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It’s Julius TWEEZER! Archaeologists have unearthed beauty kits used by the Romans to pluck out their body hair during excavations of a 2,000-year-old settlement
- Societal pressures in Roman Britain demanded that gladiators have hairless bodies
More than 50 tweezers have been found during a major excavation of a 2,000-year-old Roman settlement, as society demanded of historians that gladiators have hairless bodies.
The discovery of beauty tools during the massive dig at Wroxeter City, Shropshire – one of the largest settlements in Roman Britain – suggests that Roman men were obsessed with plucking their armpit hair.
Wrestling gladiators, often wearing minimal clothing, were expected to have smooth bodies and remove visible body hair – a painful task performed by slaves.
Cameron Moffett, English Heritage Curator at Wroxeter, said: ‘It is one of the largest collections of this item in Britain, indicating it was a popular accessory.
‘The advantage of the tweezers was that they were safe, simple and cheap, but unfortunately not painless.
Historians have said that gladiators in Roman Britain were expected to have hairless bodies, with slaves tasked with plucking away the warrior’s armpit hair
More than 50 tweezers were discovered in the massive excavation at Wroexter City, Shropshire – one of the largest settlements in Roman Britain
“It may come as a surprise to some that in Roman Britain, body hair removal was as common among men as among women.”
Other grooming products used at the time were found during the excavation personal cleaning kit equipped with ear spoons and nail cleaners. Glass bottles of perfume, bath oil and even make-up applicators were also found.
“Particularly for sports like wrestling, there was a social expectation that men who engaged in physical activity that required minimal clothing had prepared by removing all of their visible body hair.
“It’s interesting to see this fashion for body hair removal coming back after millennia, for everyone, although thankfully modern methods are a little less excruciating,” added Moffett.
The Roman writer and politician Seneca famously wrote a letter to his friend complaining about the noise emanating from the public baths due to hair removal practices.
Other grooming products used at the time were found during the excavation personal cleaning kit equipped with ear spoons and nail cleaners
He remarked, “The skinny armpit hair-plucker whose cries are shrill, to get people’s attention and never stop, except when he’s doing his job and has someone else scream for him.”
Wroxeter – or Viriconium Cornoviorum as it was originally known – is one of the best preserved Roman cities in Britain and was the size of Pompeii in its heyday.
Once a thriving city of the Roman Empire, excavations have uncovered several monumental buildings that would have been at its core.
These include a forum, a market, mansions, the remains of a bathhouse basilica – which functioned as a community center, place of education, office and shopping center – and the bathhouse itself.