Sensory Experiences in the Roman North: Emerging Themes and Future Directions

Abstract

The senses were functionally significant to all aspects of Roman life and played a central role in private and public events, from religious ceremonies to gladiatorial fights. However, to date, these studies primarily focus on archaeological sites from Italy. The scope of this Special Issue, however, was on the sensory implications of archaeological material from a region so far neglected by sensory studies: the ‘Roman North’ (including modern France, western Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Britain and immediately adjacent areas), from the earliest interactions with Roman civilization to Late Antiquity. The contributing authors to this Special Issue come from several different sectors but they all have something in common: they use Roman material from the north to tell stories about Roman lived experience.This editorial is a piece underscoring the present ‘state of the discipline’. At this stage, however, it would be very generous to designate the research theme as a ‘discipline’. We hope that this editorial and the excellent papers in this Special Issue contribute to addressing this disparity and will encourage others to explore these themes in their own work.