain, but appears to have originated in antiquity in the Gambia. Possibly a Roman movement, or an earlier movement from Africa to Iberia then a Roman period move north within the Empire. There is nothing conclusive yet but a seaborne connection seems as likely as a route through the Sahara.
Any hint of Roman archaeology on the West African Coast ? The Epictetus map above suggests a knowledge as far as the Gambia. (maybe)
I think it would be impossible to dismiss the seaborne movement of people and goods up the west coast of Africa, although I know very little about the archaeology of this. At the moment there is a dna group E1b1b1b L19 A & B which appears in the UK, Germany and Spain, but appears to have originated in antiquity in the Gambia. Possibly a Roman movement, or an earlier movement from Africa to Iberia then a Roman period move north within the Empire. There is nothing conclusive yet but a seaborne connection seems as likely as a route through the Sahara.
Any hint of Roman archaeology on the West African Coast ? The Epictetus map above suggests a knowledge as far as the Gambia. (maybe)
