An Archaeology of Identity: Soldiers and Society in Late Roman Britain

by Gardner,Andrew

• ISBN13: 9781598742275
• ISBN10: 1598742272
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 2007-08-15
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

What happened to Roman soldiers in Britain during the decline of the empire in the 4th and 5th centuries? Did they withdraw, defect, or go native? More than a question of military history, this is the starting point for Andrew Gardner's incisive exploration of social identity in Roman Britain, in the Roman Empire, and in ancient society. Drawing on the sociological theories of Anthony Giddens and others, Gardner shapes an approach that focuses on the central role of practice in the creation and maintenance of identities-nationalist, gendered, class, and ethnic. This theory is then tested against the material remains of Roman soldiers in Britain to show how patterning of stratigraphy, architecture, and artifacts supports his theoretical construct. The result is a retelling of the story of late Roman Britain sharply at odds with the traditional text-driven histories and a theory of human action that offers much to current debates across the social sciences.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	p. 9
Preface	p. 13
Acknowledgements	p. 14
Introduction: the Roman Empire in the 21st century	p. 15
An archaeology of identity	p. 15
Particular studies and general problems	p. 20
The development of Roman studies	p. 24
21st century agendas	p. 31
The practice of identity	p. 35
Texts and theory in a historical discipline	p. 35
Agency, structure, and practice	p. 39
4th century problems	p. 51
The material dimensions of 4th century life: objects and spaces	p. 63
Studying materiality	p. 63
Portable material culture	p. 67
Architectural material culture	p. 97
Texts as objects	p. 122
Material practices and identity	p. 128
The temporal dimensions of 4th century life: traditions and change	p. 133
Studying temporality	p. 133
Biographies of assemblages	p. 139
Biographies of places	p. 166
Writing Roman history	p. 186
Tradition, transformation, and structuration	p. 191
The social dimensions of 4th century life: interactions and identities	p. 197
Studying sociality	p. 197
From practices to identities	p. 203
The social world in late Roman Britain	p. 217
A topography of 4th century identities	p. 239
Conclusion: Roman Britain in the 4th century	p. 243
The dynamics of identification in late Roman Britain	p. 243
Late Roman Britain and the late Roman Empire	p. 258
The archaeology of complex identities	p. 261
An empire for the 21st century?	p. 264
Bibliography	p. 267
Index	p. 303
About the Author	p. 312
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