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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Bart9349, post: 1383705, member: 5682&quot;]I have no special interest in the female empresses of the Roman Empire. I certainly had no previous interest or understanding about female hairstyles. </p><p><br /></p><p>I had no interest, that is, until I started to teach my daughter about Ancient Roman history.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>As most Romanophiles know, Julia Domna was the Syrian wife of the emperor Septimius Severus.</p><p><br /></p><p>Here is a portrait of the Severus family, including the ill-fated sons Caracalla and Geta. </p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH]164486.vB[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Julia Domna’s coins are easily identified by their unique hairstyle. </p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH]164484.vB[/ATTACH][ATTACH]164485.vB[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>There are several statues of her, some thought to even have a moveable hairpiece. This would be consistent with a hairstyle that required various types of wigs. </p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH]164482.vB[/ATTACH][ATTACH]164483.vB[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>This is, at least, the background information I had always accepted as dogma. No longer.</p><p><br /></p><p>Recently, however, I found some interesting work by Janet Stephens who has the title of “Hairdressing Archeologist.” This interview gives insight into her background as a hairdresser and her interest in Ancient Roman hairstyles:</p><p><br /></p><p><a href="http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/14729" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/14729" rel="nofollow">http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/14729</a></p><p><br /></p><p>She brings an interesting perspective on hairstyles in Ancient Rome. She contends that this hairstyle could have been done with the empress’s own hair and not with a wig.</p><p><br /></p><p><font size="1">(Note: Here are some important definitions to know to more fully understand the video:</font></p><p><font size="1">A chignon is a roll or knot of hair worn at the back of the head or especially at the nape of the neck.</font></p><p><font size="1">A bodkin a long pinshaped instrument used by women to fasten up the hair.</font></p><p><br /></p><p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4P2ZO6YEKs" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4P2ZO6YEKs" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4P2ZO6YEKs</a></p><p><br /></p><p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68LEUXw2QJU&amp;feature=channel" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68LEUXw2QJU&amp;feature=channel" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68LEUXw2QJU&amp;feature=channel</a></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>It is assumed that Julia Domna and other females of the aristocracy had access to at least one and possibly a team of trained slave hairstylists known as ornatrices in order to create these elaborate hairstyles.</p><p><br /></p><p>The detachable wigs on these statues could have been used to keep the statues up-to-date. </p><p><br /></p><p>It is possible, therefore, that these elaborate hairstyles were made entirely with the empress’s own hair and not wigs as previously assumed.</p><p><br /></p><p>I found this interesting quote from an article by Elizabeth Bartman “Hair and the Artifice of Roman Female Adornment” from <u>The American Journal of Archaeology</u>:</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>I now have to agree. Thoughts?</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>guy[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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