Download Society and individuals at Aquae Sulis 1

Part One : Introduction
Find out where people came from, how citizens and their exslaves 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.
Citizenship, multiculturalism, slavery
and the status of women:
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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
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.
• 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.
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.
Bath
Aquae Sulis
This reconstruction drawing shows what the Roman town looked like, with the barrelvaulted 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 townhouses with courtyard gardens. Visitors from all over the Empire would immediately
feel ‘at home’.
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 slavedealer. 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?
Scientific analysis of a body found in a coffin-lining provides
evidence of his origins and life-style:
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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.
The next slide is designed to be printed and used as a worksheet.
Students can complete the first section and
discuss their ideas.
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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
7. Emperors
8. People from different countries
9. Tradesmen and their businesses