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More than 50 pairs of tweezers found during an excavation of a 2,000-year-old Roman settlement – Romans to blame for no-body-hair trend
The discovery of a beauty tool during the massive dig at Wroxeter City, Shropshire – one of Roman Britain’s largest settlements – suggests that Roman men were obsessed with plucking their armpit hair.
Beauty is pain – or at least it certainly was for the Romans, whose obsession with cleanliness and public image dominated a large portion of their daily lives. The Romans were devoted to communal bathing, going to the baths on a daily basis, and many would have had their own personal cleaning set, which would have included an ear scoop, nail cleaner, and tweezers.
Tweezers were used for more than just removing brow hair, as we might imagine today. Roman Britons preferred a clean-shaven appearance to distinguish themselves from the “barbarians” and to follow the fashions in Rome. Hair-plucking, however, was a painful business that was frequently performed by slaves.
English Heritage has announced that it will exhibit artifacts in a renovated museum that opened on May 25. “From painful waxes to irritating shaves, we can trace the modern obsession with hair removal back to the Romans,” it said.
More than 400 objects, including items that shed light on bathing and beauty practices in Roman Britain, will be displayed at Wroxeter Roman City in Shropshire.
Cameron Moffett, English Heritage’s curator for the Wroxeter site, said a strikingly large number of tweezers had been found there. “We do have an amazing number,” she said.
‘It is one of the largest collections of this item in Britain, indicating that it was a popular accessory. The advantage of the tweezer was that it was safe, simple, and cheap, but unfortunately not pain-free.”
“It may come as a surprise to some that in Roman Britain the removal of body hair was as common with men as it was with women. Particularly for sports like wrestling, there was a social expectation that men engaging in exercise that required minimal clothing would have prepared themselves by removing all their visible body hair.”
During the digs, other grooming supplies from the era, including an ear scoop and nail cleaner, were discovered. Additionally, glass perfume, bath oil, and even makeup applicator bottles were found.
Archaeological excavations at Wroxeter Roman City, have uncovered the monumental buildings at its heart; the forum – where laws were made, the market (macellum) – where shoppers bought exotic goods, the bath-house basilica (large hall) – which acted as a community centre, a place of education, an office and a shopping centre all in one, the bathhouse itself – where they bathed and socialized, and finally the townhouses – there were a high number of wealthy residents at Wroxeter living across the city in over one hundred large townhouses.
注释：
obsess: v
表示" 着迷；困扰"，means "haunt like a ghost; pursue"，如：Entrepreneurs must know their competition, but not obsess over it.
企业家必须了解他们所面临的竞争情况，但是也不必过分沉溺于其中。The fear of death obsessed her throughout her old age. 她晚年一直受著死亡恐惧的困扰。
pluck: v
表示"猛拉；拔；"，means " pull (the feathers) off;pick"，如：When you kill a chicken to eat, you have to pluck it. 当你杀鸡吃时，你得拔去鸡毛。
communal: adj
表示" 公有的；共有的"，means "for or by a group rather than individuals"，如：In college we had a communal kitchen. 念大学时，我们有共有的厨房。
scoop: n
表示"勺"，means "any of various containers or tools for holding and moving liquids or loose materials"，如：You can scoop up more food from the bottom of a pot of soup. 你盛汤的时候往下捞，锅底儿都是好东西。
artifacts: n
表示" 人工制品；史前古器物"，means "a man-made object taken as a whole"，如：One can trace ancient practices through the study of artifacts. 经由研究人工制品可以探查出古代的惯例。
renovate: v
表示"翻新；革新；"，means " renew sth；make sth (especially a building) look like new;repair"，如：They are going to renovate the old furniture.他们准备将旧家具整修一番。
irritating: adj
表示"气人的；"，means "causing irritation or annoyance"，如：That is extremely irritating. 这使人极为恼火。
curator: n
表示"馆长；管理者"，means "the custodian of a collection (as a museum or library"，如：Curator conducted the visitors round the museum. 馆长领着游客们在博物馆中参观。
groom： v; n
1. v表示" 打扮;修饰；美容"，means "care for one's external appearance"，如：
2. n表示" 新郎；马夫；"，means "a man who has recently been married; someone employed in a stable to take care of the horses"，如：Her groom was much older than she was.她的新郎比她大很多。The groom returned to the carriage. 马夫回到马车那儿。
applicator: n
表示" 涂敷器"，means "a device for applying a substance"，如：Use the applicator provided to spread the glue. 使用所附涂敷器涂用胶水。
exotic: adj
表示" 外来的；异国的；奇异的；"，means " introduced from another country; not native"，如：Exotic pets are the in thing right now. 外国宠物眼下很时髦。The taste of this exotic dish puts me off.这道异国菜肴的味道令我望而却步。
basilica: n
表示" 长方形会堂；长方形教堂"，means "an early Christian church designed like a Roman basilica; or a Roman Catholic church or cathedral accorded certain privileges;"，如：Thousands gathered at St.Peter's Basilica for the annual tradition.数千人聚集在圣彼得大教堂，共同庆祝圣诞。
中文简要说明：
夏天到了，不少女性为了美观，又开始烦恼除毛问题。然而并不是现代女性才养成去除体毛的习惯，考古学家日前在英国的古罗马遗址意外发现了除毛夹，数量高达50多支，说明了当时的男人有多么厌恶体毛。
根据《每日邮报》报导，位于英格兰西部的罗克斯特市（Wroxeter City, Shropshire）在距今2000年前是古罗马大城Viriconium Cornoviorum的所在地，全盛时期的规模相当于意大利庞贝古城。由于保存良好，考古学家在这里发现不少当时的珍贵文物，其中就包括50多支除毛夹。
「英格兰遗产」组织（English Heritage）策展人莫菲特（Cameron Moffett）说，古罗马人相当注重自己的公共形象，除了每天必上公共澡堂清洁身体之外，除毛也是十分流行的活动，「有些人可能会觉得惊讶，不过除毛在不列颠尼亚（Roman Britain）的男性中相当普遍，不亚于女性。」
「特别是在举行摔跤这样的运动比赛时，大家认为这些穿着清凉的选手在赛前必须做的准备之一，就是去除所有可见的体毛，」莫菲特说。「除毛夹的优点是安全、简单且便宜，不幸的是，它会带来痛苦。」这款工具的外观和今日女性使用的眉毛夹十分相似，有趣的是，古罗马人不是自己动手，而是交由奴隶或专业人士来执行除毛工作。
古罗马政治家塞内卡（Lucius Annaeus Seneca）就曾写信给朋友，抱怨公共澡堂传来的「哀嚎」实在太吵：「那位瘦小的除毛师声音尖锐且频繁，为的是吸引顾客注意，只有当他工作时才换成别人在尖叫。」
「有趣的是，几千年后，除毛的风气又回来了，不分男女，」莫菲特说。
这次出土的除毛夹数量占全英国数一数二，而同时发现的还有当时的个人清洁套组，包括掏耳棒和指甲刀，以及用来盛装香水的玻璃瓶、沐浴油和上妆工具等等。超过400件文物从5月25日起在罗克斯特市首次展出，期盼能让更多人了解古罗马的身体美学。
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