The standard pattern of Gallic local magistracies, so familar to all students of the Roman west, is apparently very straightforward. The progression of the tribal decurion from quaestorship (dealing with finance) to aedileship (dealing with administration) to duumvirate (the chief magisterial office, dealing especially with justice) is repeated by modern authorities time and again more or less as an absolute fact of civitas-life. In such circumstances one would be perfectly justified in assuming that the existence of this system was supported by a strong body of indigenous evidence; however, any close examination soon reveals that the theory as postulated is not derived from information available from the Three Gauls. A careful reading of Jullian's influential account of the Gallo-Roman magistracies shows that the greater part of his examples were drawn, not from Gaul as a whole, but from the grossly atypical province of Narbonensis, with its mass of colonies. Moreover, when even Narbonese evidence was lacking, such emphasis on highly-Romanized administrative practices allowed him to introduce the results of the vast amount of work done on the coloniae and municipia of Italy and Spain. In short, as far as the civitates of the Three Gauls are concerned, the prevailing orthodoxy as to the local career-patterns supposedly followed by their ruling aristocracies is derived not from peregrine Gallic communities but from Roman and Latin settlements clustered around the western Mediterranean.

The fort at Birdoswald is situated on the line of Hadrian's Wall, some 25 km (15½ miles) east of Carlisle (FIG. 1). The site lies between the forts of Great Chesters 10 km (6⅓ miles) to the east, and Castlesteads 12 km (7⅓ miles) to the west.

A geophysical survey of the fort at Birdoswald, together with an area 80 m to the east and 120 m to the west of the fort walls, undertaken by the authors in 1997, was published in this journal. A detailed account of the findings is set out there, and it is not proposed to go into further detail. A further survey was undertaken in 1998, which encompassed the remainder of the vicus together with the cemetery to the south-west, with the benefit of a grant from English Heritage. More buildings were recognised below the escarpment to the south of the fort during the work on site, and two areas were surveyed in spring 2000 with the aid of a grant from the Roman Research Trust. The findings of these two latest surveys are set out in this paper, and some of the earlier findings have been reassessed. The completed survey has revealed the extent and form of the settlement, and it is probable that more is known of this fort than any other on the northern frontier.

The site whose excavation is the subject of this article was discovered during routine inspection of air photographs undertaken by the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland as part of the preparatory work for the Inventory of Lanarkshire. The prints in question (National Air Survey sortie no. 541/A/530, prints 3137-–8) revealed the existence of what appeared to be a small ring-ditched enclosure a little way to the east of Beattock Summit, immediately to the north-east of the Roman road; it was situated at a height of 335 m (1100 ft.) O.D. on the lower slopes of Nap Hill, some 600 m (1970 ft.) north-north-west of Upper Howecleuch farmhouse (National Grid reference: NS 999153; FIG. 1).

The Roman fortress at Carpow, Perthshire, was excavated in 1961–62 and 1964–79. The gates of the fortress are the key to our understanding of its occupational history. The suggestion made here is that they were initially constructed in timber, at the same time as the associated turf rampart, but were soon replaced in stone specifically to support heavy dedication slabs set above them. A new arrangement of the surviving inscribed fragments at the East Gate is proposed, and new readings adopted, which confirm their traditional Severan dating. The Supplementary Material which includes detailed descriptions of the fragments and possible restorations is available at https://doi.org/10.1017/S0068113X19000138.

The fort at Auchendavy on the Antonine Wall (FIG. I), 3 km east of Kirkintilloch, was first reported in the preamble to the Theatrum Orbis Terrarum of Johannes Blaeu, from notes made before 1625 by the Scottish geographer Timothy Pont. Subsequent references in the antiquarian authors over the following centuries are testimony to the gradual destruction of the once impressive fort-defences. Today the traveller by road along the B 8023 from Kirkintilloch eastwards towards Twechar passes the fort-site without a glance, even though the modern road traverses it more or less on the alignment of the via principalis. No organized excavation has ever been undertaken at Auchendavy, although small finds reported over the years from the fort-site and vicinity have included pottery, a deposit of ballista balls, a nicolo paste intaglio in an iron finger-ring, and several coins. In May 1771 during construction of the Forth & Clyde Canal, which cut away some part of the southern defences of the fort, workmen recovered a group of five altars, two iron mallets (lost or disintegrated by the later 19th century) and a broken cult-statue, from a pit seemingly just outside the fort-defences to the south (below, p. 33). An aureus of Trajan (datable to a.d. 100), reported from the site, may have been found at much the same time. From the late 1940s onwards aerial reconnaissance by Professor J. K. S. St Joseph provided a useful check on the layout of the fort-defences, and recent fieldwork and ground survey have added fresh details, so that a reappraisal of our knowledge of the fort is perhaps now a worthwhile proposition.

Analytical earthwork and geophysical surveys have advanced our understanding of the lozenge-shaped Roman fort at Whitley Castle (Northumberland), which is notable for the exceptional depth of its outer defences. Built at a higher altitude than any other fort in England, it was almost certainly positioned to control the production and shipment of lead and silver from the Alston ore-fields. Its curious shape, tailored to that of the natural knoll, necessitated some adjustment of a standard fort plan, but accommodated six buildings to the rear of the central range and four to the front. An extramural settlement and terraced fields have been recorded to the west and north, and a swathe of ground to the south may have provided space for a parade ground. Post-Roman activity is evident from the cultivation and settlement remains that override the defences; two bastle-like buildings and an eighteenth-century farmhouse once stood within the fort itself.

Pipe-clay figurines are an important but under-examined category of Roman material culture in Britain. This paper presents the first typological catalogue of the 168 deity, animal and human figures imported to Roman London from Gaul during the first and second centuries a.d. As in many other collections Venus figurines are the most common type, although there is considerable diversity in form. Comparison with continental collections highlights distinctive patterns of consumption between London, the rest of Britain and Gaul, with the city displaying relatively high numbers of exotic/unusual types, as appears to be typical of Londinium in general. The spatial distribution of the figurines is mapped across the settlement, while their contexts and social distribution on habitation, trade and religious sites throughout the city are explored. Whole specimens from burials and subtle patterns of fragmentation also provide a direct insight into the religious beliefs and symbolic practices of the people of Roman London.

This paper represents the final publication of excavations by Brian Hartley in the northern annexe of the Roman fort at Slack, West Yorkshire, carried out half a century ago, but still providing rare evidence for activity within an annexe and the nature of its defences. Hartley concluded that the annexe enclosed a civilian vicus of Trajanic–Hadrianic date, although its defensive enclosure was provided only in the Hadrianic period. This report upholds that conclusion. In the light of recent claims of later Roman occupation at Slack, Hartley's conclusion that the site was abandoned by c.a.d. 140 is examined and upheld. It is proposed that a second annexe at Slack enclosed the fort baths (and possibly a mansio) and by examining the Slack annexes in the context of other fort/annexe plans an attempt is made to distinguish between annexes enclosing fort vici and those enclosing official or military activities.

In this paper, I investigate how eighteenth-century antiquarians engaged with the remains of Roman bath buildings in Britain and discuss their multifaceted attitude towards the ancient practice of bathing, with a focus on the city of Bath. I also examine the interests and priorities of Georgian scholars in studying Roman baths and their structure, highlighting their sometimes uncritical use of Classical sources and tracking the origins of their misconceptions regarding the components and function of these facilities. Finally, I briefly address the elusive socio-cultural legacy of Roman baths and bathing in eighteenth-century Britain, stressing influences and differences in practice and architecture.

Artificial Roman ponds present in various guises, but they are relatively rarely found in the service of rural agriculture. This article focuses on a possible example of this type from Worcestershire, where extensive excavation has been carried out. The results demonstrate the potential of a pond for the reconstruction of wider landscape usage, while the considerable quantity of associated finds potentially sheds some light on social practice. A review of similar sites across Roman Britain suggests there may be practical (in essence curatorial) issues about the fuller investigation of such features once identified, in order that a similarly high level of data can be achieved more regularly, and suggests a need for prospection/mapping for the better management of this resource, especially employing newly available LiDAR data.

Roughly two-thirds of an assemblage of 156 whetstones from three collections representing two late Roman sites at Silchester can be assigned geologically to the Brownstones (Devonian), Pennant sandstone (Carboniferous) or Stonesfield Slate (Jurassic), imported from the west and north into the town as roof-tiles. The latter were put to further, secondary use as whetstones, some small and portable but others large and laid flat and kept stationary. The whetstones are polished through use, typically on both faces, and a high proportion carry grooves. On some the grooves are short and fine and could represent the sharpening of such items as pins, needles, meat skewers, styli and engraving tools. These grooves are typically found on whetstones from Insula IX, where artisanal and, at best, ‘light-industrial’ activities are recorded. At the forum-basilica, by contrast, the whetstones are more substantial and typically show large grooves of two kinds that point to the shaping and finishing in considerable numbers of iron objects such as knives, cleavers, swords and even possibly ladles. The industrial activity at this site had a distinctly ‘heavier’ quality. The biography of these whetstones — objects seemingly simple and unpretentious — was complex, wherever they were found.

Twelve pieces of leather waste from various sites in the City of London and Southwark bear stamped or incised inscriptions, the majority of which seem to stand for personal names. Some occur on shoe sole off-cuts, others on waste pieces of thinner leather, and one on a discarded piece of hide from the head of a calf.

The results of the chemical analysis indicate that the majority of the unknown sherds tested were not manufactured in the Nene Valley and that there is a strong probability that Köln was the major source with only about 16 per cent being attributed to the Nene Valley. The possibility of a further source or sources is also indicated by the sub-group of Köln A. In addition analysis of the Nene Valley control sherds has shown no distinction between the products of Water Newton, Sibson and Stibbington, but some evidence for discrimination in the case of Stanground.

Although Gaulish samian accounts for most of the pottery table-ware found in Britain, Gaul and Germany in the first and second centuries A.D., its repertoire was supplemented by a range of colour-coated drinking vessels. These are generally in different fabrics to those of contemporary samian (ranging from white through to various shades of brown) and are generally finished in a variety of slips, which are usually reduced. The pre-Flavian range of drinking vessels of this kind found in Britain has recently been the subject of a detailed study. Now the colour-coated drinking wares of the later first and second century are beginning to receive attention. During this period the bag-shaped beaker with cornice rim is one of the most popular forms (FIG. I, 1-4) and is frequently found in a fine white paste with a reduced slipped surface. Decoration may be by roughcasting or, particularly from the mid-second century, barbotine or rouletting. During the period concerned (i.e. late first to the end of the second century) vessels of this kind were made at several workshops in Britain, Gaul and Germany. The kilns of the lower Nene Valley, for example, are usually credited with being the source of bag-beakers in a white fabric and decorated with hunting scenes enbarbotine, (often described as Castor ware in earlier British and continental reports after Artis) (FIG. 1, 3-4). However, kilns in Köln produced vessels in a similar form and fabric with roughcast and barbotine decoration (FIG. 1, 1-2) as, it seems, did workshops at Lezoux in Central Gaul and, no doubt, further workshops await discovery.