Session organisers / Chairpersons:
Elizabeth M. Greene, Associate Professor of Classics, University of Western Ontario, Canada (E-mail: egreene2@uwo.ca)
Jelena Anđelković Grašar, Institute of Archaeology, Belgrade, Serbia
Milica Marjanović, Institute of Archaeology, Belgrade, Serbia
Ilija Danković, Institute of Archaeology, Belgrade, Serbia
The last three Limes Congresses have featured papers focusing on the role of women, children and families living on the frontiers in both military and civilian contexts in order to address the imbalanced preoccupation with topics related to the “male domain”. The last three decades generally have seen a great deal of attention being paid to the critique of this approach and considerable efforts were made towards exploring aspects of private life and studying population groups other than the ruling male elites and soldiers. Regardless, several important issues remain unexplored. Certain geographical areas of the Roman limes were left out of this research trend to date, and we are at times still left with the continuation of gender and age stereotypes, as well as incorrect attribution and interpretation of various artifacts.
This session strives to address some of these issues by focusing on aspects of private life and social relations on the limes, with emphasis on the lives of women and children. Taking into account archaeological data, historical sources and epigraphic monuments, bioarchaeological analysis and visual culture, we will try to advance our knowledge on the subject and address some of the topics and geographical areas missing from research up to this point. We hope especially to provide a venue to incorporate new data from emerging archaeological research into the current debate on this matter. Paper topics may include but are not limited to: How were families organized and what were the various social roles and routines of family members at various life stages? How was identity constructed through dress, actions and familial role of different members of the family? How did civilian, military or transient families differ or do they live similarly in the context of frontier life? How did other characteristics such as status, wealth and occupation affect the lived experience of these individuals? We hope that papers will incorporate diachronic and comparative analyses as life on the limes changed because of migration, warfare, conquest, and shifting political and economic endeavors.
We encourage multidisciplinary approaches, so scientists from different disciplines – archaeologists, bioarchaeologists, epigraphists, historians, art historians and others – are welcome to contribute to the session.
Confirmed participants for this session:
- Elizabeth M. Greene and Andrew Birley: Women and War: The composition of the Vindolanda Severan-period military community
- Jelena Anđelković Grašar: Women in the visual culture of Late Antiquity on the Central Balkans: The inferior sex got a new exterior?
- Milica Marjanović, Commemoration of Children in the Province of Upper Moesia – Evidence from Limes and its Hinterland
- Ilija Danković, Ilija Mikić: Recent discovery of sarcophagus in Viminacium. Evidence of mors immatura?
- Olga Špehar, Branka Vranešević: Mater Castrorum: representation of an ideal Empress or the rebirth of a Republican ideal woman?
- Kaja Stemberger: Do expressions of identity draw borders? Case study of female identity in Roman-period Slovenia
- Decebal Vleja, Mihaela Simion, Catalina Mihaela Neagu, Ionuț Bocan: My name is Domitia, I am from Micia and I stand with Varenius! At the edge of the Empire – short stories of life and death!
- Anna Mech: Female religiosity in military settlements in Southeastern European provinces
- Claire Millington: At home on the base? Examining the accommodation of auxiliary fort commanders and equestrian legionary tribunes on western frontiers
- Mariana Balaci Crînguș: La situation des femmes sur le limes danubien de la Dacie entre religion et implication sociale (Poster)
- Anne Chen: Digital Technologies and the Possibilities for Gender and Family Research Along the Limes