Between 43 AD and 410 AD, huge swathes of Britain were under the control of the Roman Empire and funerary practices were mostly Christian, but also included the practice of Roman infanticide. Although, Roman infanticide has been well documented in Italy and in the Roman province that is Israel today, little evidence of this practice has been found in the UK. However, a discovery of about 100 infant skeletons, almost a 100 years ago, at Yewden Villa (Lodge), Buckinghamshire, by excavator Alfred Cocks, suggested Romans in Britain did practice infanticide. Now, experts from English Heritage have begun a deeper investigation into the Buckinghamshire skeletons discovered by Cocks, reports The Independent. And the reality seems to be related to the children born to prostitutes in a British-Roman brothel!
These burials, which are almost 1700 years old, were originally found at the Yewden Villa, near the village of Hambleden, Buckinghamshire, just north of the River Thames. Alfred Cocks’ archaeological finds had been stored in Buckinghamshire’s county museum in Aylesbury. English Heritage experts found that each individual infant was neatly stored in old tobacco boxes and shotgun cartridge containers. The researchers have so far located found 40 of the 97 dead infants reported by Cocks and, so far, all of them are newborn babies!
The next course of action for the English Heritage experts is to examine each individual infant skeleton with CT scanners and electron microscopes, to understand how they died. “The material is important because it represents the largest group of Roman period infant burials in Britain,” said English Heritage’s skeletal biologist, Doctor Simon Mays.
In ancient Rome, societal attitudes toward children, particularly those born to marginalized groups such as prostitutes, were shaped by a complex interplay of cultural, economic, and legal factors. Infanticide, the deliberate act of killing newborns, was a practice that, while not universally accepted, occurred in various contexts across Roman society. This essay explores the practice of infanticide in ancient Rome, with a particular focus on the fate of children born to prostitutes, examining the social, legal, and economic conditions that influenced these practices.
Infanticide in Ancient Rome
Infanticide in ancient Rome was not uncommon, though its prevalence and social acceptance varied across time and social strata. Roman law and custom placed significant authority in the hands of the paterfamilias, the male head of the household, who had the legal right to decide the fate of newborns. This authority, known as patria potestas, allowed the paterfamilias to accept or reject a child, often based on economic considerations, physical health, or social status.
Infanticide was frequently practiced through exposure, where a newborn was abandoned in a public place, such as a dung heap, temple, or roadside. Exposed infants might be left to die or, in some cases, rescued by passersby who could raise them as slaves, adoptees, or even prostitutes. The practice was particularly associated with unwanted children, including those born with deformities, those born out of wedlock, or those whose families could not afford to raise them. Literary sources, such as the works of Seneca and Tacitus, suggest that exposure was a socially recognized, if morally debated, practice.
While Roman law did not explicitly criminalize infanticide until later periods, particularly under Christian influence in the 4th century CE, social attitudes varied. Elite Romans often condemned the practice in moral terms, yet economic pressures and patriarchal control often justified it in practice. For lower-class families, the inability to support additional children could make exposure a grim necessity.
The Status of Prostitutes in Roman Society
Prostitution was a widespread and legally tolerated institution in ancient Rome, with prostitutes occupying a marginalized yet visible role in society. Prostitutes, known as meretrices or prostibulae, were often slaves, freedwomen, or women from the lower classes who turned to sex work due to economic necessity. They worked in brothels (lupanaria), on the streets, or in private arrangements, and their social status was marked by legal and cultural stigma. Prostitutes were excluded from certain civic rights, such as the ability to marry freeborn citizens, and were subject to infamia, a legal status that denoted dishonor.
Children born to prostitutes faced unique challenges due to their mothers’ marginalized status. These children were often considered illegitimate (spurii), lacking a legally recognized father and thus excluded from inheritance or citizenship rights. The social stigma attached to their mothers further compounded their precarious position, making them vulnerable to abandonment, enslavement, or exploitation.
The Fate of Children Born to Prostitutes
The children of Roman prostitutes faced a particularly harsh reality, as their birth often represented an economic burden to their mothers or the brothel owners who controlled them. Several factors contributed to the likelihood of infanticide or exposure for these children:
Economic Constraints: Prostitutes, particularly those who were slaves or freedwomen, often lacked the resources to raise children. Brothel owners had little incentive to support the upbringing of a prostitute’s child, as it diverted resources from their business. As a result, exposure was a common recourse for infants born in such circumstances.
Social Stigma: The stigma of illegitimacy and association with prostitution made it difficult for these children to be integrated into respectable society. Even if a prostitute wished to raise her child, the lack of social or familial support often made it untenable.
Legal Status: Children born to prostitutes typically inherited their mother’s status if she was a slave, or they were considered free but illegitimate if she was a freedwoman. In either case, their lack of legal standing limited their prospects, making exposure or enslavement more likely outcomes.
Cultural Attitudes: Roman society placed a high value on lineage and legitimacy, particularly among the elite. Children of prostitutes, lacking a recognized paterfamilias, were often seen as undesirable and expendable.
Archaeological evidence, such as the discovery of infant remains in mass graves near brothels, supports the idea that infanticide was practiced in these contexts. For example, excavations at sites like the Roman villa at Ashkelon revealed a large number of infant skeletons in a sewer beneath a bathhouse, believed to have been a brothel. This suggests that exposure or direct infanticide was a common fate for the children of prostitutes.
However, not all children of prostitutes were abandoned. Some were raised within brothels, often to be groomed for sex work themselves. Others might be sold into slavery or adopted by individuals seeking cheap labor. In rare cases, a child might be claimed by a father or taken in by a charitable individual, though such outcomes were exceptional.
Legal and Social Shifts in Late Antiquity
The rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire brought significant changes to attitudes toward infanticide and the treatment of marginalized children. By the 4th century CE, Christian emperors like Constantine began to introduce laws that discouraged infanticide and encouraged the care of exposed infants. For example, a law of 374 CE under Emperor Valentinian I criminalized the exposure of infants, reflecting a growing moral opposition to the practice.
Christian institutions, such as churches and monasteries, also began to take a more active role in rescuing exposed children, often raising them as wards of the church. However, these changes were gradual, and the children of prostitutes remained among the most vulnerable, as their social stigma persisted even in Christianized Rome.
Conclusion
The practice of infanticide in ancient Rome, particularly through exposure, was a complex phenomenon driven by economic, social, and legal factors. For the children of prostitutes, these pressures were magnified by their mothers’ marginalized status and the stigma of illegitimacy. While some of these children were raised within the harsh confines of brothels or sold into slavery, many faced abandonment or death. The eventual influence of Christianity began to shift societal attitudes, but the plight of prostitutes’ children remained a stark reflection of the inequalities and harsh realities of Roman society. Understanding these practices offers insight into the broader dynamics of family, power, and survival in the ancient world.