Tiassa
05-21-02, 06:00 PM
Cybelene Transvestite in Britain (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20020521/od_nm/roman_dc_1)
Transvestite Ancient Roman Unearthed in Britain
Tue May 21, 9:39 AM ET
LONDON (Reuters) - The remains of a young Roman man who dressed as a woman and probably castrated himself show a previously unknown side of Britain's ancient history, archaeologists said Tuesday.
Excavations at Catterick, northern England, unearthed the skeleton of a fourth century man buried wearing a jet necklace and bracelet, a shale armlet and a bronze anklet.
"He is the only man wearing this array of jewelry who has ever been found from a late Roman cemetery in Britain," Dr. Pete Wilson, senior archaeologist at English Heritage told Reuters.
"In life he would have been regarded as a transvestite and was probably a gallus -- one of the followers of the goddess Cybele who castrated themselves in her honor."
Although the skeleton was discovered in 1981, it took nearly 20 years for archeologists to work out the puzzle of a male body adorned with female jewelry.
The mother-Earth goddess Cybele was worshipped in noisy public festivals and would-be priests castrated themselves using special ornamented clamps.
Post-castration, Cybele's priests wore jewelry, highly colored female robes and turbans or tiaras complemented by female hair styles.To me there's nothing particularly remarkable about the story, but I thought it worth posting because I'm sure I'll have cause to refer to it for reference in the future. Besides, someone might find it worth a comment or two.
thanx,
Tiassa :cool:
Transvestite Ancient Roman Unearthed in Britain
Tue May 21, 9:39 AM ET
LONDON (Reuters) - The remains of a young Roman man who dressed as a woman and probably castrated himself show a previously unknown side of Britain's ancient history, archaeologists said Tuesday.
Excavations at Catterick, northern England, unearthed the skeleton of a fourth century man buried wearing a jet necklace and bracelet, a shale armlet and a bronze anklet.
"He is the only man wearing this array of jewelry who has ever been found from a late Roman cemetery in Britain," Dr. Pete Wilson, senior archaeologist at English Heritage told Reuters.
"In life he would have been regarded as a transvestite and was probably a gallus -- one of the followers of the goddess Cybele who castrated themselves in her honor."
Although the skeleton was discovered in 1981, it took nearly 20 years for archeologists to work out the puzzle of a male body adorned with female jewelry.
The mother-Earth goddess Cybele was worshipped in noisy public festivals and would-be priests castrated themselves using special ornamented clamps.
Post-castration, Cybele's priests wore jewelry, highly colored female robes and turbans or tiaras complemented by female hair styles.To me there's nothing particularly remarkable about the story, but I thought it worth posting because I'm sure I'll have cause to refer to it for reference in the future. Besides, someone might find it worth a comment or two.
thanx,
Tiassa :cool: