Marisia - Maros Megyei Múzeum Évkönyve 30/1. (2010)

Articles

Women in a Man’s World? Female Related Artefacts from the Camps of Dacia

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Artefacts

All the researched objects are standardized products of the Roman material culture typical for the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD we hardly find any unique and especially beautiful items among them. Concerning the types of artefacts present in military forts from Dacia, it needs to be mentioned that the aim of this article is not to give a typological analysis; it provides rather a general picture of the main types found in camps.

Regarding the brooches (PI. 1/1-5), S. Coci§ distinguishes four types (Fig. 1): strongly profiled brooches (Type Coci§ 8a5), Norican-Pannonian brooches with two knobs (Type Coci§ 11a), Norican-Pannonian brooches with little wings (Type Coci§ 12b) and anchor-shaped head brooches (Type Coci$ 20b3a).* 23 The first three types of brooches considered by S. Coci§ as typically female are all of Norican-Pannonian origins and are generally dated to the first half of the 2nd century. Only the brooches with anchor-shaped head date to the 3rd quarter of the 2nd century and first half of the 3rd century. These brooch types are quite rare finds in the forts; we know only a few examples from Buciumi, Räcari, Bologa, Porolissum and Gherla.24

The larger category of beads (PI. 1/6-18) usually made of glass, ceramic or bronze, is a more frequent find in forts. The most popular types of beads are the melon shaped items, followed by the globular, annular, hexagonal, semispherical, discoid, elongated, biconic and spindle shaped beads.25

Bracelets made of bronze, silver, gold or glass are not so numerous finds (PI. 2/1-7). The majority of them were recovered from the forts of Ili§ua, Giläu, Cä§eiu, Gherla, Räcari26 and they

the Nature of Things 5, 1350-1360, apud Humphrey et al. 1999, 347). By Columella the spinning appears like an essential attribution of women (Columella, On Agriculture, 12.3.6, apud Humphrey et al. 1999, 363). This association of gender and task was accepted by researchers as well, J. P. Wild in his work on the textile industries of Roman Britain mentions “That spinning was a regular chore for the female members of a household in Roman Britain seems highly probable” (Wild 2002, 9). N. Guidicelli in her recent work on the female related crafts uses this association as evidence (Guidicelli 2009, 38, fig. 2).

23 Coci? 2008, 53-54, 72-73, 74, 108.

24 One item of type 8a5 and one item of type 11 were recovered from Buciumi (Chirilä et al. 1972,89, nr. 12, Taf. XCIII/4; 88, nr. 6, Taf. XCII/2). In Räcari only 2 items of type 20 are known (Bondoc-Gudea 2009, 270, nr. 1053, pl. CL/1053; 271, nr. 1056, pl. CL/1056). Only two brooches of type 11 are known from the fort of Bologa (Gudea-Coci? 1995,52, nr. 1-2, pi. 1/1-2). The big auxiliary fort from Porolissum provided two pieces of brooches of type 20 (Gudea et al. 2001, 80, nr. 33-34, pl. V/33-34). The auxiliary fort from Gherla is represented by one brooch of type 12b (Protase et al. 2008, 236, nr. 1, Taf. 1); and one example of type 20b3 (Protase et al. 2008, 237, nr. 3, Taf. X/3).

25 Melon shaped beads: Chirilä et al. 1972, 90-91, nr. 1-13, Taf. XVII/1 —12; XVIII/5 (Buciumi); Isac 1999, 761, nr. 23- 25, 27-28, Taf. V/23-28 (Cä$eiu); Isac-Gaiu 2006, 425, nr. 21-23, pi. 2/21-23 (Ili$ua). Globular beads: Isac 1999, 726, nr. 31, Taf. V/3 (Giläu); Isac-Gaiu 2006, 425, nr. 13, pi. 2/3 (Ili$ua); Gudea 2008, nr. 3, pl. LXX/3 (Feldioara); Bondoc-Gudea 2009, 280, nr. 1133-1135, pi. CLX/1133-1135 (Räcari). Annular beads: Chirilä et al. 1972,91, nr. 14, 16, Taf. XCVIII/1,4 (Buciumi); Isac-Gaiu 2006, 425, nr. 13-20, pi. 2/13-20 (Ili§ua); Gudea 2008, 229, nr. 1, pi. LXX/1 (Feldioara). Hexagonal beads: Isac-Gaiu 2006,426, nr. 25, pi. 2/25 (Ili$ua); Gudea 2008,229, nr. 2, pl. LXX/2 (Feldioara). Semispherical bead: Bondoc-Gudea 2009,280, nr. 1132, pi. CLIX/1132 (Räcari). Discoid beads: Isac 1999, 762, nr. 32, Pl. VI/32 (Giläu); Bondoc-Gudea 2000, 195, nr. 409, pl. LXXXII/409 (Räcari). Elongated bead: Bondoc-Gudea 2009, 279, nr. 1130, pi. CLIX/1130 (Räcari). Biconic beads: Chirilä et al. 1972, 91, nr. 17, Taf. XCVIII/3 (Buciumi); Gudea 2008, 174, nr. 10, pl. XXIX/9 (Feldioara); Bondoc-Gudea 2009, 280, nr. 1131 pi. CLIX/1131 (Räcari). Spindle shaped beads: Isac 1999, 762, nr. 36, Taf. VI/36 (Giläu); Isac-Gaiu 2006, 426, nr. 26, pi. 2/26 (Ili$ua).

26 In the fort of Ili§ua two bracelets made of bronze were recovered: one with simple open ends and another piece with serpent open ends (Isac-Gaiu 2006, 425, nr. 11-12, pi. 1/11-12). The bracelets from Giläu are represented by five examples, of which two are made of silver each having open ends (Isac 1999, 760, nr. 15, pl. 11/15; 761, nr. 18, pl. IV/18) and three of bronze (Isac 1999, 760, nr. 16-17, with closed ends, 761, nr. 20, with serpent open ends,