Women once lived and worked in Roman military fortifications. This discovery has overturned the belief that these fortresses were exclusively occupied by men, according to archaeologist Penelope Allison from the Australian National University.
“They did not live in isolated communities,” Allison, who studied remains from first and second-century fortifications on the western frontier of the Roman Empire, stated.
“There were many women living in the fort, possibly wives, managing shops, engaging in crafts, and trading.”
Ordinary Roman soldiers were not permitted to have wives, and it was long believed that only high-ranking officers could bring their wives into the fortifications. “Any other women, whether wives, concubines, or prostitutes, were not allowed to live in the fort, as it was thought that women would disrupt military discipline,” Allison noted.
However, despite Rome’s prohibition on ordinary soldiers marrying, the reality was quite different on the front lines. In a separate study, Allison analyzed artifacts found at the fort that provide evidence of women’s presence.
“The presence of discarded objects says a lot about where people went and what activities they engaged in,” Allison remarked. Using computer software, she mapped the distribution of over 30,000 artifacts.
She discovered items used by women, such as hairpins, beads, perfume bottles, and spindles scattered throughout the buildings and along pathways in the fort. “They often congregated in different areas of the fort,” Allison observed.
The location of these items indicates that women led dynamic lives within the fort, which was viewed as a bustling town rather than a desolate stronghold occupied solely by men.
“Women were indeed involved in life within the fort, serving important roles as wives, mothers, artisans, and traders,” Allison concluded.
M.T.
