October is Black History month, and ahead of his forthcoming talk at Malton Museum, Dr Simon Elliott FSA has written a guest blog exploring what it meant to be a Roman of African heritage, Race in the Roman Empire, and Septimius Severus’ fascinating life and achievements.

Septimius Severus was the Roman Empire’s African emperor. Born in the blazing heat of a Libyan spring in Leptis Magna in AD 145, his story arc is truly astonishing, ending with his death in the freezing cold of a northern British winter in York in February AD 211. His career is one of superlatives. Ruling at the height of Roman military power, he commanded more legions than any other emperor. Further, under his rule permanent Roman territory was expanded to its greatest extent. Given this martial prowess, I argue in my new full biography that he was the most powerful person ever born in Africa, based purely on military and political agency.

The legions certainly played a key role in his story. Across its vast territory the Roman empire was always at war.

Even in times of relative peace, which were few in Severus’ reign, conflict could always be found. He understood this better than most, in his case from the very beginning of his reign when he rose to power at the point of a sword in AD 193, the last man standing in the ‘Year of the Five Emperors’. Severus never forgot his military roots, famously telling his squabbling sons Caracalla and Geta on his deathbed to ‘…be of one mind, enrich the soldiers, and despise the rest.’ 

African Heritage and Race in the Roman world

Throughout his life Severus stayed true to his African heritage. Dark skinned, he ensured he was portrayed this way in contemporary portraiture. While in his time this was unimportant in what was a largely Mediterranean empire, in our world today it can be.

I address this directly in my new book with the opening chapter, Identity and Race in the Roman World. The facts here are simple. Severus’ father’s line was Punic, so originally Phoenician colonists in North Africa from the Levant. His mother’s line was Italian. Severus seems to have favoured his Punic lineage. For example, even in politest Roman society amid the patricians in the imperial capital, he chose to maintain his strong North African accent. Then, once in power, he swiftly promoted North Africans at every opportunity to key positions of authority. 

This is not surprising given, as I have seen in my own frequent research trips across the region, this was the richest part of the empire, with a proud cultural heritage to match anything in Rome, Athens or Alexandria. Severus used his North African upbringing as the template for what I style the Severan reset, this the first major post-Augustan reformation of the Roman world. It established the Severan dynasty which lasted over 40 years. Such was the scale of this reorganization, which some go further and call a hostile takeover, that it was not repeated again until the accession of Diocletian over 90 years after Severus became emperor (see below). 

“Not a shy man”

Meanwhile, Severus was not a shy man, monumentalising his rule across the empire at every opportunity. He visited, and fought in, every region.

When he did, he left a mighty legacy in the built environment. Many of these sites I have visited personally, following in the footsteps of his travels. Intriguingly, given the popular focus on the likes of Julius Caesar, Trajan and Hadrian, this urban Severan legacy often hides in plain sight, with few aware of it. Yet the high-profile examples are many in number.

Think of forum Romanum in Rome where much is Severan, as are many surviving areas of the imperial palace on the Palatine Hill, the monumental Baths of Caracalla (which would have been called the Baths of Severus had he lived to see the enormous bathing complex completed) and the lovely Temple of the Vesta. Elsewhere in Europe, the presence of Severus is writ large from east to west.

Even in far off London, provincial capital of troublesome Britannia, the land wall that still defines the City today is Severan, while in York one can actually stand close to where he perished in the legionary fortress praetorium, now the undercroft of today’s York Minster. Meanwhile, in his native North Africa, every city and town I have visited has a highly visible Severan phase, whether in the soaring snow-capped Atlas Mountains or along the arid Saharan fringe. 

Family ties

The story of Severus also features a dramatis personae fit to dazzle any historical epic. Think of Marcus Aurelius, the philosopher emperor, and Commodus, his mad and bad son. Then Publius Helvius Pertinax, the son of a manumitted slave who became Roman emperor and was Severus’ friend and mentor. Next Decimus Clodius Albinus and Pescennius Niger, British and Syrian governors respectively, and Severus’ former brothers in arms in the Marcomannic Wars. Both were destined to fight him tooth and nail for the throne in epic confrontations across the empire. Also Didius Julianus and Flavius Sulpicianus, scandalous bidders for the imperial throne when auctioned by the Praetorian Guard, truly one of the lowest points in imperial Roman history.

Then, last but not least, his own family. Foremost was Julia Domna, his second wife and love of his life. She was a leading figure across the Roman world in her own right, and together they were the power couple of their age. Finally, their two sons, the psychotic Caracalla and unfortunate Geta, destined to live a spiral of bitter rivalry ending in the most sanguineous way within a year of Severus’ death. Here, the former had the latter murdered, he bleeding to death in Julia Domna’s arms. 

Sadly that set the tone for the rest of the Severan dynasty. Caracalla himself was assassinated while relieving himself against a tree in AD 217. Macrinus (not a blood relative but a short-term usurper when Praetorian prefect) was then executed, Heliogabalus assassinated with his mother, and finally Severus Alexander also assassinated with his mother. Such was the grim end for the dynasty of which Septimius Severus was very much the high point.

What followed was the ‘Crisis of the 3rd Century’ when the empire almost imploded under the weight of numerous civil wars, usurpations, foreign invasion and plague. It then took another strong man emperor to drag the Roman world kicking and screaming back from the brink, this Diocletian who acceded to the throne (again at the point of a sword) in AD 284. I feel sure Severus himself would have greatly approved. 

Tickets for Dr Simon Elliott’s talk on The African Emperor on Thursday 9 October at 7pm are available here.

After the talk there will be a Q&A and the opportunity to purchase a signed copy of The African Emperor.

August’s Object of the Month was chosen by Norton College student Alfie Cottrell, who recently did work experience at Malton Museum.

Flint Jack- The Greatest Impostor of the Era

Flint Jack was an alias for an infamous forger named Edward Simpson born in 1815. He was renowned for his forgery of Roman artefacts along with other relics and fossils due to how difficult it was to tell the difference between the real objects and his forgeries, beginning this work around 1843. He collected several aliases in his time such as ‘Bones’ in Whitby, ‘Shirtless’ in the Eastern counties, ‘Fossil Willy’ on the Yorkshire Coast, and finally’ the Old Antiquarian’ in Wiltshire and Dorset but universally was named Flint Jack.

Malton Museum displays several of his forgeries alongside genuine flints – you can see how similar his forgeries were to the real artefacts. Some artefacts were more believable than others, such as the arrow heads he forged which were wildly popular at the time with them being one of his first successful forgeries. Flint Jack forged a wide variety of artefacts including a Roman chest plate, pottery, tools and arrow heads with success. 

Flint Jack is a fascinating figure as his main motivation was found when he successfully recreated a barbed arrowhead he had been shown. He took joy in working his forgeries and earned a pretty penny whilst doing it. His success is evident from the wide range of customers he had, including various prominent museums in England who believed that they were real artefacts. 

Flint Jack eventually found a vice, drinking. There are several accounts of people seeing Jack drunk around town. In 1864, Jack is quoted as saying “In this year, I took to drinking; the worst job yet. Till then, I was always possessed of five pounds. I have since been in utter poverty, and frequently in great misery and want.”

Flint Jack regularly travelled from place to place where he often changed his forgeries in each area picking up the forging of fossils in Newark which he sold to the only geologist in the area. Jack often read about local history to help make his lies more believable. He did still find and sell genuine artefacts and fossils with a period of just selling genuine fossils until he came across more flint and couldn’t resist the temptation and began making forgeries. 

In 1859 Jack was invited by Mr Tennant to address a meeting. Tennant knew Flint Jack was making forgeries and persuaded him to share his techniques. This knowledge quickly spread through England causing many to become suspicious of their collections and by 1861 his occupation as a deceiver was practically over. Few were willing to buy from him as many had heard of his exploits and his duplicates. He then began a second career advising people on whether their collections contained fakes.

Flint Jack was an interesting figure who always strived to learn and still had a passion for finding artefacts and fossils but fell to his vices of forgery and drink ending up in prison on several occasions for forgery and later on theft last being seen after an appearance before the Malton Magistrates in February 1874. He is believed to have died not long after this court appearance.

I personally find Flint Jack interesting due to his exploits and the similarity I have with him, we both share an interest archaeology, fossils and the past and we both strive to learn as much as we can, and he’s more interesting as he revealed his lies surrounding his forgeries making him a very popular figure in the era. 

Many people owned or suspected that they owned forgeries and some didn’t even know  they had a forgery because he was that skilled, not even museums could tell the difference between real and fake artefacts.

Flint Jack’s displays of forgeries were displayed when Malton Museum first opened in 1935. The flints are on display once more alongside genuine artefacts as part of Malton Museum’s 90th anniversary celebrations. For information about visiting Malton Museum, including our opening times, please click our Visit Us section.

Malton Museum has been open for 90 years and we are fundraising for a new home. If you have enjoyed this article and want to help us, please donate to our new museum kickstarter.

Malton Museum celebrates its 90th birthday this year. Much of our archaeological collection comes from excavations undertaken at the site of Malton Roman Fort, Langton Villa and Crambeck in the 1920s and early 1930s, but local people had been interested in the history of the area long before that.
It is known that an inscribed Roman stone from Malton was shown at the Royal Society in London in 1755, and by the 1880s, Malton Field Naturalists and Scientific Society was established. They collected fossils, geological and natural history specimens, along with some archaeological items. A small selection of these were displayed in cases in part of the Subscription Rooms. Much of their collection was given to Hull Museum in 1932; but the archaeological objects they had acquired became part of the new ‘Roman Malton Museum’, opened in 1935.

One such artefact is this patera found in Malton. Trajan’s column in Rome depicts soldiers carrying these objects, thought to be their mess tins or saucepans. Made in Italy, of copper alloy, it has its maker’s name – Alpicus – punched into it. What makes it even more special is that it also has a second name – Lucius Servenius Super- believed to have been its owner, punched into the handle.

A rare survival

It’s quite rare to know the name of an individual Roman soldier.

Where did Lucius come from? How long was he stationed in Malton and how did his pan come to be left here? Did most soldiers put their name on their kit in the way that we might label our belongings today?
There’s lots we don’t know about the patera, but we recently discovered more about how it came to be part of our collection.

Records show that it was donated to Malton Naturalists Society by William I’Anson, a racehorse trainer who lived at Highfield in Norton. From newspaper reports we know that he purchased it at an auction of local antiquarian George Edson’s private collection in May 1891.

George Edson came by the patera in an interesting manner. It was uncovered in 1877/8 by workmen at Malton Gas Works. Knowing that he was a collector of such items, the workmen visited Edson’s home one Sunday evening, agreeing to sell it to him for the price of half a gallon (4 pints) of ale, a cost of around one Bidding at  the auction was competitive and so William I’Anson paid substantially more for Mr Edson’s one shilling purchase; a hammer price of £5 15 shillings! We are very grateful for his foresight and generosity which means we still have this important and fascinating object in our collection today.

Want to know more about this object? Watch Dr Peter Addyman’s video.

Roman Face Pots

Face pots are among the most intriguing, yet least understood, forms of Roman pottery. Prior to Gillian Braithwaite’s 1984 and 2007 research, they had received little attention. Face pot sherds are not in themselves uncommon, but there are relatively few surviving complete pots. As with most surviving Roman pottery, they are usually discovered at burial sites. Not all cultures produced them, and even then not throughout all periods; although the idea of anthropomorphic pottery is thought to be as old as pottery itself. Roman face pots are usually categorised as belonging to one of three groups: head pots, face pots or face flagons.

Mediterranean origins

Roman face pots originated in the Mediterranean area as face beakers. These were the size of drinking vessels with the face ‘mask’ itself covering much of the pot surface. As the empire expanded, face beakers travelled north with the armies, eventually merging with the larger iron-age face-urn and face-jar traditions of the Rhineland where the face is situated on the upper shoulder area of the pot just below the rim.

The facial features were applied to a traditional cooking pot or storage vessel. Faces were rarely painted directly onto the pot itself; although Malton Museum does have a face pot sherd where this is the case. Gillian Braithwaite suggests a painted face on a vessel of this size is unique.

The Roman face pot arrived in Britain with the legions during the first half of the 1st century and continued into the 2nd and 3rd centuries. Face pots maintained a strong military connection throughout their usage. Consequently, Roman face pots are generally found in the footsteps of the army and are associated with the eastern and northern regions of Britain. If found elsewhere they can usually be traced to an original army presence.

Roman Head Pots

Like the face pot, the head pot is generally found in eastern and northern locations where the Roman military were present. Arriving in Roman Britain around the 3rd century, head pots share some clear similarities with the face pot, it also exhibits a number of differences.

Whereas the face pot is generally a domestic vessel with facial features applied to, or carved into it, the head pot took the deliberate form of a human head with the features formed from the pot fabric itself; often pushed through from inside the pot using exterior moulds. These facial features tend to be more realistic and classical, closer to the style of earlier Greek pottery.  As the head pot evolved in Roman Britain its features took on the less classical appearance of the face pot. In fact Braithwaite refers to what might be called hybrid pots where the face ‘mask’ itself is formed in the manner of a head pot, but using vessels that are closer to those of face jars.

In the Yorkshire area Braithwaite suggests this hybrid form, with its almond-shaped eyes, became halfway between a face pot and a degenerate copy of a head pot and subsequently could be described as either.

Roman face flagons

The face flagon emerged at around the same time as the head pot but, like the face pot, was a conventional vessel (in this case a flagon, with or without handles)

with a complete face ‘mask’ added. The face mask itself is usually taken from a mould and applied to the upper neck, often raised above the rim of the vessel itself. The face is almost always female. Perhaps, in the view of some researchers, connected to female divinities such as Venus and emphasising the aspects of fertility and birth.

Whose faces are they and what were the face pots used for?

It is unusual for Roman pottery to be modelled by hand, as is the case with face pots, although the potter seems not to have been free to randomly create an image of their own choosing, but rather to have followed a stylised and schematic tradition. Pottery-kiln researcher Vivien Swan suggests some form of pattern book might even have been used.

It is generally accepted that Face Pots and Face Beakers, with their strong military connections, have a religious significance and are references to Bacchus; although the sheer variety of faces seems to rule out an attempt to portray any one particular deity. The fact that as many as 50% of finds in some areas are related to burials reinforces the religious connection, but even where domestic finds outnumber those in religious buildings it should be remembered that in Roman society houses, and even some individual rooms, had their own shrines.

Braithwaite suggests that as the head pot and face pot developed separately, with the head pot found less frequently in domestic contexts, the two probably had different uses and served different purposes. The face flagon may have a different use yet again. It may be too simplistic to assume that because pots share the portrayal of facial features they must have a similar use or meaning.

Connections to smith gods – deities of metal-working

The face pots’ religious connection is supported by discoveries of face pots bearing symbolism linking them to smith gods. In common with most ancient cultures the Romans honoured a deity of metal-working – a smith god. Some Roman pottery carried representations of metal-working tools (such as hammers, anvils or tongs). The Romans were usually quite prepared for their gods to be assimilated with local deities, in this case the Celtic smith god with the Roman god Vulcan. In the Malton area particularly, pottery was made with both face ‘masks’ and representations of smiths tools applied to them. The practice of votive presentations to gods in this way, especially when appearing on the same pot, re-enforces the religious significance of face pots.

Any attempted explanation of the identity of the face pot faces, or their intended purpose, remains an educated conjecture. Unless there is a discovery of further evidence we may never know for certain; but, in the words of Gillian Braithwaite, ‘maybe one day’.

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