Researcher(s)
- Marcus Beardsley, Ancient Greek and Roman Studies, University of Delaware
Faculty Mentor(s)
- Lauren Petersen, Art History, University of Delaware
Abstract
Classical studies has from its inception adopted the biases of the ancient elites who feature so prominently in the literary and archaeological record. This has resulted in the voices of non-elites–whose permanent impact on the record is muted–being ignored, an issue which has only begun to be remedied in the past two decades. This study, which remains in its nascent stages, joins the recent corpus of research in the push against traditional scholarship’s elite-centered narratives in favor of using creative methods to investigate common people’s lives. In particular, this contribution examines the communities of laborers at Roman ports of the eastern Mediterranean: their formation, maintenance, dynamics, and impact(s) on the larger social unit of the port town or city. Points of investigation include the mutual forms of identity around which communities coalesced, the multiplicity of concurrent identities each individual could possess, and the motivations for joining with others in identity-sharing. The first step of this ambitious project was participation at the Lechaion Harbor and Settlement Land Project (LHSLP), an eight-week archaeological excavation at one of ancient Corinth’s two ports. While the site is largely unpublished, a concurrent investigation of Kenchreai–Lechaion’s sister port some five miles to the southeast–serves as a useful parallel to elaborate what little published evidence from Lechaion exists. The research of Kenchreai relies upon published reports on the harbor area and the Koutsongila Ridge to the north, as well as an in-person visit meant to improve understanding of the site’s topography. The results of this review will illuminate ancient laborers’ lives in a diverse array of contexts (including fishing, retail, commercial shipping, and domestic service), establish a useful grounding for further research through other case studies like Rhodes, Kos, and Caesarea Maritima, and invite reassessment of the Roman Empire’s often invisible populations.