People and Society at Aquae Sulis

Find out where people came from, how citizens and their ex-slaves felt about each other and why they wanted to leave

information about themselves on inscriptions.The final slide is designed to be printed and used as a worksheet.

Part One : Introduction

Citizenship, multiculturalism, slavery and the status of women:

• who actually lived in Roman Bath?• how did the society work?• who were the slaves?• what was the status of freedmen and women?• how independent could a woman be?• what did it mean to be a Roman citizen?• was there any social mobility: could individuals improve

their status in life easily?• How did the Romans extend their ‘Romanisation’ policy

to create a feeling of unity throughout their empire?

Growth of the Roman Empire• Starting in the 2nd

century B.C. the Romans expanded their area of influence from central Italy until they controlled all the territory around the Mediterranean.

• They invaded Britain in 43 A.D. in the time of the Emperor Claudius.

This map shows the extent of the Roman empire, and gives the location of Mints where the coins found in the sacred spring at Bath were produced.

Development of Aquae Sulis• The first phase of building at

the Baths was completed by 76 A.D.

• This stone commemorates the Emperor Vespasian (VES) during his 7th (VII) year of holding the office of Consul.

• He came to power in 69 A.D. after starting his career as one of the generals who led the invasion for Claudius.

This reconstruction drawing shows what the Roman town looked like, with the barrel-vaulted roofs in the centre showing the Baths located adjoining the temple enclosure.

All Roman towns throughout the Empire were designed in a similar way, with all the usual features inside a town wall: forum, theatre, temples, baths, and rectilinear town-houses with courtyard gardens. Visitors from all over the Empire would immediately feel ‘at home’.

Bath

Aquae Sulis

Citizens of provincial towns could improve their status by becoming decuriones .

• Each town had an Ordo – a town council, based on the Roman model.

• decuriones (town councillors ) automatically became Augustales (priests of the Emperor-cult) ,showing their loyalty to the Emperor.

• they could demonstrate commitment to their town by paying for the construction and repair of public buildings.

As discussed in the ‘Romanisation’ powerpoint, the Romans were happy to assimilate the

religious beliefs of conquered nations and to incorporate local styles of sculpture.

• but the architectural and organisational features of towns and villas were Roman

• and citizenship of provincial towns was always a ‘second-class’ option:

Rome was the only city that mattered.

• Civitas (Citizenship of Rome / the Roman Empire) was what all inhabitants aspired to because it guaranteed significant human and legal rights

• - and it was possible to obtain Roman Citizenship in a variety of ways even before the 3rd century, when it was granted to all free citizens in the Empire.

This line-drawing (P9) shows part of a Diploma, or discharge certificate for a soldier. He came from a part of the Empire whose citizens were not also Roman citizens and as part of his retirement package he was granted Roman citizenship.

By looking closely at names on inscriptions it is possible to work out a person’s status:

• Slaves had only a cognomen, given by their master or the slave-dealer. It might be their original name or a nickname, often of Greek origin

e.g. Trifosa = ‘Delicious’, Eutuches = ‘Good Fortune’.• Freedmen and women (libertus/liberta) took the nomen of their former master.• ordinary townspeople had one or two names, followed by a patronymic (i.e. ‘son of …..’)• Women had a nomen and patronymic: e.g. Flavia M(arci) F(ilia) = Flavia, Marcus’ daughter. The

patronymic was replaced by their husband’s name on marriage.

Social status: how can we find out about …• slaves – how did you become a slave? - how highly did masters value their

slaves?

• freedmen and women – what kind of relationships did they have with their former masters? Is there any evidence for affection or respect?

• Imperial freedmen and women (belonging to the Emperor) – what sort of jobs did they do?

• citizens of a town and decuriones (members of the Town Council)

• women - how independent were they?

• Roman citizens: who was eligible to be granted citizenship?• Roman soldiers – did they all come from Rome? – where did they go when

they retired?

… and how many of the residents of Aquae Sulis were actually born in Britannia?

• Condition of body• ---• attrition of bones• tooth decay• DNA analysis• oxygen isotope analysis of

his teeth• ---• buried rather than being

cremated and having his ashes buried

• facing almost East

shows that he was---• at least 45 years old• wealthy enough to eat honey• his mother came from the eastern Mediterranean• he came from the eastern Mediterranean, probably

Syria, and also grew up there• ---• he died in the 2nd or 3rd Century, when burial

became more usual, with the advent of Christianity and Mithraism

• he might have been a Christian

So this man originally came from Syria! He was wealthy enough to afford a high-status burial.

Scientific analysis of a body found in a coffin-lining provides evidence of his origins and life-style:

The next slide is designed to be printed and used as a worksheet.

Students can complete the first section and discuss their ideas.

……………………………………………..Inscriptional evidence can fill in many details about

the people who lived in Aquae Sulis ….

The three main types of inscriptional evidence come from votive altars, tombstones and building inscriptions. Students can use the Decoding leaflets, webpages and worksheets to collect information before attempting the second section of the worksheet. This data is analysed on the second powerpoint. The information can also be found on the Translation sheet.

Roman society : Name ……………………………….. What do you know about ……? Fill in as much as you can, then discuss your answers and try to add more points to your original list.

1. Slaves

2. Freedmen and Freedwomen

3. Imperial freedmen and freedwomen

4. Citizens of a town and decuriones (members of the Town Council - Ordo)

5. Women – how much independence did they enjoy?

6. Roman citizens

7. Roman soldiers

8. Emperors

9. People from different countries

10. Tradesmen and their businesses