Early Roman Research Articles

Romans and Greeks in Early Imperial Lydia and Phrygia

This paper collects the evidence for corporate groups of “Romans and Greeks living at (village toponym)” in Lydia and western Phrygia in the early Roman imperial period. The author discusses seven honorific inscriptions and dedications, three of them very recently published; four derive from the near vicinity of Akmoneia in western Phrygia, reflecting the large number of resident Romans in the region. The author offers a detailed commentary on a newly published honorific inscription from Kastollos in Lydia, including various new readings and restorations (no. 1). The author discusses the precise meaning of the formula “Romans and Greeks” and the chronological and geographic distribution of the formula. Three of the seven inscriptions honour locals granted Roman citizenship by Mark Antony (no. 6) or Augustus (nos 1 and 3), and the author uses numismatic evidence to discuss the social standing of these newly enfranchised Roman citizens within their Lydian and Phrygian communities.

Francesca Fulminante, The Rise of Early Rome. Transportation Networks and Domination in Central Italy, 1050–500 BC. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press 2023

Francesca Fulminante, The Rise of Early Rome. Transportation Networks and Domination in Central Italy, 1050–500 BC. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press 2023

Charlotte R. Potts: Architecture in Ancient Central Italy: Connections in Etruscan and Early Roman Building (British School at Rome Studies)

Charlotte R. Potts: <i>Architecture in Ancient Central Italy: Connections in Etruscan and Early Roman Building</i> (British School at Rome Studies)

Meals for the dead: investigating Romano-British accessory vessels in burials using organic residue analysis

Accessory vessels, including platters, dishes, beakers, flagons, jars, and amphorae, are a common feature of Romano-British burials, raising questions as to their provenance; for example, were such vessels recycled from the domestic sphere or made specially for funerary purposes? Furthermore, uncertainty surrounds their purpose: did they contain foods for the deceased, possibly for their final journey to the underworld? Interestingly, organic residue analysis of vessels from Baginton, a site adjacent to The Lunt fort, Coventry, an early (mid to late first century) Roman military cremation cemetery did not yield evidence for food offerings and may have reflected the use of seconds or damaged vessels in burials, perhaps to provide a symbolic meal. In contrast, here we provide, for the first time, direct chemical and isotopic evidence for ‘meals for the dead’, comprising mainly dairy products, often mixed with leafy plants, extracted from somewhat unusual accessory vessels found in a small, enclosed inhumation cemetery, perhaps associated with a family group, which dates to the late (third to late fourth century, or early fifth century A.D) in urban Canterbury. Thus, we can confirm that accessory vessels found in later Romano-British burials were, in this instance, used in the laying out of funerary meals, presumably to nourish the soul on the journey to the underworld. These preliminary insights on vessel use and burial practices across the span of the Roman occupation of Britain thus provide a strong hint at the diversity of Roman burial practices.

Prehistoric and Early Roman Period Goldwork from Northwestern Iberia: An Analytical Study of Artefacts from the Archaeological and Historical Museum of A Coruña

This article presents the results of a topographical and analytical study using hh-XRF of 22 gold and gilded objects from the Archaeological and Historical Museum of A Coruña (Galicia, Spain). They are highly representative of the northwestern Iberian goldwork from the Chalcolithic (third millennium BC) to the early Roman period (first century AD). This study contributes to our knowledge of the production techniques used in those periods, as well as their evolution over time. The collection includes some of the most representative types in this area, such as Early Bronze Age “sheet collars” and torcs from the Second Iron Age. In the case of torcs, new data are provided on one of the formally best-documented types (the Artabrian type) and on those known as “Baroque torcs” that are characteristic of the final moments of this goldsmith tradition. While pieces from the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age were made with alluvial gold, the torcs from the Late Iron Age contain variable amounts of silver and copper. Also detected is the frequent use of cores made of less precious metals, which were subsequently given a golden appearance using gilding techniques. The new data are discussed in light of our current knowledge of NW Iberian goldwork, one of the most representative of this craft tradition in Western Europe for those periods.

A brooch with a name stamp from Győr-Ménfőcsanak-Széles-földek (Pannonia, Hungary)

Name stamps occasionally appear on early Roman Period bow brooches, such as Aucissa brooches, Nertomarus brooches, brooches with side knobs (Scharnierflügelfibeln), and rosette brooches (Kragenfibeln, Distelfibeln, Flache Distelfibeln). Aucissa brooches are known from the territory of the whole Roman Empire and were produced in multiple workshops, while the other types were typical of the western parts, having been manufactured primarily in the western provinces. According to current research, the 55 bow brooches from Győr-Ménfőcsanak-Széles-földek belong to different western types. The only stamped brooch is a fragmentary Nertomarus brooch with an abbreviated NERTOMARVS stamp (NORV). This brooch could reach Pannonia from the place of production in different ways. One option is that the brooch travelled with its owner, a military person, or someone who accompanied the troops.

Sex differences in mechanical stress and associated labor in Hellenistic–early Roman Menainon, Sicily

AbstractThis paper explores mechanical stress in the Hellenistic/early Roman community of Menainon (Sicily) to test the existence of sex‐based division of labor. For this purpose, human skeletal remains from 79 males and 65 females, dating to the 4th–1st ca. BCE, were examined for degenerative joint disease, intervertebral disc disease, cross‐sectional geometric properties, and entheseal changes. Our findings support an equal share of workload between males and females, who appeared to have experienced similar mechanical stress levels. In contrast, they do not support a systematically greater mechanical load among males, as would have been expected if females had been restricted indoors taking care of domestic tasks only, while men had dealt with most physically demanding outdoor activities. The patterns identified in the current study agree with a scenario where agriculture was a prominent subsistence activity (as attested historically for this region) and most members of this rural community engaged in agricultural tasks irrespective of sex. Our study has limitations regarding the available historical and archaeological information, which restrict our ability to formulate solid research hypotheses or fully contextualize the bioarchaeological results. Nonetheless, it does highlight the importance of critically assessing historical information regarding the role of men and women in the Greco‐Roman society.

Kamennye krugi v Evropejskom Arkticheskom regione: voprosy hronologii i atribucii

A rare type of megaliths on the Kola Peninsula, or the so-called stone circles, was investigated near the settlement of Kilp’iavr (Murmansk region). The overall chronology of the objects of the kind in Central and Northern Europe is from the Early Roman Period to the Middle Ages. The connection of stone circles of the Circum-Baltic Area with similar complexes in the Subarctic and Arctic areas of Norway and the north-west of the Kola Peninsula has been suggested. The article supposes that the site in question was a funeral cenotaph. The appearance of the stone circles so far in the North possibly was a result of the emergence of fur trade, with its routes controlled by troops of militarised barbarians of predominantly Germanic and Finnish origin.

Conspicuous Construction: New Light on Funerary Monuments in Rural Early Roman Judea from Horvat Midras

Conspicuous Construction: New Light on Funerary Monuments in Rural Early Roman Judea from Horvat Midras

Hellenistic and early Roman levels at Idalion: a change of identity?

Substantial parts of the Idalion city-kingdom site from the first millennium BCE were excavated under the direction of Dr Pamela Gaber from 1987 to 2017. These excavations revealed physical changes in the layout of parts of the ancient city that allow us to identify the cultural change that occurred in the Hellenistic and Roman periods. The American expedition began excavations on the terrace of the eastern acropolis in a sacred grove that later became known as the “Adonis Temenos”, revealing late Hellenistic and early Roman structures just below the topsoil. These structures were oriented more or less N‑S / E‑W. When further excavation reached the underlying Hellenistic, Classical and Archaic levels, it revealed a different orientation. The earlier structures were oriented N‑W / S‑E. Excavations in the Lower City South “City Sanctuary” from 1998 to 2017 revealed a much more marked change in structural orientation. The question of when the transition took place became clear during the 2017 season of excavations in the “City Sanctuary,” Lower City South, revealing continuous occupation from Hellenistic to Roman levels, but a striking shift in orientation towards N‑S / E‑W structures in the 1st century BCE.

Her Body, Their Voice

Her Body, Their Voice&#x0D; A discussion of women’s reproductive agency&#x0D; This article argues that the social gender norms of Ancient Athens and the early Roman Empire did not give women any reproductive agency. The norms moreover affected the infant- and maternal mortality rates. The article employs gender theory. Further, it examines both archaeological material and ancient texts as premise&#x0D; to discuss women’s reproductive agency. The discussion of women’s agencies over their own body is relevant both in a historical and contemporary context. It is an important topic that necessitates further study.

Grave from Nezabylice, Chomutov District. On the Phenomenon of Inhumation in Stage B1 of the Early Roman Period in Bohemia

The article describes the discovery of a skeletal grave in 2015 in Nezabylice (NW Bohemia, Chomutov district) at a cremation burial ground, which was dated to stage B1 of the early Roman period according to characteristic metal objects. Today, only four dozen similarly dated skeletal graves are registered in Bohemia, which, together with the early date of acquisition, makes them one of the rarest and most difficult to recognize archaeological monuments in this area. In the given situation, every recently researched skeleton grave from the early Roman period brings a wealth of new and important information about this distinctive phenomenon of burial rite among the Elbe-Germanic tribes.

Until when did beavers historically inhabit the Iberian Peninsula? The importance of consulting primary sources to avoid errors in historical ecology

ABSTRACT Traditionally, it has been accepted that Eurasian beavers (Castor fiber) became extinct in the Iberian Peninsula in the seventeenth century, although some authors delay this until the eighteenth or even the nineteenth century. In our study, we reviewed all published materials, documentaries, and toponymic references known to date on the occurrence of Eurasian beavers in the Iberian Peninsula from the Roman period or later. After review, only one documentary evidence undoubtedly refers to a beaver, although it is not a direct reference; only two of the material evidences are unequivocally beavers, although only one has a zooarchaeological study and the local origin of the other has been questioned; the two toponymic evidences are inferences, so they are not direct evidence. With the data currently available, it is possible that there were beavers on the Iberian Peninsula during early Roman times (fitst to second century B.C.). The lack of direct documentary or material evidence does not allow confirmation of their presence later. References to the presence of beavers until more recent dates are a product of a misquotation from an ancient source. We highlight the importance of reviewing primary sources in historical ecology.

The Literate Education of Early Christians, and Some of Its Unintended Consequences for Christian Exegesis

The landscape of education under the early Roman principate was very diverse, but the teaching of literacy was dominated by scribal training or Graeco-Roman enkyklios paideia, “literate education”. This essay asks what kind of education the earliest Christian writers had, and offers some neglected evidence, which, it suggests, may also be evidence for Hellenistic Jewish education. It considers the role of imitation in Christian education, and how early Christian imitation is distinctive. Finally, it illustrates how the increasingly sophisticated education of some Christians influenced the way they read and interpreted their own earliest and most authoritative texts.

Demotic Papyrus Hamburg 39 (inv. no. 35.2806): A New Religious Text from Roman Egypt

Summary This article offers the first edition of a Demotic papyrus fragment of early Roman date and of uncertain, probably Fayumic, provenance in the collection of the Hamburg State and University Library Carl von Ossietzky. The fragment preserves parts of two columns of a hitherto unattested enigmatic religious work, for which mostly only distant and short parallels can be found in the evidence currently available to us in any of the Egyptian languages and scripts used in the Late and Graeco-Roman Periods. The only relatively close parallel that we are aware of is a slightly modified form of a sentence that occurs in the composition known as ‘The Great Decree Issued to the Nome of the Silent Land’. The vocabulary and the meagre parallels suggest that we may be catching a glimpse of a previously unknown work of Osirian religious literature. This article provides a general introduction, a transcription and translation of the text, as well as a commentary.

Samian Ware in Early Roman Contexts at Capidava

The present paper is part of a series of publications related to the research carried out in the last decade in the early Roman contexts from Capidava (Constanța County), as well. The subject of the article is a batch of 17 fragmentary ceramic vessels, belonging to the terra sigillata category. Of these, the first 16 items (Cat. nos. 1-16) are fragments of imported vessels produced in the famous ceramic production centre of La Graufesenque, in South Gaul. The last vessel, Cat. no. 17, is of local production, from the category called Pontic sigillata decorated by the barbotine technique. The entire batch of ceramic material was discovered during the archaeological excavation carried out at the Late Roman headquarters building (principia), during which the foundations of this building were also excavated. Beneath these foundations were discovered the ruins of an early Roman habitation level represented by military barracks-type buildings, a stone-paved street, a well, a rubbish pit and a waste drain that led to that pit. The material presented by us comes from this earliest context, respectively from all the urban planning elements listed above, especially from the waste drain and the rubbish pit. The dating of the material is early, namely the Flavian era until the end of Trajan’s reign. From this point of view, the ceramic material presented here completes the picture provided by other categories of material previously published from the same archaeological context.

The Use of Celtic Coinage in Early Roman London: A Re-interpretation of Bloomberg Wax Tablet 31

AbstractThe reference to ‘victoriati’ in Bloomberg Wax Tablet 31 has been interpreted as a request for 52 Roman quinarii. This paper argues that quinarii were not available in significant enough quantities to make such a payment and that a more credible alternative is to see these ‘victoriati’ as a reference to local, Celtic coinage, specifically the silver issues of Epaticcus or Cunobelin. This identification, supported by recent metallurgic studies, alongside data from hoards, excavations and the Portable Antiquities Scheme, suggests a more prolonged use of Celtic coinage in Roman London than has previously been appreciated. Supplementary material is available online and provides data supporting the assertions made.

Continuity and Change in the Local Production of Hellenistic and Early Roman Cooking Pottery from Nea Paphos (Cyprus)

Continuity and Change in the Local Production of Hellenistic and Early Roman Cooking Pottery from Nea Paphos (Cyprus)

Duch Remusa, Romulus i Lemuria. Publiusz Owidiusz Nazo, „Kalendarz poetycki” 5, 419–492

In the Remus’ story, Ovid presents to us the origin of the Lemuria festival and the version of early Rome history in which Romulus is not guilty of his brother’s death. The poet stresses Romulus’ pietas in his brother and creates a pattern of Augustus’ worship of his father Caesar and Mars, the ancestor of the entire Roman people.

Commanders by the Will of the Senate: Governors of the Senate Provinces in the Military Command System during the Period of the Early Roman Empire

The relevance of the research topic is due to the insufficient study of the role of the governors of the Senate provinces in the military command system of the early Roman Empire. Completion of this knowledge is necessary both for studying the military organization of Rome, and for revealing the essence of the Roman state-political system. The purpose of the study is to find the legal and ideological grounds for the military status of the governors of the senatorial provinces, which, in the author’s opinion, should be resolved primarily in the context of considering the issue of imperium militiae of such governors. In the absence of direct indications in this regard in the sources, the method of reconstruction was the analysis of specific material (including prosopographic), reflecting the military functions of the governors appointed by the Senate. The author made an attempt to find out the commander’s status of the governors by finding a full-fledged imperium militiae in them. The author’s conclusion: throughout the entire period of the early Empire, the governors of the senatorial provinces retained their imperium militiae, continuing to carry out the functions of a military leader, although to a much lesser extent than at the beginning of the period. Such governors remained an important element in the system of military command, especially in critical situations that regularly arose even in the «pacified» provinces.