Marisia - Maros Megyei Múzeum Évkönyve 30/1. (2010)
Articles
128 L. Vass How do we understand questionable and subjective artefacts are they enough to highlight a possible female presence, such as in the case of the province of Dacia? Although the number of the possibly female related artefacts (hairpins, brooches, necklaces, earrings, rings, pendants, spindle whorls) recovered from the camps of Dacia do not represent large quantities, they are too many to be ignored. The aim of this paper is to interpret these artefacts found in the military forts of Dacia and to apply the general gender methodology in order to point out the possible presence of women in forts. Gender archaeology in Roman archaeology in Romania is a totally unknown domain. The research of the different Roman archaeological sites is characterized rather by positivistic methodology that produced quantitative studies in what concerns the investigation of material culture. In this conception clear and close categories exist concerning the usage, the origin, the meaning of an object, which are not questioned by anybody. Taking into consideration the historical evidence consisting of ancient written sources7 regarding the ban of marriage of the soldiers, the restriction of women to enter forts led to a very false preconception in Romanian archaeology: the military camp is a closed entity where civilians, especially women had no access, a world where the two sexes do not interact. This preconception is so strong that archaeologists in the case of handling women related objects within forts tend to give them another functionality that fits in this general clichés. It is the case of some spindle whorls recovered in the military fort from Buciumi8 and Räcari.9 In the Romanian literature there are only two studies on jewellery items found in military forts written by A. Isac. The author analyzing the jewelleries from Ili§ua10 11 and of different forts from Dacia Porolissensis11 limited her research on the typological study of the artefacts. Beside the passive and spurned attitude of researchers, the research of this subject is hardened by some special features as well which originate from the special character of the province of Dacia. During the almost 165 year of Roman domination in Dacia crucial and significant changes couldn’t be done in the province’s social and economic life, though this interval of 2nd and 3rd century is generally characterized by fundamental social, economic and military changes on the level of Empire.12 In comparison with the western provinces, where a certain continuity of time existed, the period of change can be easily pointed out, whilst Dacia whose existence covers the whole above mentioned period, has no continuity of time. Tbus, it is almost 7 The ban of soldiers’ marriage until the rising of Septimius Severus seems to be a constant element in the ancient contemporary biographies or histories. Augustus in the urge of disposing a stricter discipline after the civil wars, prohibited the marriage of soldiers in service; Suet. Aug. 24.1, apud Campbell 1978, 154, note 8. At this ban is referring Cassius Dio when he mentions at Claudius that “he gave the rights of married men to the soldiers, since in accordance with the law, they were not permitted to have wives” (Cassius Dio 76.15.2, apud Campbell 1978, note 2). The statement of Quintilanus that “...intrare castra feminis non licet” emphasize the same prohibition (Quintilian, Declamatio 3.12, apud Rudán-Brandl 2008, 1), that is suspended only after two centuries, under Septimius Severus (Herodian III.8.5, apud Campbell 1978, 160). For the legal aspect and effects of this ban see the paper of Campbell 1987. 8 Chirilä et al. 1972, 132, note 76. N. Gudea leaving from the premise of the archaeological context where these objects were recovered from, states that these artefacts could have had other functionality. 9 The authors believe that the spindle whorls recovered from Räcari belonged rather to the vicus, or they were manufactured by the soldiers for their families or for other purposes (Bondoc-Gudea 2009, 196). 10 Isac-Gaiu 2006. 11 Isac 1999. 12 The recruitment of ethnically based auxiliary units is assured by the inhabitants of the place where the units were stationed.
