Work in life and death: the role of workers and their representations in Hispanic ports and production centres

Abstract

This thesis explores the representation of Latin occupational titles in Spanish ports and production centres in the first three centuries CE. It aims to provide a better understanding of the individuals who both worked in Spanish communities during the Roman period and engaged in Roman-influenced epigraphic culture, now often referred to as the epigraphic habit. It does this by studying the ways in which Latin occupational titles were used in official, honorific, and funerary inscriptions set up in the Spanish provinces in the Early Imperial Period. This thesis identifies the range of occupational titles represented in the inscriptions from selected major ports and production areas in Spain, and surveys these inscriptions in order to identify the ways in which workers were represented. In the analysis of these representations, a number of questions are addressed: whether these inscriptions were used for a particular purpose, whether they represent particular groups of people, whether Latin occupational titles enabled workers to engage in social competition, and whether they reflect different political contexts or economic practices. The thesis first surveys and explores the range of occupational terms used in the Latin inscriptions from a selection of ports and production centres which have survived to the present day. After addressing the state of affairs in the Roman West during the first three centuries CE and the vital role that workers provided at this time, the first chapter presents the results of a survey which sought to collect Latin inscriptions in selected ports and production centres which contain a Latin occupational term. A total of 107 inscriptions across fourteen ports and eleven production sites across Roman Spain were identified. These inscriptions are then discussed on the basis of their geographical location and the occupational term contained which is represented. The second chapter of this thesis provides a deeper analysis of the inscriptions in relation to the themes of purpose, gender, and status. In doing so, this thesis discusses the predominance of funerary inscriptions and the different scenarios which Latin occupational inscriptions appear. A particular focus is given to the representation of women, many of whom were identified as commemorators and in positions of influence in relation to working activities. This second part also provides a comparison of the major urban capitals of Tarraco and Corduba in order to explore and analyse the effects that political events, economic wealth, social competition, and the natural environment could have in the representation of working activities. It was found that political power could generate a high level of working activities that relied on the trade of different commodities, that social competition did exist between different groups of workers and non-workers, and that the natural environment and local resources were all important factors in the representation of different activities.