March - 2025

Le monde grec des foulons. Histoire et archéologie d’un métier du textile dans l’Orient grec (Presses universitaires du Septentrion, 2024, 368 pages, open access), by Enora Le Quéré, explores the role of the fullones, the fullers, the textile artisans responsible for washing and finishing the fabrics and garments, in the Greek East. Using literary and archaeological sources, the author carries out a detailed analysis of their workshops and operational chains, from cleaning and treating the fibers to finishing the pieces, contextualizing the fullers in their professional, economic, and social environments, and exploring the complexity of the production stages. In addition, the book also addresses the role of fullers in the economy and social organization of Greek cities, highlighting their contribution to the development of the textile trade and to maintaining the hygiene and well-being of the population.

In La plebe: une histoire populaire de Rome (Paris: Passés composés, 2023, 288 pages, €22), Nicolas Tran recounts the history of “ordinary” Roman citizens between the 1st century BCE and the 2nd century CE. His focus is on groups that were inferiorized both by ancient elites and by modern historical scholarship. Thus, he examines the plebs that are none other than the majority of the population, seeking elements that unite and distinguish the lower and intermediate social categories from one another. To achieve this, he draws on textual, epigraphic, and archaeological sources, with an approach that also synthesizes significant research produced in recent decades. The work is divided into four parts, in which Tran explores the relations of the plebs with the city and with politics, the internal distinction among its members, and, finally, plebeian sociability.