Human remains from a fifth-century cemetery in Oxfordshire, UK, contradict the standard view of the Anglo-Saxon conquest of Britain.

Historical accounts suggest that Germanic invaders wiped out and replaced local populations at around that time. A team led by Susan Hughes of the Naval Facilities and Engineering Command Northwest in Silverdale, Washington, studied strontium and oxygen isotopes in teeth from the remains of 19 people. This can reveal whether a person ate and drank local foodstuffs.

Just one of the 19 samples contained isotopes indicating that the person came from continental Europe. The others were longtime locals, supporting the idea that Anglo-Saxons merged gradually into the region.

J. Arch. Sci. http://doi.org/p4j (2013)