Seminar 12: Dr Giacomo Savani (Leeds) on “Machines for Competition? Reassessing Rural Baths in Late Roman Britain.”
Abstract:
The popularity of baths in antiquity and their archaeological distinctiveness have led both antiquarians and many modern scholars to take their function—and, more crucially, their socio-cultural significance—for granted. This assumption is especially pronounced in the provincial context of Britannia, where baths have often been regarded as expected and unproblematic components of Roman sites. Moreover, the focus has predominantly been on military and public baths, with the varied and complex realm of rural bathing largely overlooked.
This paper seeks to redefine our understanding of the relationship between rural baths and the identities of the communities residing in the countryside of Roman Britain, with a focus on late antique Gloucestershire. This region experienced unprecedented levels of prosperity at this time, and many villas were equipped with lavishly decorated baths. I engage with Bowes’ reading of late antique houses as ‘machines for competition’ to suggest that by opening their baths to the members of local communities, villa owners enhanced their influence and prestige in a context of fierce competition between peers. I will reevaluate the archaeological evidence from some key sites like Great Witcombe and Chedworth to identify structural elements in support of this hypothesis. The argument is that villa owners could meticulously craft sensory experiences to reinforce social hierarchies and cultural norms, shaping individuals’ perceptions and interactions. In some instances, baths might even have functioned as catalysts for discrepant or new socio-cultural values and even religious practices.
Read more about Giacomo’s work here.
Time/Date: Thursday 17:00-18:30 UK time
On campus: Michael Sadler 1.01, University of Leeds, Woodhouse Lane, Leeds (Accessibility Guide)
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