(Mis)management of Roman groves

Fox, A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-4106-1439 (2024) (Mis)management of Roman groves. Classical Quarterly, 74 (1). pp. 176-184. ISSN 0009-8388 doi: 10.1017/S0009838824000041

Abstract/Summary

The management and mismanagement of Roman groves was a dangerous issue, and intentional and unintentional violations of these spaces could be severely punished. In spite of this, groves remained loosely defined by Romans and their boundaries were commonly misunderstood, a confusion that has continued into modern scholarship, where groves are understood as either a clearing in a wood or a dark space lit by artificial lighting. This article takes up this discussion, and explores the nature of a grove as a well-attested space of ancient forest management that influences later conversations on the nature of wooded spaces in more recent periods.