MA Dissertation discussing the identity of women through Romano-British funerary inscriptions. Di... more MA Dissertation discussing the identity of women through Romano-British funerary inscriptions. Different types of women are discussed, such as Matrons, prostitutes and Late Iron Age women.
Celts, Romans, Britons uses the concept of reception studies to examine the role that Classical a... more Celts, Romans, Britons uses the concept of reception studies to examine the role that Classical and Celtic material culture and literature have played in the formation of British identity. This publication results from a conference held at the University of Oxford in July 2016, addressing national and political ideas through the lens of Britain's Classical and Celtic heritage. The conference benefitted from chronologically arranged panels, with speakers offering an interdisciplinary approach to how Classical and Celtic cultures have been 'appropriated, rejected, combined and contrasted by different generations.'[1] Just a month earlier, in June 2016, the Brexit referendum had taken place, and this conference reflected the intense political activity at the time.
Gender representation in Romano-British tombstones typically follow a heteronormative pattern, pa... more Gender representation in Romano-British tombstones typically follow a heteronormative pattern, particularly in funerary reliefs which depict the deceased individual. However, the tombstone (RIB*1717) at Chesters, Northumberland led to an ambiguous interpretation, with differing views on the individual’s gender. The relief bust of the deceased was placed above the inscription panel, which incidentally was damaged, with both male and female signifiers. The gender divergent representation has resulted in interpretations of predominantly a male persona (Budge 1907; Collingwood 1926), due to the manner of the cloak worn. However, the female aspects of the bust are largely ignored despite the female styled hair, and the inscription fragment indicating the deceased name: ‘]iklio’ indicative of a female identity (Wright 2022). The heteronormative interpretation was a result of a lack of gender autonomy, resulting in a bigender identity. Bigender, a non-binary label, describes an individual who identifies as both genders. Using trans theory, I will discuss how a non-heteronormative interpretation of the tombstone can decipher challenging representations of gender in a Romano-British setting.
Archaeology Twitter Conference 20 July 2022: Breaking the mould - Trowelblazers, 2022
Female empowerment in Romano-British mortuary spaces has typically depended on the male dedicator... more Female empowerment in Romano-British mortuary spaces has typically depended on the male dedicator who was responsible for the erection of the tombstone. The Latinised epitaph, and domestic relief contributed towards a created female persona harnessed by Roman influence. The female identity in the Early Romano-British period was largely confined to domestic spaces (Allason-Jones 1989: 84), where the Matron image was enforced by the Roman Empire onto pre-Roman women who were castigated for their sexual liberty (Dio, Roman History 77.16.5). Tribeswomen were accustomed to political and individual empowerment by participating in martial conflict, and were considered as Roman men (Edwards 2010) due to their physically superior stature, which afforded them the ability to intimidate their enemies during warfare (Marcellinus, History, 15.12). Women who identified with their respective tribes represented this affiliation on their tombstone through symbolic iconography and through the use of tribal keywords in the epitaph. Ved[.]ic[..] was dedicated at some point in the Romano-British period, with a highly charged tribal persona, recorded through the relief and the epitaph which identifies her as a tribeswoman of the Cornovii clan. Through Ved[.]ic[..]’s tombstone, I will discuss the empowerment Early Romano-British women could engage with through tribal identities in a land which succumbed to the Roman Empire.
The patriarchal representation of Romano-British women was manifested through funerary dedication... more The patriarchal representation of Romano-British women was manifested through funerary dedications typically commissioned by elite males. This dependence on male intervention has led to the Romano-British female population being defined through a male lens. Human remains have the potential to provide a more accurate image without such male intervention thereby counteracting the misrepresentation of women evident in Romano-British epigraphy. Serious academic studies of female warrior graves in British Iron Age society are foregrounded by online newspapers with questionable reputations, and, as a result, they are dismissed as politically significant females worthy of publication in elite academic journals. The misinterpretation of grave goods has resulted from a mis-placed focus on gender, rather than rank; moving our focus away from the original intention of these ancient burial spaces. The reluctance to accept gendered diversity within the British Iron Age elite has typically led scholars to explore textual evidence by non-British authors such as Tacitus, who viewed female power as symbolic and not actual, further emasculating women who engaged in military and political spaces. A case study from Late Iron Age British Kent illustrates an alternative approach to the construction of Romano-British women’s power and status. Here, a female helmet burial, militaristic in nature, addressed both ‘male’ and ‘female’ characteristics in the burial assemblage, and demonstrated that women in Iron Age British society could engage with rank and status that outsiders might typically view as ‘male.’
The engendering of Roman material culture has led to the sexed categorization of artefacts in the... more The engendering of Roman material culture has led to the sexed categorization of artefacts in the archaeological record. Through the connection to presumed female activities and spaces, artefacts were engendered to women despite Continental evidence for male engagement in what was deemed female spaces (Allason-Jones 1989; Dixon 2001; Moeller 1969). The case for jewellery dominated the engendering process through the interpretation of inhumation burials, which had contributed to the sexed interpretation of the deceased, despite the Romano-British dataset providing evidence for male deposits that had included jewellery (Newstead 1914; Fox and Lethbridge 1924; Corder and Kirk 1932; Wenham 1968; Grew 1981). The concept of female associated jewellery was challenged by Allason-Jones (1989) whose in-depth analysis of Romano-British ear-rings addressed the evidence for auxiliary soldiers who wore ear-rings. Using the same approach, I will discuss the gendered application of the spindle whorl, previously used to ascertain the presence of women in archaeological contexts. Through the discussion of the archaeological evidence of graffito and inscriptions, I will consider the presence of men in textile-activities, and the re-interpretation of the spindle whorl in Romano-British settings, that at Vindolanda, thereby challenging preconceptions of the spindle whorl, and ultimately women’s place in Roman Britain. Key words: Roman Britain, gender, spindle-whorls, Vindolanda, inscriptions, graffito
MA Dissertation discussing the identity of women through Romano-British funerary inscriptions. Di... more MA Dissertation discussing the identity of women through Romano-British funerary inscriptions. Different types of women are discussed, such as Matrons, prostitutes and Late Iron Age women.
Celts, Romans, Britons uses the concept of reception studies to examine the role that Classical a... more Celts, Romans, Britons uses the concept of reception studies to examine the role that Classical and Celtic material culture and literature have played in the formation of British identity. This publication results from a conference held at the University of Oxford in July 2016, addressing national and political ideas through the lens of Britain's Classical and Celtic heritage. The conference benefitted from chronologically arranged panels, with speakers offering an interdisciplinary approach to how Classical and Celtic cultures have been 'appropriated, rejected, combined and contrasted by different generations.'[1] Just a month earlier, in June 2016, the Brexit referendum had taken place, and this conference reflected the intense political activity at the time.
Gender representation in Romano-British tombstones typically follow a heteronormative pattern, pa... more Gender representation in Romano-British tombstones typically follow a heteronormative pattern, particularly in funerary reliefs which depict the deceased individual. However, the tombstone (RIB*1717) at Chesters, Northumberland led to an ambiguous interpretation, with differing views on the individual’s gender. The relief bust of the deceased was placed above the inscription panel, which incidentally was damaged, with both male and female signifiers. The gender divergent representation has resulted in interpretations of predominantly a male persona (Budge 1907; Collingwood 1926), due to the manner of the cloak worn. However, the female aspects of the bust are largely ignored despite the female styled hair, and the inscription fragment indicating the deceased name: ‘]iklio’ indicative of a female identity (Wright 2022). The heteronormative interpretation was a result of a lack of gender autonomy, resulting in a bigender identity. Bigender, a non-binary label, describes an individual who identifies as both genders. Using trans theory, I will discuss how a non-heteronormative interpretation of the tombstone can decipher challenging representations of gender in a Romano-British setting.
Archaeology Twitter Conference 20 July 2022: Breaking the mould - Trowelblazers, 2022
Female empowerment in Romano-British mortuary spaces has typically depended on the male dedicator... more Female empowerment in Romano-British mortuary spaces has typically depended on the male dedicator who was responsible for the erection of the tombstone. The Latinised epitaph, and domestic relief contributed towards a created female persona harnessed by Roman influence. The female identity in the Early Romano-British period was largely confined to domestic spaces (Allason-Jones 1989: 84), where the Matron image was enforced by the Roman Empire onto pre-Roman women who were castigated for their sexual liberty (Dio, Roman History 77.16.5). Tribeswomen were accustomed to political and individual empowerment by participating in martial conflict, and were considered as Roman men (Edwards 2010) due to their physically superior stature, which afforded them the ability to intimidate their enemies during warfare (Marcellinus, History, 15.12). Women who identified with their respective tribes represented this affiliation on their tombstone through symbolic iconography and through the use of tribal keywords in the epitaph. Ved[.]ic[..] was dedicated at some point in the Romano-British period, with a highly charged tribal persona, recorded through the relief and the epitaph which identifies her as a tribeswoman of the Cornovii clan. Through Ved[.]ic[..]’s tombstone, I will discuss the empowerment Early Romano-British women could engage with through tribal identities in a land which succumbed to the Roman Empire.
The patriarchal representation of Romano-British women was manifested through funerary dedication... more The patriarchal representation of Romano-British women was manifested through funerary dedications typically commissioned by elite males. This dependence on male intervention has led to the Romano-British female population being defined through a male lens. Human remains have the potential to provide a more accurate image without such male intervention thereby counteracting the misrepresentation of women evident in Romano-British epigraphy. Serious academic studies of female warrior graves in British Iron Age society are foregrounded by online newspapers with questionable reputations, and, as a result, they are dismissed as politically significant females worthy of publication in elite academic journals. The misinterpretation of grave goods has resulted from a mis-placed focus on gender, rather than rank; moving our focus away from the original intention of these ancient burial spaces. The reluctance to accept gendered diversity within the British Iron Age elite has typically led scholars to explore textual evidence by non-British authors such as Tacitus, who viewed female power as symbolic and not actual, further emasculating women who engaged in military and political spaces. A case study from Late Iron Age British Kent illustrates an alternative approach to the construction of Romano-British women’s power and status. Here, a female helmet burial, militaristic in nature, addressed both ‘male’ and ‘female’ characteristics in the burial assemblage, and demonstrated that women in Iron Age British society could engage with rank and status that outsiders might typically view as ‘male.’
The engendering of Roman material culture has led to the sexed categorization of artefacts in the... more The engendering of Roman material culture has led to the sexed categorization of artefacts in the archaeological record. Through the connection to presumed female activities and spaces, artefacts were engendered to women despite Continental evidence for male engagement in what was deemed female spaces (Allason-Jones 1989; Dixon 2001; Moeller 1969). The case for jewellery dominated the engendering process through the interpretation of inhumation burials, which had contributed to the sexed interpretation of the deceased, despite the Romano-British dataset providing evidence for male deposits that had included jewellery (Newstead 1914; Fox and Lethbridge 1924; Corder and Kirk 1932; Wenham 1968; Grew 1981). The concept of female associated jewellery was challenged by Allason-Jones (1989) whose in-depth analysis of Romano-British ear-rings addressed the evidence for auxiliary soldiers who wore ear-rings. Using the same approach, I will discuss the gendered application of the spindle whorl, previously used to ascertain the presence of women in archaeological contexts. Through the discussion of the archaeological evidence of graffito and inscriptions, I will consider the presence of men in textile-activities, and the re-interpretation of the spindle whorl in Romano-British settings, that at Vindolanda, thereby challenging preconceptions of the spindle whorl, and ultimately women’s place in Roman Britain. Key words: Roman Britain, gender, spindle-whorls, Vindolanda, inscriptions, graffito
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Key words: Roman Britain, gender, spindle-whorls, Vindolanda, inscriptions, graffito
Key words: Roman Britain, gender, spindle-whorls, Vindolanda, inscriptions, graffito