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

Society is reproduced through children and their enculturation. However, childhood can be problematic to interpret
archaeologically, often relying upon iconography and decontextualised finds. The extensively excavated site of
Dura-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, including
the only excavated group of bone dolls known in the Roman empire, as well as terracotta toys, painted
representations of children, and graffiti produced by children. Funerary evidence from the burials of children in the
excavated necropolis will also be included, enabling a study of how children lived, and were commemorated in the
Roman Near East.