87Sr/86Sr and [Sr] data of cremated human individuals from Metal Ages and Roman cemetery in Destelbergen (Belgium)

The site of Destelbergen “Eenbeekeinde”, close to Ghent, Belgium, is one of the rare sites where a large number of both Metal Ages as well as Gallo-Roman cremation burials were excavated. The Metal Ages urnfield of Destelbergen stands out because of the relatively high prevalence of monumental ditches surrounding a selection of graves, indicating a certain status difference between the deceased. Within the Metal Ages urnfield, changing strontium isotope (87Sr/86Sr) and concentration ([Sr]) results revealed dietary differences between individuals buried either within monumental ditches (i.e. assumed of higher status) or outside those monuments (assumed not of higher status). However, this was not yet the case in the Late Bronze Age but was true only in the Iron Age. When comparing Metal Ages and Gallo-Roman remains, 87Sr/86Sr and [Sr] analyses of these cremated human remains offer new information on changing consumption patterns in past populations that practiced cremation, likely the result of different levels of added sea salt in the diet. The dataset is compiled of 89 Metal Ages and 37 Roman cremation samples used for 87Sr/86Sr and [Sr] analysis.

比利时根特市周边的Destelbergen"Eenbeekeinde"遗址，是少数同时发掘出大量金属时代与高卢-罗马时期火葬墓葬的珍稀遗址之一。Destelbergen的金属时代瓮棺墓地之所以引人注目，在于其存在大量环绕部分墓葬的大型壕沟，这一现象暗示墓主之间存在一定的身份等级差异。在该金属时代瓮棺墓地中，锶同位素（87Sr/86Sr）与锶浓度（[Sr]）的变化分析结果显示，安葬于大型壕沟内（推测身份等级较高）与壕沟外（推测身份等级较低）的个体间存在饮食差异。不过这一饮食差异仅在铁器时代显现，青铜时代晚期并未出现类似情况。对比金属时代与高卢-罗马时期的遗存时，对这些火葬人类遗骸的87Sr/86Sr与[Sr]分析，为了解实行火葬的古代人群饮食模式的演变提供了新的信息，而这种演变大概率与饮食中添加海盐的量不同有关。本数据集共包含89份金属时代与37份罗马时期的火葬样本，均用于87Sr/86Sr与[Sr]分析。