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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-67755415

Slightly overblown account of "mystery" as once identified as a Sarmatian, there was a likely probable explanation!  But interesting confirmation.

And blessedly no diversion into Arthurianism... 

One might query whether being Sarmatian in origin automatically connects him to a Sarmatian army unit.  He left as a child and it is speculated he may have been a slave.  If a slave, he could have belonged to a person of any ethnicity, who bought him at a slave market "somewhere in the empire".  However, it does show how individuals could move from one end of the empire to the other.

So here we have it - indisputable evidence that King Arthur and his Round Table knights really were a unit of Sarmatians posted to Britannia by the Roman Empire.

Everybody down the rabbit hole!

   

Quote from: Erpingham on December 19, 2023, 05:12:57 PMOne might query whether being Sarmatian in origin automatically connects him to a Sarmatian army unit. 

And of course other flavours of western "steppe" peoples may be available - Bastarnae, Dacian, Carpathian Celtic, etc, might also fall into that dietary pattern at a guess.

Quote from: Nick Harbud on December 19, 2023, 05:15:03 PMSo here we have it - indisputable evidence that King Arthur and his Round Table knights really were a unit of Sarmatians posted to Britannia by the Roman Empire.

Everybody down the rabbit hole!

   

pass us the holy hand grenade of Antioch!

Wait till they name the skeleton "Kay" rather than Offord Cluny 203645...

Quote from: DBS on December 19, 2023, 05:28:45 PM

Quote from: Erpingham on December 19, 2023, 05:12:57 PMOne might query whether being Sarmatian in origin automatically connects him to a Sarmatian army unit.

And of course other flavours of western "steppe" peoples may be available - Bastarnae, Dacian, Carpathian Celtic, etc, might also fall into that dietary pattern at a guess.

The Current Biology paper does give locations such as the Carpathians where the same diet could be eaten. The DNA does seem to indicate an origin further east, though the paper says that sparse sampling in the area is a hindrance. Interestingly the best match is from Armenia dating about a millenium earlier.
There were probably two changes in diet. The first, around 5 years old, seems to have introduced a mix of grains into the diet but also may have included more meat. I'd have thought that would be less likely if enslaved at that age. In fairness, while they spend more time on the cavalry hypothesis, they don't rule out slavery or other economic migration.