The Women of Britannia: Female Identities on the Romano-British Frontier from 100 BC to 300 AD

Crook, Robyn M. D.

The Women of Britannia: Female Identities on the Romano-British Frontier from 100 BC to 300 AD

dc.contributor.advisor	Lyons, Diane
dc.contributor.author	Crook, Robyn M. D.
dc.contributor.committeemember	Reese-Taylor, Kathryn
dc.contributor.committeemember	Hughes, Lisa
dc.contributor.committeemember	Olson, Kelly
dc.contributor.committeemember	Pavelka, Mary Susan
dc.date	2023-06
dc.date.accessioned	2023-01-23T17:11:46Z
dc.date.available	2023-01-23T17:11:46Z
dc.date.issued	2023-01-13
dc.description.abstract	Increased archaeological interest in the frontiers of the Roman world and interest in past constructions of gender and sexuality have created an opportunity for archaeologists to explore these elements of identity in more depth in the more dynamic regions of the empire. Northern Britannia was a site of complex processes of culture contact and colonial practices which affected the local population and those who came to this frontier area of the Roman Empire. This study includes context and practices from the late Iron Age through Roman conquest, until 300 AD. Within the study area, changes in agriculture, production, trade, burial practices, and material culture began to take place in the late Iron Age due to increased contact with the continent and southern Britain, and these changes continued throughout conquest and into the Roman period. In order to discuss gender and identity within Northern Britannia, classical sources, contemporary records and personal correspondence, funerary monumentation, burial practices, grave goods, personal ornamentation and clothing, as well as traditionally gendered items such as weaving implements were analyzed within the context of Roman ideals for the status and behaviour of women. Classical sources provide information about the Roman ideal woman, including being a loyal wife, mother and someone who provided for her family through traditional activities such as weaving and childcare. Contemporary records and personal correspondence show the nature of the activities and relationships of women at the site of Vindolanda, both higher status and women associated with soldiers in the area. Funerary monumentation illustrated local identities through local names, tribal associations, representations of hairstyles and clothing, and that status and military association was an integral part of the everyday creation and expression of women’s identities. Burial practices indicate strong associations between women and childcare that spanned the Iron Age and Roman periods, and that status played a large role in how women were buried, and what with. Items of personal ornamentation and clothing mirrored the correlation between women and children/childcare, expression of local identities, the importance of status that at times surpassed gender in identity expression.	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Crook, R. M. D. (2023). The women of Britannia: female identities on the Romano-British frontier from 100 BC to 300 AD (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/1880/115711
dc.identifier.uri	https://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/40624
dc.language.iso	eng	en_US
dc.publisher.faculty	Arts	en_US
dc.publisher.institution	University of Calgary	en
dc.rights	University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.	en_US
dc.subject	Gender	en_US
dc.subject	Identity	en_US
dc.subject	Roman	en_US
dc.subject	Iron Age	en_US
dc.subject	Britain	en_US
dc.subject	Historical Archaeology	en_US
dc.subject	Classics	en_US
dc.subject	Women	en_US
dc.subject	Children	en_US
dc.subject	Vindolanda Tablets	en_US
dc.subject	Funerary Monuments	en_US
dc.subject	Material Culture	en_US
dc.subject	Classical Sources	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Archaeology	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Gender Studies	en_US
dc.title	The Women of Britannia: Female Identities on the Romano-British Frontier from 100 BC to 300 AD	en_US
dc.type	doctoral thesis	en_US
thesis.degree.discipline	Anthropology	en_US
thesis.degree.grantor	University of Calgary	en_US
thesis.degree.name	Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)	en_US
ucalgary.item.requestcopy	true	en_US