Women in Roman Frontier Studies: Rebalancing the Narrative
Resource type
Abstract
Creator (person)
Jones, Rebecca
Date published
2025
Abstract
The international congress of Roman Frontier Studies (‘Limes’ Congress) has been running for over 75 years, meeting 26 times in 14 countries. The participation of women has grown from a single speaker at the first Congress in 1949 to an improved balance today (still not 50%), although gendered biases remain in terms of geographic area, topics and themes studied.
Through the lens of the biographies of some women who attended, presented and organised the congresses, we study the impact of gender, wealth and politics in the formation of Roman frontier studies as a discipline. Roman frontier studies have been, and to some extent still are, regarded as a male-dominated field, despite growing evidence challenging this assumption. The increased participation of women has resulted in a sea-change and more inclusive approach to the study of some key themes, such as the presence of women and children in frontier communities, previously assumed to be all male environments. Moreover, of particular note is a divide in career opportunities, employment dynamics and gendered expectations of the topics studied between women working in eastern and western Europe.
This paper will look at some of the challenges of these women scholars, their impact and their legacy.
Event title
10th World Archaeological Congress
Publisher
World Archaeological Congress
Rights statement
In Copyright