Elizabeth M. Greene
Canada Research Chair in Roman Archaeology
Associate Professor of Classics
BA (Boston University), MA (Tufts University), PhD (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill)
Office: Lawson Hall 3212Extension: 84571
Email: egreene2@uwo.ca
Personal Website: https://westernu.academia.edu/ElizabethMGreene
Vindolanda Archaeological Leather Project website: https://www.vindolandaarchleather.com/
Curriculum Vitae
Areas of Research and Teaching
Roman archaeology and social history, Roman provinces and frontiers, conquest and imperialism, cultural exchange, Roman military, women and families in the Roman world, Roman shoes and leather industries, Latin epigraphy.
The Vindolanda Archaeological Leather Project
My current research focus, the Vindolanda Archaeological Leather Project (VALP), takes a comprehensive approach to the largest assemblage of Roman leather and shoes from the fort and settlement at Vindolanda in northern England. The project centers on a scientific database with dozens of data points allowing researchers to cross-reference archaeological information, such as date, occupation period and contextual location, with details of leather characteristics, such as decoration, shoe size, shoe morphology and health data, in order to visualize patterns in the use and deposition of over 7000 leather objects. Current work focuses on 3D imaging shoes and insoles to detect shallow foot impressions, as well as scientific analysis of leather objects to determine the different species used for various artifacts in the assemblage. Click here to read more about VALP and the site of Vindolanda: https://www.vindolandaarchleather.com/
Book Projects
E.M. Greene (2026, in press). The Roman Footwear from Vindolanda. Amberley Publishing.
B. Birley and E.M. Greene (2024). Fifty Objects from Roman Vindolanda. Amberley Publishing.
L.L. Brice and E.M. Greene (eds.) (2024). Women and the Army in the Roman Empire. Cambridge University Press.
Select Publications
2025. “Origins and Identities of the Wives of Roman Auxiliary Soldiers,” in E. Carney and S. Müller (eds.), Women and Warfare in the Ancient Mediterranean. Leiden: Brill. 326-348.
2025. “Expressions of cultural affiliation reflecting the dynamic creation of Roman auxiliary communities,” in A. Birley and A. Walas (eds.), Relativism and the frontiers of empire: Critical perspectives on Roman soldiers, communities and military landscapes. Oxford: Archaeopress. 105-112. https://www.archaeopress.com/Archaeopress/download/9781805830689
2025. G. Taylor, B. Birley, A. Birley, E.M. Greene. “Characterising the degradation of leather through the decades: Evidence from 50 years of excavations at Vindolanda Roman fort,” in I. Hovmand, M. Felter, I. Stelzner (eds.), ICOM-CC Wet Organic Archaeological Materials. Gothenburg. 213-21. https://www.icom-cc-publications-online.org/6995
2025. “The leather objects from the 2023 and 2024 Excavations,” in R. Frame and F. Gillis (eds.), The Magna Project: 2024 Excavations. The Vindolanda Trust. 40-46. https://romanarmymuseum.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/The-Magna-Report-2024-ONLINE.pdf
2025. E.M. Greene and C.A. Harvey. “Military Communities from East to West: Understanding Local Contexts and Responses at Dura-Europos and Vindolanda,” in L.R. Brody and A.H. Chen (eds.), Dura-Europos: Past, Present, Future (Brepols) 187-199. https://doi.org/10.1484/M.SCA-EB.5.144240
2025. H.H. Halldórsdóttir, R. Williams, V.P. Lenis, E.M. Greene, G. Taylor. “Determining the impact of elemental composition on the long-term survival of vegetable-tanned leather in archaeological environments,” Archaeometry 67.5: 1394-1411. https://doi.org/10.1111/arcm.13101
2024. “The role of women in the religious activities of Roman military communities,” in L.L. Brice and E.M. Greene (eds.), Women and the army in the Roman Empire (Cambridge University Press) 240-269.
2024. A.W. Busch and E.M. Greene. “Mother courage and her children: The family and social life of the Rome garrisons,” in L.L. Brice and E.M. Greene (eds.), Women and the army in the Roman Empire (Cambridge University Press) 110-150.
2024. E.M. Greene and L.L. Brice. “Approaches to Women and the Roman Army: The History of a Debate,” in L.L. Brice and E.M. Greene (eds.), Women and the army in the Roman Empire (Cambridge University Press) 21-53.
2024. L.L. Brice and E.M. Greene. “Present but not Accounted for: Women and the Roman Army in the 21st century,” in L.L. Brice and E.M. Greene (eds.), Women and the army in the Roman Empire (Cambridge University Press) 1-20.
2024. Halldórsdóttir, H.H., R. Williams, E.M. Greene, and G. Taylor. “Rapid deterioration in buried leather: Archaeological implications,” Royal Society of Chemistry Advances 6. https://doi.org/10.1039/D3RA07020D
2024. E. Wolfram-Thill, M. Gensheimer and E.M. Greene “Representations of Gender: Recognizing the Role of Feminine Sacrificial Attendants in the Column of Trajan Sacrifice Scenes.” American Journal of Archaeology 128.3: 309-339. https://doi.org/10.1086/730184
2024. E.M. Greene and A. Birley. “The Extramural Settlement at Vindolanda in the Early Second Century: Defining a Glocalized Environment on the Romano-British Frontier,” American Journal of Archaeology 128.1: 89-116. https://doi.org/10.1086/727259
2024. E.M. Greene and B. Birley. “An integrated study of organic archaeological environments at Vindolanda: A case-study from the 2nd-century extramural settlement,” in H. Van Enckevort et al. (eds.). Supplying the Roman Army: Proceedings of the 25th International Congress of Frontier Studies, Vol. 4 (Leiden: Sidestone Press) 27-35.
2024. A. Meyer and E.M. Greene . “Onomastics, Children and Identity on Roman Military Diplomas,” in H. Van Enckevort, et al. (eds.). Supplying the Roman Army: Proceedings of the 25th International Congress of Frontier Studies, Vol. 3 (Leiden: Sidestone Press) 157-162.
2024. C.A. Harvey and E.M. Greene. “The newly excavated brick and tile kiln in the Vindolanda North Field,” in H. Van Enckevort, et al. (eds.). Supplying the Roman Army: Proceedings of the 25th International Congress of Frontier Studies, Vol. 4 (Leiden: Sidestone Press) 213-220.
2021. C. H. Orr, R. Williams, H. H. Halldórsdóttir, A. Birley, E. Greene, A. Nelson, T. K. Ralebitso-Senior & G. Taylor. “Unique chemical parameters and microbial activity lead to increased archaeological preservation at the Roman frontier site of Vindolanda, UK,” Scientific Reports 11 (15837) https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-94853-7
2020. E.M. Greene and B. Birley, “The Assemblage of Archaeological Footwear from the Roman Fort at Vindolanda.” In Ai piedi degli dei. Le calzature e la loro fortuna nella cultura del Novecento, Museo della Moda e del Costume delle Gallerie degli Uffizi. 82-89 (article). 6 catalogue entries.
2020. L. Allason-Jones, C. van Driel-Murray, E.M. Greene. “The Women of Lowland Scotland.” In D. Breeze and W. Hanson (eds.). The Antonine Wall. Papers in Honour of Professor Lawrence Keppie. Archaeopress. 346-65.
2020. “Roman Military Communities and the Families of Roman Auxiliary Soldiers,” in L.L. Brice (ed.), New Approaches to Greek and Roman Warfare. Wiley-Blackwell. 149-160.
2019. T.J. Buck, E.M. Greene, A. Meyer, V. Barlow, E. Graham. “The body in the ditch: Alternative funerary practices on the Northern frontier of the Roman Empire?” Britannia 50, 203-24. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0068113X1900014X
2019. “Metal fittings on the Vindolanda shoes: Footwear and evidence for podiatric knowledge in the Roman world,” in S. Pickup and S. Waite (eds.), Surveying Shoes, Slippers and Sandals in Antiquity. Routledge. 310-24.
2018. “Footwear and Fashion on the Fringe: Stamps and Decoration on Leather and Shoes from Vindolanda (1993-2016)” in T. Ivleva, J. De Bruin, M. Driessen (eds.), Embracing the Provinces: Society and Material Culture of the Frontier Regions. Oxbow. 143-152.
2017. E.M. Greene and A. Meyer “The North Field excavations at Vindolanda: Preliminary report on the 2009-14 exploratory field seasons,” Mouseion Series III, Vol. 14: 197-251.
2016. “Identities and Social Roles of Women in Military Communities of the Roman West,” in S. Budin and J. Turfa (eds.), Women in Antiquity: Real Women across the Ancient World (Routledge) 942-953.
2015. “ Conubium cum uxoribus: Wives and Children in the Roman Military Diplomas,” Journal of Roman Archaeology 28, 125-159.
2014. “If the shoe fits: Style and function of children’s shoes from Vindolanda” in R. Collins and F. McIntosh (eds.), Life in the Limes: Studies of the People and Objects of the Roman Frontiers. Oxford: Oxbow. 29-36.
2013. “Female Networks in the Military Communities of the Roman West: A view from the Vindolanda Tablets” in E. Hemelrijk and G. Woolf (eds.), Women and the Roman City in the Latin West. Mnemosyne Journal Supplement, Brill. 369-90.
2013. “Before Hadrian’s Wall: Early military communities on the Roman frontier in Britain,” in R. Collins and M.F.A. Symonds (eds.), Breaking Down Boundaries: Hadrian’s Wall in the 21 st Century, Journal of Roman Archaeology. 17-32.
In the News and Public Archaeology
BBC Radio 3, Story on footwear research at Vindolanda (Jan. 23, 2025) https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0026ykc
Magna Roman shoes discovery (July-August 2025):
CNN 10: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPdIBgA4ecM
BBC News: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwyk3kjp4w3o
Live Science: https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/romans/8-ancient-roman-shoes-of-exceptional-size-discovered-at-roman-fort-near-hadrians-wall
CNN Science: https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/12/science/giant-shoes-ancient-roman-fort-magna
CBS News: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/unusually-large-ancient-shoes-unearthed-vindolanda-roman-site-uk/
Archaeology News: https://archaeologymag.com/2025/07/large-roman-shoes-discovered-at-magna-fort/
Elizabeth Greene on Podcast or Perish (Dec. 2022)
Available here: https://www.podcastorperish.ca/episodes/episode-042-elizabeth-greene
If the (Roman) Shoe fits: Elizabeth M. Greene and footwear from Vindolanda on the podcast "Peopling the Past"
Available here: https://peoplingthepast.com/2021/06/01/season-2-episode-1-if-the-roman-shoe-fits-elizabeth-m-greene-and-footwear-from-vindolanda/
"Everything you wanted to know and were NOT afraid to ask! The top 10 visitor questions about Roman shoes." The Vindolanda Trust Webinar Series, March 12, 2021.
Available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snf-16yD3JI
Archaeology Abridged Webinars, Archaeological Institute of America
“Living on the Edge: The Roman Frontier in Britain and the Site of Vindolanda” (Jan. 28, 2021)
“In the Footsteps of Roman Soldiers: The Extraordinary Archaeological Finds from Roman Vindolanda” (Feb. 11, 2021)
Available here: https://www.archaeological.org/archaeology-abridged-webinars/
Archaelogical Institute of America Society Lectures, Ann Arbor (Feb. 4, 2021)
“The Social Lives of Roman Soldiers”
Available here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZLVGpNCPuoWyIcVmycvRmA/featured
“Who do you think you are?” Podcast guest with Nino Ricci (April 2019)
Available here: https://www.uwo.ca/podcasts/who-do-you-think-you-are/
Radio Canada International (Jan. 29, 2015)
Available here: https://www.rcinet.ca/en/2015/01/29/canadian-researcher-discovers-roman-history-hiding-in-plain-sight/
Research Projects and Articles in Progress
(with G. Taylor, et al.) “Roman Military Tents and Species Analysis of Archaeological Leather: Investigating supply and demand of hide production for the Roman army.”
(with R. Sands and G. Taylor) “Potter’s wheels & tabletops: Makers’ intention, users’ perception, and modern interpretation.”
(with C. Harvey) "An industrial complex at the Roman Military Fort at Vindolanda."
(with A. Birley) “Comparative Material Culture assemblages from a Roman military settlement: Vindolanda in the early 2 nd century AD.”
(with A. Birley) “Settlement and Society during Military Conquest: The population at Vindolanda in the Severan period.”
(with E. Wolfram Thill) “Roman Shoes in Representation and Reality: Roman art and the footwear from Vindolanda.”
