Emerging from the Shadows: Building New Narratives of those Enslaved by the Empire

The editorial of the eighth volume of the Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal explores the necessity of producing new narratives, theoretical as well as public facing, concerning the lived experiences of those enslaved in a Roman world. This editorial reflects on both lost opportunities and examples of good practice to disrupt narratives that normalize exploitations of power and violence. It acknowledges the contributions of curators, artists, scientists and authors of theoretical, historical and speculative texts, and encourages a growth in their deliberate collaboration to achieve this endeavour. It concludes with some suggestions for a way forward to maximize the material currently available in permanent museum collections.