Today, Leicester is one of the most diverse cities in Britain. Indeed, the 2011 Census identified it as the first UK city where the majority of its residents did not identify as ‘white British’ (55%). This diversity is often seen as part only of the city’s recent past, a product of Leicester’s rapid industrialisation in the late 19th century, drawing in economic migrants to boost its workforce, which was then bolstered in the 20th century by the arrival of new communities escaping conflict and persecution. Over the past 20 years, however, archaeological excavations in the city have started to reveal tantalising clues that its population has been culturally mixed for much longer – and works associated with the construction of the Highcross Leicester retail quarter have uncovered hints of ancient diversity particularly relating to the Roman period.

Such insights have not always been received positively. In 2017, a BBC educational cartoon portraying life in Roman Britain caused outrage among alt-right commentators who accused the BBC, in choosing to feature a racially mixed family as part of this depiction, of abandoning historical accuracy for political correctness. These objections rekindled discussion about the make-up of past populations, with archaeologists and historians quick to point out that there was plenty of evidence that the people of Roman Britain were relatively diverse and that the presence of people from Africa was not atypical or unusual, especially along Hadrian’s…