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Window to the past? Roman archives in the archival turn

Ancient historians frequently depend on documents from ancient archives to conduct their research. While it may be tempting to view the archive as a ‘window to the past’, an impartial repository of knowledge, this article uses archival turn theory – a theory rooted in (post) colonial history – to analyse ancient archives from the Roman provinces. Specifically, it delves into a family archive from the village of Tebtunis in the Fayum Valley of Egypt and an archive belonging to Babatha, a Judean woman, discovered in a cave near the Dead Sea. By applying this theory to ancient archives, this article attempts to look beyond the boundaries of modern definitions and typologies of ‘the archive’. Simultaneously, it seeks to underscore the significance of examining the archive as a historically formed, dynamic entity in its own right. The archives are examined on two levels: firstly, in their ancient context and secondly, the way they were reconstructed in modern times.