In January 1985 the Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust was alerted through its Planning Control system to the fact that planning permission was being sought for the erection of infill housing in the garden of ‘Sandygate’, Cold Bath Road, Caerleon SS 337907 (FIG. I). The area formed part of Barrack Blocks IX and X in the Prysg series and had been descfteduled after Nash-Williams's excavations in the 1920s. However, as it appeared that these excavations had left much of the archaeology intact, the Trust recommended to Newport Borough Council that planning permission be refused on archaeological grounds. At the same time, the possibility of rescheduling the area was explored with Cadw: Welsh Historic Monuments; but because of the small size of the area involved rescheduling proved to be impossible. This left the fate of the area in the hands of the Borough Council, and whilst the Planning Committee was not prepared to refuse permission, it agreed to write a condition of excavation into the planning consent. No money was forthcoming to finance the work, but as a Manpower Services Commission Community Programme scheme was already being operated by the Trust to carry out rescue excavations in Caerleon, personnel from this scheme were able to carry out the necessary work.

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.

Present assessment of the provincial enclosure at Camulodunum, more particularly how far it can be compared to the standard picture of similar centres elsewhere, is inevitably constrained by the limited evidence at our disposal. With no numismatic sources to draw on and in the absence of a single record of the provincial priesthood — a striking void that calls for comment — documentary testimony is restricted to what can be made of two passages in the literary authorities. The first, a notorious sneer in Seneca's Apocolocyntosis (VIII.3), tells only that a temple of some sort was associated somehow with the emperor Claudius. The second text, an obscure allusion in Tacitus, is at first sight no more enlightening but, on closer analysis, the phrase templum Divo Claudio constitutum (Ann. xiv.31) yields the invaluable inference that the temple was to the deified, not the living Claudius; in which case construction must have been begun in a.d. 54 or later. Archaeological data throw no light on the origins of the temple or of the precinct in which it stood but exploration has steadily enlarged our knowledge of the site itself, and understanding of the remains has now reached the stage at which, for all its puzzling lacunae, the centre is as well known in some ways as the triple-tiered complex at Tarraco, the provincial enclave of Hispania Citerior. We have arrived at the point where the British sanctuary and its counterparts on the Continent can be mutually illuminating.

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.

This paper deals with magic figurines from the Western provinces of the Roman Empire based on an inventory of twelve figurines and their archaeological context. It underlines the place of the figurines in the ritual of defixio and demonstrates that complex curse rituals such as those described in the Greek Magical Papyri (GMP) were not performed only in the Mediterranean basin. It also notes that these magic Western figurines are often found in important places (such as cities and large villas) and in late contexts.

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.

Francis Haverfield, the acknowledged master of modern study of Roman Britain, died in 1919 at the age of fifty-nine after a twelve-year tenure of the Camden Chair of Ancient History at Oxford and an Oxford career which had begun in 1892 with a Senior Studentship of Christ Church. Under the terms of his will a substantial bequest was made to Oxford University in support of research on Roman Britain, a subject which he had done much to place upon a secure academic footing before 1914, most notably by the more detailed study of inscriptions. In 1921 the University brought together a group of scholars who would serve as Administrators of the Haverfield Bequest, their duties being to develop policy for the direct use of its funds and to receive applications from other bodies and individuals. It was Haverfield's express wish that a prime and particular objective of the Bequest would be the production of a corpus of Roman inscriptions in Britain. This has been a central concern of the Administrators from the beginning and this remains the case today.

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 location of the province of Valentia has been, and indeed still is, a subject for debate. First, in the early thirteenth century Giraldus Cambrensis placed it in Scotland, but this identification is rejected by modern scholars as there is no archaeological evidence for an official re-occupation of southern Scotland in the fourth century, and in general terms such a re-expansion at that date is inherently unlikely. Secondly, it has been argued that it was one of the two provinces into which, it is maintained, Hadrian's Wall and its hinterland were divided. Thirdly, it has been suggested that it may have been Wales, although this identification lacks academic support at present. Fourthly, it has recently been claimed that in fact it was the diocese of the Britains which was renamed Valentia in 369, and that the whole concept of a fifth province is based on a misunderstanding.

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.

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.