Small finds from the Roman period have long had a rather stuffy image: relegated to appendices, poorly integrated into site reports and their potential overlooked. Recent interest in concepts such as identity and materiality are, however, stimulating a new generation of theoretically informed scholars to dust off the specialist reports and to develop new approaches to material culture.
In this readable and well-produced volume, Hella Eckardt explores provincial Roman culture through its artefacts, presenting detailed discussions of select—often unfamiliar—objects that she identifies as particularly significant in terms of regional and personal expressions of identity. This bottom-up approach, working from the finds themselves and leaving history and literary texts aside, results in a convincing study that forms an excellent introduction to the richness and variety of the material record in the north-western provinces of the Roman Empire.
Instead of treating artefacts as discrete categories, Eckardt focuses on social relationships as expressed through a variety of objects and materials. Following a lucid introduction to the theoretical background and research methods, each chapter tackles an overall theme (e.g. immigration, local identities, materiality) with carefully chosen, detailed case studies related to specific aspects of the discussion. Analysis of finds and contexts leads the author to explore such difficult concepts as second-generation immigrants, the social dimension of exotics, and meanings shifting with distance, context and time.
The study highlights the many levels inherent in the construction of individual identities. For example, amber, ivory, and objects bearing depictions of Africans circulated within the sphere of international elite culture; jet appears to have functioned on a provincial level; some (but not all) fibulae were strictly localised. The overlapping meanings and distributions bear witness to the complexities of participation in the wider community of the Roman Empire and, indeed, beyond (e.g. bucket pendants, gold-in-glass beads). The delightful examination of ivory fan handles gives us a glimpse of fashionable accessories, a reminder that the etiquette surrounding the actual use of such items also forms part of the international construct of provincial life. In similar vein, the real or perceived exotic nature of materials as well as the significance of colour and texture is discussed: particularly intriguing is the British preference for black jet and shale, while the Rhineland favoured red-golden amber. The symbolism of left/right imagery is explored in Chapter 6 through a type of hairpin in the form of a hand holding a ball, but is equally relevant to, for instance, the differential survival of statue body parts or the position of gifts of jewellery in burials. It is worth noting the curious contrast between the right hand of the pins and the tendency to favour the left foot for shoes deposited in watery contexts. Organic materials are not included amongst the case studies, except for wooden writing tablets. As the find locations of these objects says more about conditions of preservation than actual occurrence, the loss of organic materials undoubtedly has a significant negative effect on spatial distributions. Inkwells can also be made of cattle-horn, as they were in the Middle Ages.
From a Continental perspective, we can only be envious of the contribution of the Portable Antiquities Reporting Scheme operating in Britain. A direct result is the greater awareness of the extent of distinct regional and local artefact types (e.g. brooches, perforated spoons), which gives remarkable insight into the consumption patterns of the ordinary population of Roman Britain. This is a source that Eckardt exploits intelligently and to great advantage.
The movement of people is a recurring theme and although it is, perhaps, still too early to accept the far-reaching conclusions drawn from isotope analysis (is it really probable that such a high proportion of all the bones analysed always seem to come from immigrants? Where are the locals?), the integration of this research into the discussion of the artefacts is welcome and will, eventually, refine the methodology. (I am reminded of the heady early days of radiocarbon dating here, with similar claims and criticisms.) Eckardt correctly draws attention to the very unassuming nature of crucial ethnic markers (e.g. bucket pendants), a reason perhaps why such evidence remains so elusive. The need for detailed knowledge of the finds in their international context is particularly evident in this regard. Less successful is Chapter 3, focusing on Africans in Roman Britain. Especially for the unsuspecting non-specialist reader, it might have been better to clarify at the start—instead of at the close—that here, ‘African’ refers to coastal Mediterranean North Africa, as the choice of illustrations and the terminology consistently leaves the impression that Sub-Saharan people are involved. This confusion is reinforced by the incorporation into this chapter of exotic artefacts that do indeed depict figures that the Romans would describe as “Ethiopians”. In fact, the artefacts under discussion, as well as the epigraphy, centre on regions also settled by Roman veterans and colonists (e.g. Tunisia and Morocco), as the maps make clear.
A particular strength of the study is the familiarity of the author with Continental research, which enables her to explore interprovincial variation successfully. The extensive bibliography (40 pages no less) is a valuable resource, while the numerous distribution maps clarify the text, providing useful overviews. Unaccountably, the colour plates are few and poorly chosen.
One of the most fascinating aspects of the Roman period is the extent of subtle regional variation within the recognisably international cultural unity of Empire and the role of quite modest possessions in shaping individual experience. This well-written yet nuanced and critical study makes an important contribution to this debate and to the integration of small finds into the wider narrative.
