BBC removes plaque to mark earliest black Briton because she ‘was from Cyprus’
The plaque, located in East Sussex, was erected as part of a BBC Two 'Black and British' series in 2016
A plaque that honoured a woman thought to be the earliest black Briton has been removed after DNA analysis proves she was ‘most likely to be from Cyprus’.
The sign, located in East Dean, East Sussex, read: “The remains of ‘BEACHY HEAD WOMAN’ were found near this site. Of African origin, she lived in East Sussex 2nd-3rd Century AD. A BBC History Project’."
The BBC programme, presented by historian David Olusoga, said the woman was ‘sub-Saharan African’, and a reconstruction of what she may have looked like was created.
The discovery was debunked by the Crick Institute, who found that while she did in fact grow up in Eastbourne, her ethnicity were more likely to be in ‘Southern Europe - most likely Cyprus’.
The plaque, which has now been removed, had been installed at the East Sussex village’s East Dean cricket club, near where archaeologists had discovered her remains.
The plaque had been one of several installed across the country, as part of the BBC Two series that aimed to honour black Britons across history.
https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1828184/BBC-removes-plaque-black-Briton-from-Cyprus