Dr. Elizabeth Greene, Associate Professor of Roman Archaeology, Department of Classical Studies, Western University
Women, Children and Families in the Roman Military Community at Vindolanda
This presentation addresses the evidence for the presence and social role of women and families in Roman military communities, using evidence from Vindolanda on Hadrian's Wall as its primary focus. The topic is approached from various perspectives, using archaeology, epigraphy and text to illuminate the presence and daily lives of non-combatants in military communities. The Roman army has been a topic of scholarly interest for centuries with inquiries focusing on State-level concerns such as the organization of units, battle tactics, details of armour and especially the hierarchy of officer corps and location of the units they commanded. These are all topics important to any investigation of the Roman army, but their extreme focus has resulted in a lack of information on the social side of life in the military. This presentation shows that women and children were a significant part of military settlements and focuses on the social identification of the women and children associated with Roman auxiliary soldiers.