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Document Details : Title: King of Beers Subtitle: Alcohol, Authority, and Identity among Batavian Soldiers in the Roman Auxilia at Vindolanda Author(s): MCLAUGHLIN, Jonathan J. Journal: Ancient Society Volume: 48 Date: 2018 Pages: 169-198 DOI: 10.2143/AS.48.0.3285201 Abstract : Beer has long been recognized as a favorite drink among Batavian soldiers in the Roman auxilia on the frontiers of Britain. Yet the consumption of beer was one of many practices through which a soldier performed his identity as a provincial soldier serving Rome. This article analyzes the relationship between beer and identity by focusing on T. Vindol. III 628, an early second-century CE letter in which a decurion of cohors VIIII Batavorum asked his commander 'king' for beer for the troops. After placing this letter in its Batavian and Roman military context, this article reviews the role of beer at Vindolanda in light of scholarship on food history and newly discovered tablets from London. Like other everyday practices in the negotiation of power and culture, the consumption of beer played a significant role in mobilizing labor, reinforcing authority, and crafting identities among Batavian auxiliaries at Vindolanda. |
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