There is some support for the infanticide theory at Hambleden. Almost all of the bones recovered were from the same area, and all of the babies found in the graveyard died around the same age. Measurements of the leg bones estimate that the infants died around 40 weeks, right after they were born. If the grave was just a cemetery, there would be examples of bones that were both older and younger than the 40-week range, examples of pre-natal and post-natal death.
The discovery at Hambleden also has striking similarities to another mass infant gravesite found in what was the former Roman empire. In 1988, at the site of a brothel in Ashkelon, Israel, archaeologists discovered the remains of one hundred infants in what was a sewer that ran beneath the structure. They are all born relatively soon before they died, and all of them are estimated to be at about 40 weeks, making it a suspected site of infanticide because of the location and the age of the bones.
Despite some signs that seem to confirm it, there is some doubt that parents abandoned all of the infants found at the site. Some of the babies buried in the grave could have been stillborn, or they could have died soon after birth from natural causes. All we know is that they were all buried together, which aligns with standard ancient Roman burial practices. There is no other support to completely confirm infanticide other than the bones being relatively the same age and buried in the same location, so the fate of the infants in the mass grave currently remains a mystery.
In the second investigation into Yewden Villa, Dr. Jill Eyers suggested that there was a brothel on the grounds of the villa, and prostitutes used the mass grave to abandon their babies, without other options for birth control. This theory has created much debate and has captured media attention on the discovery at Hambleden. While some support Dr. Eyers’ opinion, many other archaeologists and researchers question it based on the lack of other evidence indicating the presence of a brothel.
One of the main assumptions behind the theory is that the women who were forced to abandon their children felt like they had no other options. Not only is that assuming that the bones were victims of infanticide, which hasn’t been completely confirmed yet, but there is much documentation that shows that the Romans routinely practiced birth control. Women across the whole Empire, including Roman Britain, used herbs, plants, and spermicides to either prevent or terminate a pregnancy. Using these methods, they were able to control the size of their families, maintaining an average of two children per family, until the fall of the Western Roman Empire. It seems unlikely that prostitutes, whose occupation could lead to unwanted pregnancy, would be unfamiliar with contemporary birth control methods and would have to resort to neglecting their babies.