London, Feb 10 (IANS): Countering common perception that migration at current levels is a new phenomenon, a short animated film commissioned by British historians shows that people from different parts of the world have been migrating to Britain for ages.

With migration now a major topic of debate across Europe, the historians created a script and commissioned the film to provide the public, schools and policy makers with a better understanding of its history.

Professor Ray Laurence and Julie Anderson from the University of Kent worked with Hella Eckardt of the University of Reading to create the script of the film.

The animation film draws from research on the Roman Empire and the First World War, a statement from the University of Kent said.

This includes recent developments in the chemical analysis of the teeth of skeletons from the Roman Empire period in Britain which has revealed that migrants from North Africa were living in York.

The analysis also suggests up to 30 percent of the population in Britain came from abroad during the Roman period.

Research into the hidden histories of war graves in Britain has also identified migrants who had took part in World War I.

The conversion of Brighton Pavilion into a hospital for Indian troops provides further evidence of the important role they played, the film emphasised.