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.

This article details the first unambiguous evidence for occupation in the Late Iron Age, dating to around 10 b.c.-a.d. 25, at the site that was to develop into the Roman Palace at Fishbourne (near Chichester, Sussex). The collection of sealed and well-dated imported and local pottery, accompanied by food refuse and a copper-alloy scabbard fitting, suggests significant activity at the site a generation prior to the Roman Conquest of a.d. 43. The material was found in the bottom of a ditch that had been deliberately back-filled. As such this discovery opens a new chapter in the remarkable story of Fishbourne.