Childhood in the Roman Near East: the archaeology of children at Dura-Europos

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Society is reproduced through children and their enculturation. However, childhood can be problematic to interpretarchaeologically, often relying upon iconography and decontextualised finds. The extensively excavated site ofDura-Europos in Syria provides a unique opportunity to examine the archaeology of childhood. The large-scale,published excavations of the 1920's and 30's, yielded a rich array of settlement material, including, uniquely,contextualized finds relating to children. This study will examine the material culture of childhood at Dura, includingthe only excavated group of bone dolls known in the Roman empire, as well as terracotta toys, paintedrepresentations of children, and graffiti produced by children. Funerary evidence from the burials of children in theexcavated necropolis will also be included, enabling a study of how children lived, and were commemorated in theRoman Near East.