For centuries, ancient Roman texts subtly showcased female farm managers, mentioning their roles in laws, literature, and tombstone inscriptions. Contrary to the beliefs held by modern historians who often label them as mere domestic servants, evidence points towards their active involvement in farm management.
My recent research paper published in the Journal of Roman Archaeology challenges these longstanding assumptions.
In truth, numerous records affirm that many Roman women effectively managed farms, contributing to essential agricultural processes, including wine production and other agricultural activities that generated income.
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An Overlooked Role
Agricultural manuals from Roman writers like Columella unveil the critical roles of female managers, known as ‘vilica,’ during the first century AD.
Columella, an affluent landowner, notes that the management positions often were occupied by enslaved individuals. Both male and female farm managers played vital roles, intricately tied to their responsibilities in the villa system.
However, many historians still misinterpret this information, likely distracted by lengthy passages from philosophers like Xenophon, whose works were written over four centuries earlier in Athens.
Philosophical quotations often lead to misconceptions regarding women’s roles in ancient Roman agriculture.
Xenophon argued that women were intended for indoor work. His view presents a confined image of the respectable married woman managing domestic slaves in a townhouse.
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However, Columella consistently asserts that these notions are not his own but are taken from Xenophon’s long-ago writings.
In his description, Columella attributes various responsibilities to the ‘vilica’ on Roman farms. Among these are wine and olive oil production, invaluable products vital to landowners’ profitability.
Columella provides a detailed account of the vilica’s crucial task during grape harvests, including extracting juice, adding flavorings and preservatives, and ensuring successful fermentation into wine.
Columella also highlights the vilica’s role in processing other crops, such as converting unpalatable olives into profitable olive oil.
Research indicates that significant wine and oil production, utilizing massive machinery in expansive facilities, could yield between 50,000 to 100,000 liters annually. The vilica thus bore substantial responsibility in sustaining the estate’s operations.
Divine Interventions
Proper sacrifices to the gods were deemed crucial for successful farming. Archaeological findings have revealed altars for offerings within Roman winemaking sites.
Winemaking in the Roman World underscores potential risks due to erratic temperatures, bacteria, and improper oxygenation, as wine can easily spoil or turn into vinegar.
A notable aspect of Columella’s accounts includes directives for female farm managers to perform offerings, serving as preventative measures against such calamities.
Seeking Further Evidence
Other historical documents rarely mention ‘bilica,’ only attesting to her existence.
Nevertheless, we can compile essential clues.
Legal documents regarding inheritance even reference her role as essential to productive work, including managing enslaved labor.
A mosaic from Villa Romana del Casale, Sicily, illustrating women involved in agricultural activities.
Cato the Elder, an eminent landowner and writer, also recognized female farm managers as integral to vineyard operations, detailing both their roles and responsibilities. His work, predating Columella, highlights tasks that encompass not only domestic oversight but also significant agricultural duties.
Cato assigns the vilica roles such as poultry management and seasonal crop processing while also designating her as responsible for maintaining cleanliness in workspaces like stables and production buildings.
Moreover, both Columella and Cato emphasized the vilica’s religious obligations, including regular sacrifices to the gods for agricultural success, underscoring the intertwined nature of spirituality and farming in Roman culture.
Roman mosaics clearly depict the act of making offerings to deities like Jupiter, illustrating the vital role that women played in ensuring productive harvests.
This mosaic captures a woman offering a wreath before an altar, highlighting the rituals intertwined with agriculture.
Such mosaics provide rare depictions of female figures in agricultural contexts. For instance, a fragment from a Roman wall painting suggests a woman overseeing winemaking tasks.
Collectively, this body of evidence underscores the need to revise the outdated perceptions of Roman women’s contributions to farm production, a fundamental aspect of the ancient economy.
While the vilica herself may not have left a written account, attentively analyzing the evidence echoes her importance in this sphere.
