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Metals, making and magic: The smith in Roman Britain

his talk explores how metal smiths negotiated this technological, social and ritual landscape, and how their lives were shaped by the wider events around them.

Metalworkers occupy a strange place in ancient societies. Their craft can be seen as both proto-scientific, the basis for industry and advancement, and as a mysterious, magical process involving fire and transformation. In Roman Britain, the craft traditions of conquesting armies, settlers and natives met each other in a complex framework of colonial power. This talk explores how metal smiths negotiated this technological, social and ritual landscape, and how their lives were shaped by the wider events around them.