Abstract
Despite their ubiquity across the frontiers of the Roman Empire, the military vici are some of the most understudied settlements in the Roman provinces. These sites, which sprang up outside walls of Roman auxilia forts, were established and populated by several different groups including camp followers, merchants, Roman officials, soldier’s families and locals. Such diversity led to intense socio-economic and cultural interaction as the inhabitants of the vici attempted to take advantage of their various relationships to the garrison. As a result, it was these settlements where Roman provincial society was created and recreated on the empire’s very edge. To best elucidate these processes, this thesis applies the theoretical framework of the contact zone to the material culture of the military vici. The contact zone is the spaces where different cultures, usually in asymmetrical power relationships, engage, grapple and negotiate with each other. The military vici were such spaces, and this intense cultural interaction resulted in cultural hybridization. This thesis focuses on the material culture of three military vici in particular; Housesteads, Mautern, and El-Lejjun. These three settlements, each from a different part of the empire, are compelling case studies in that they display the traits common the vici while also reflecting the influence of local traditions. Altogether, this thesis argues that the characterization of the military vici as contact zones allows for the perception of how various cultural processes resulted in the creation and recreation of provincial societies within the asymmetrical power relationships of the Roman Empire.