Woad, Tattooing and Identity in Later Iron Age and Early Roman Britain

Abstract

This paper explores the archaeological evidence for the practice of facial and corporeal dyeing, painting and tattooing in the later Iron Age and early Roman period. The aim is to construct a hypothesis which explains how, why, when and by whom such pigments were worn. Although this hypothesis discusses woad-derived indigo, this is used mainly, although not exclusively, as an experimental tool, as no conclusive archaeological evidence exists which reveals the identity of the 'real' pigment(s). Woad has also long held a place in the popular imagination as the source of the dye which the ancient Britons used to paint themselves. This paper explores the possibility that the cosmetic grinder was the focal artefact used in body painting or tattooing, and was used for grinding and mixing body and face paint. It is suggested that, rather than being a 'Roman'-style tool for cosmetic application from the start, it may have begun life as an artefact first used by the later Iron Age Britons for body painting and expressing indigenous identities.

On the intrinsic photophysics of indigo: a time-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy study of the indigo carmine dianion

“…1(a)), and its ring substituted 15 derivatives have been used since ancient times as a distinctive blue stain in applications ranging from Egyptian mummies, to the blue 'war paint' of Celtic warriors and to modern day denim jeans. 1,2 Historically, the dye was extracted from natural sources, such as the leaves of the indigofera tinctoria plant. Over a 20 century ago, however, Adolf von Baeyer successfully synthesised indigo, for which he received the 1905 Nobel Price.…”

Reinvigorating object biography: reproducing the drama of object lives

“…By using a mirror to inspect the body, hair or clothing and to monitor appearance as well as gesture or posture, ideals of how the body should look could be reproduced (Foucault 1990;Giles and Joy 2007: 21). It also became an active part of who that person was, alongside the tools which allowed people to adjust their appearance like tweezers and ear-scoops (Hill 1997), shears, razors, cosmetic sets and grinders (Carr 2000(Carr , 2005Jackson 1985) and different modes of dress (Jundi and Hill 1998;Sørensen 1997). Mirrors facilitated a personal engagement with the self and allowed a person to take direct control over how they looked.…”

Unity and Diversity in the European Iron Age: Out of the Mists, Some Clarity?

“…Birkhan (2007b) has attempted to reconcile the overused textual record with archaeological data on body art. Carr (2005) examines material evidence for body painting and tattooing as a multifaceted practice that encompassed gender, identity, and ethnicity. Olivier (1999) has taken an embodied approach to Hallstatt burial mounds, analyzing them as a series of time-embedded events experienced by the deceased and the living.…”