Clothing as an expression of identity, ethnicity and gender in the visual arts in Germania Inferior (Ubii) and Pannonia (Eravisci)

Dr. Maureen Carroll

The Roman empire unified numerous different ethnic groups and cultures. In the frontier provinces we see a significant degree of cultural diversity, due to the influx of civilians and military personnel from many parts of the Roman world who settled in the midst of and interacted with the indigenous populations. People on a regional, local and personal level constructed identities and expressed them in many different ways. Particularly important in this context of self perception is the display of identities through clothing and bodily adornment. In this project- part of the EU-funded research project Clothing and Identities: New Perspectives on Textiles in the Roman Empire - attention focuses on the costumes worn on the lower Rhine frontier, particularly the territory of the Germanic Ubii in the early 1st c. A.D., and on the Danubian frontier region, especially the core settlement area of the Celtic Eravisci in the mid-1st c. B.C. Monuments of a funerary and votive nature provide us with depictions of clothing and accessories in these regions.

There are many aspects of ancient clothing and bodily adornment that make its study interesting and rewarding, possibly the most important being its use (a) as an expression of identity and ethnicity; (b) as a statement of social values associated with gendered behaviour; and (c) as a signal of social standing and wealth.

It must be assumed that to wear native dress rather than Roman garments in the Roman period was a personal choice. Gender research is of special interest, as it is women who, more often than men, are depicted wearing their native costume rather than Roman dress foreign to these frontier regions. This may, in part, be a result of the conservativeness of female dress, but the retention of national costume cannot simply be classed as mere conservatism. The dichotomy between the private and public spheres is probably also expressed in this gender-specific depiction of clothing.