Slave collar with tag
A slave collar was a device forcibly worn by enslaved people in the Roman Republic. They were used to identify a person as a slave and to prevent escape, as well as to assist in identification of runaway slaves. In this way, slave collars were similar to slave brands, which were also used to identify slaves and their owners. Notable bearers of slave collars include Nasir, Naevia, Mira, Melitta, Chadara, and Saxa.
Wearers[]
Not all slaves wore collars, particularly if they had positions which were considered prestigious, such as Medicus or Ashur. However, most slaves did not hold these positions, mainly working in hard labor or domestic servitude. It is possible that there was no uniform policy for collaring slaves, and it varied from owner to owner.
Design[]
The designs of Roman slave collars could be quite varied, depending on the enslaved person's status and the whims of their owner. The most common styles were made of metal or leathering worn around the slave’s neck. Naevia, Sura, Thessela, Chadara, Nasir and Marcia, among others, all wore this type of collar and were reserved for slaves in higher positions, whom their owners were less concerned with them escaping and needing to be identified as fugitivi. The purpose of these collars, rather than for escape prevention or return, was probably more psychological than anything: to denote the wearer's status as a slave, especially one who fully submits to their dominus' control. This is consistent with Nasir's early reaction to being freed, as he had accepted and wanted to retain his relatively high position as a body slave. Another common example were collars that included a large metal tag. This was inscribed with information about the wearer's owner, and/or the process by which the escaped slave were to be returned, which was attached to a traditional leather or metal collar. These were mostly used on less-trusted slaves who were more of a flight risk to make them easier to identify if they happened to escape, and to ensure their owner could be properly located. This type of collar is worn by Santos, Aria, Lysandros, and many of the lower-ranking, unnamed slaves of the House of Batiatus and other houses.
Others were worn around the ankle, such as the style worn by Naevia, Diona, Melitta, and Gaia's slave. They are similar in design to an anklet, but are made of thick, solid metal, often bronze.
Mira wore a unique collar which was relatively thin bangle-like neck collar that wrapped around about three quarters of her neck but did not enclose. On the ends were two rounded tips and thin coils of metallic wire.
Exceptions[]
None of the gladiators at Batiatus's ludus wore slave collars. If the men chosen for gladiatorial training died during, or lived through but did not pass the Test, they were either killed or sold to the mines and would not receive the Mark. Men who passed were branded, indicating their place among the Brotherhood and substituting for a slave collar.
Pietros did not wear a collar, despite his apparently low status. Yet notably, he did have the mark of the Brotherhood. This may indicate that his status as a servant to gladiators placed him within social proximity to the gladiators themselves, deserving the mark and occupying a status as a sort of honorary gladiator. It is also possible he once fought as a lightweight gladiator.
Named slaves who have worn a collar[]
In order of appearance: