Women who managed Roman villas held far more power than historians once believed, according to a new study that finds these women were skilled managers of farm production, not simple housekeepers.
The study, published in the Journal of Roman Archaeology, comes from Tamara Lewit of the School of Historical and Philosophical Studies at the University of Melbourne in Australia. Lewit examined ancient texts, artwork, and excavated villa sites to build a fuller picture of the vilica, the female supervisor found at Roman farming estates for five centuries.
