Health and diet at Hellenistic, Roman and Late Antique Knossos

Revisiting the human skeletal remains from old excavations Knossos has enabled the investigation of aspects of human health and diet in the population. My research has considered how urban development and decline, and the associated major socio-economic and political changes at the site between the Hellenistic and Late Antique periods, would have impacted the health and daily lifestyle of the inhabitants of Knossos.
Changes occur in diet, activity and living conditions between the Hellenistic and Roman assemblages, as an elite class appears to emerge. The later transition into Late Antiquity is a more gradual socio-economic change and this is also reflected in the less substantial differences in health and lifestyle indicators. However, there is a general picture of an improvement in living conditions alongside the reduction in population size, with less pressure on food resources and suggestion of a less hierarchical society.
As an extensively studied and well-documented site, Knossos provides a unique opportunity to consider long-term phenomena associated with its varied past and this study demonstrates the value of revisiting legacy skeletal material as a resource for the interpretation of society.