Infanticide Common in Roman Empire

Discovery ^ | 5/5/2011 | Jennerfer Vargas

[Little Bill]

Before the invention of modern contraception, family planning took the form of a chilling practice.

Infanticide, the killing of unwanted babies, was common throughout the Roman Empire and other parts of the ancient world, according to a new study.

The study, which has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Archaeological Science, explains that "until recently, (infanticide) was a practice that was widely tolerated in human societies around the world.

Prior to modern methods of contraception, it was one of the few ways of limiting family size that was both safe for the mother and effective."

Based on archaeological finds, the practice appears to have been particularly widespread in the Roman Empire.

"I think it was tolerated in the Roman world rather than something that was completely acceptable, but it's hard to be sure," lead author Simon Mays told Discovery News.

Mays, a senior scientific officer for the Ancient Monuments Laboratory of English Heritage, and colleague Jill Eyers focused their attention on Yewden Roman villa, otherwise known as "Hambelden." This villa, which dates from the 1st to the 4th century, is located at Hambleden, Buckinghamshire, England.

A previous excavation of Hambleden in 1921 determined that the site has 97 infant burials, the largest number of such burials for any Roman location in Britain. The excavator at the time suspected infanticide "with surreptitious disposal of the bodies."

[tbw2]

Aren’t there modern cases in Australia of justifying rape and sexual abuse as part of Aboriginal culture?

[Fractal Trader]

I was reading a book about the Battle of Canae, and the author claimed tha only the Carthagineans killed their babies.

[Little Bill]

In Rome slaves were not concidered people as such, Roman citizens were people and operated under Law. If a Roman wanted to kill a slave or its kid that was his option until late in the Empire. It wasn’t sacrifice it was economics.

http://home.scarlet.be/mauk.haemers/collegium_religionis/human_sacrifice.htm

[ZULU]

“Infanticide, the killing of unwanted babies, was common throughout the Roman Empire and other parts of the ancient world, according to a new study.”

Yes.

Unlike us, they were pagans who didn’t believe in Judaeo-Christian principles.

No surprise.

[colorado tanker]

Why did this require a "study"? I've known about Roman infanticide since I was a schoolboy.

IIRC, however, it was the prerogative of the father and generally done by taking the child out to a remote location and exposing it to the elements/wildlife.

[SunkenCiv]

The Carthaginians used infants (not necessarily their *own*, but still) as human sacrifices to various idols. That is of course denied by their modern apologists, but it remains a fact. Cannae was Hannibal’s greatest victory, but he’s really just the precursor of Arab jihadist invaders of the Middle Ages to the present.