64 pp, many b/w ills. This book examines Roman forts in Britain from the first to the fourth century. It describes the layout of a fort and traces how forts developed from the marching camps thrown up each night by the army on campaign to the almost impregnable strongholds of the Saxon Shore. Forts, fortresses, fortlets, watch-towers and signal stations are in turn examined, and the defences and individual buildings of the fort and its annex analysed. Other chapters deal with how the Roman soldiers built the fort and the life of the men stationed there. A gazetteer of forts worth visiting is included and there is also a select bibliography. The book is illustrated with both line drawings and photographs, all closely related to the text, and there are several reconstruction drawings. After graduating in modern history, David J. Breeze carried out research on the junior officers of the Roman army, being awarded his doctorate in 1970. He is now Chief Inspector of Ancient Monuments in Scotland and is a past President of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland.

80 pp, 39 ills. Many of Britain’s towns and cities originated in the Roman period, established as part of a systematic programme to urbanise the island. Why imperial Rome initiated this programme is the first of many topics examined in the third edition of this popular introduction to the towns of Roman Britain. Written for the interested amateur and undergraduate student, this book assumes no specialist knowledge of the subject: instead, it explains the terminology and concepts to be found in other more detailed works, especially those concerned with how Roman towns were organised and administered. The principal purpose of the book, however, is to explain how the towns of Roman Britain appeared and functioned, and what happened to them during the four centuries of Roman rule. After many years as a field archaeologist in England and north Germany, Julian Bennett took a BA in Archaeology at the University of Durham, and then his PhD at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne for research on the Hadrianic Frontier of Britain. Following a spell as a Field Archaeologist with English Heritage, he embarked on a second career as an archaeological guide, and then in 1995 was appointed to his current position as Instructor in Roman Archaeology at Bilkent University, Ankara.

64 pp, about 30 ills. This book discusses the variety of settlements in Roman Britain which can be grouped together under the necessarily broad title of 'village' and aims to reduce some of the confusion in terminology which exists in Roman rural studies. The existence of the village as a recognisable Romano-Terminology is reviewed and other aspects referred to include settlement origins, development, affluence and economic activity, as well as their possible administrative and military roles, using evidence from a wide range of sites. Robin Hanley is a graduate of Nottingham University, obtaining a degree in archaeology in 1985. He obtained a doctorate at the same university, where the subject of his research was the villages and small towns of Avon, Somerset and Gloucestershire.

76 pp, 71 ills. This book looks at the religious beliefs of the people of the Roman province of Britain and at the gods they worshipped. Little literary evidence survives and it is therefore necessary to rely almost wholly on epigraphic and iconographical representations. The book first examines the pre-Roman Celtic background to Romano-British religion from about 500 BC. The chapters following analyse the nature of the evidence; the introduction of Roman religion to the province; oriental cults including Christianity; the integration of Roman with pre-existing British and other Celtic cults, and the resulting composite religion which thus emerged. The final chapter examines stylised Celtic representations of anonymous divinities. Miranda Green is currently Professor of Archaeology at University of Wales College, Newport, where she is also Director of the SCARAB Research Centre.

64 pp, 31 ills. In AD 60, only seventeen years after the Roman invation of Britain, the Iceni and Trinovantes of East Anglia and Essex joined forces in revolt against the harsh and oppressive Roman administration of the province. Their leader was Queen Boudica of the Iceni. With most of the Roman army away on campaign in Wales, the Roman cities of Colchester, London and Verulamium were sacked before Boudica and her warriors were defeated in the Midlands. This book tells the story of how the Romans coped with the most serious threat to their hold on Britain and explains the important contribution archaeology has made towards understanding the revolt. Dr Paul R. Sealey works in the archaeology department of Colchester Museum. He has served on the council of the Essex Society for Archaeology and History and he was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in 1995.

64 pp, 56 ills. After examining the Greek origins of torsion-powered catapults, this book describes the machines used from the time of Caesar onwards, their dominance in the warfare of the western world for over a thousand years, and their importance in the history of technology. There is extensive written evidence of artillery in action. This is supplemented by relief carvings and archaeological discoveries of actual parts. This book includes updated reconstructions of the two designs of bolt-shooters used by the Roman army, and the first publication of the author’s version of the stone-throwing ballista, based on a radical reassessment of the manuscript evidence. There are descriptions of the deployment of artillery in battle and sieges, and the range and impact of the missiles. Alan Wilkins has excavated on Roman military and civilian sites in Britain and was a field assistant to Sir Ian Richmond. He has published and field-tested updated reconstructions of the Roman army’s catapults based on his revised versions of the Greek and Latin artillery texts and the latest archaeological finds of catapult parts.

64 pp, 73 ills. Almost every Roman site in Britain seemed to have had its baths. They needed to be strongly built and to a large extent were constructed below contemporary ground level. As a result the remains of Roman baths have resisted demolition and subsequent damage by the plough. The purpose of this book is to explain how Roman baths came to be built, how they were constructed, how they were used and how they worked. Tony Rook is a building technologist and an Extramural Tutor in Archaeology. His many reports include that on Dicket Mead, the Roman villa whose baths he sucessfully preserved in a vault under the A1(M) motorway at Welwyn, Hertfordshire.

64 pp, many b/w ills. The Roman period was Britain's first great architectural age, though this is sometimes difficult to appreciate from the ruinous state of the sites that survive. This book looks at how in a few years Britain witnessed the design and erection of an astonishing range of buildings, from mundane and functional houses through to exotic temples and ambitious civil engineering projects. Some of Britain's Roman architects turn out to have been innovators. Reconstruction drawings and paintings by the author bring these vanished buildings back to life and recreate a lost world of forts, basilicas, theatres, baths, arches, classical temples, villas and lighthouses. Guy de la Bédoyère has degrees in archaeology and modern history from Durham University, the University of London and the Institute of Archaeology. His main field of study is the history and archaeology of Roman Britain, on which he has written twelve books. He has presented a series on Roman Britain for BBC Radio 4 and BBC2 and has made numerous appearances on Channel 4's popular archaeology series Time Team.

64 pp, 37 ills. Environmental archaeology is is the study of the physical environment in which people lived and includes the study of soils, food sources and animal bones. It also includes the study of the people themselves, from their skeletal remains. This is known as physical anthropology and, like any other aspect of environmental archaeology, is very specialised. This book describes in simple terms the various procedures used by the specialist. The effects of different burial conditions and rituals on the bones are explained, and ways of excavation and treatment are suggested. The human skeleton is described, as are methods of recording and analysis. The effects of accident and disease on the skeleton are included, and examples from various groups of skeletons are discussed. The numerous illustrations show the reader what to look for, and a comprehensive reading list is included. Dr Ann Stirland is a freelance consultant anthropologist and palaeopathologist who lectures to a wide range of audiences about her work and has studied many groups of skeletons.

72 pp, 47 ills. Growing enthusiasm for handspinning and weaving as studio crafts and increasing awareness on the part of archaeologists of the value of organic materials for reconstructing economic history have led to much wider interest in archaeological textiles. Although textiles are not common finds, textile implements are, and this book shows how both contribute to our appreciation of a skilled and universal ancient craft. Geographically this book is concerned with Britain and Europe and in time ranges from the neolithic to the medieval period. The processes of spinning and weaving are explained and illustrated and the reader is taken step by step through early textile manufacture. Unusual textile terms are explained and illustrated in a glossary. Attention is drawn to good collections of archaeological textiles and early textile apparatus and there is a reading list. John Peter Wild is an Honorary Research Fellow in Archaeology in the Department of Archaeology of the university and has written widely on many aspects of ancient textiles.

176 pp, many b/w ills. This book is a comprehensive visitors’ guide to Roman sites in England, Scotland, Wales and the Channel Islands. David E. Johnston, Staff Tutor in Archaeology in the Department of Adult Education, Southampton University, has written an introductory section including a historical outline of Roman Britain and a description of the various types of site included, thus setting the scene for the gazetteer of sites which follows. Major sites include towns, fortresses, temples and villas. Rural settlements and landscape features such as Celtic fields and roads are noted where the remains repay a visit. Less familiar items like Roman barrows, mausolea, practice camps and canals are included, as well as hillforts that were occupied during the Roman period. National grid references and directions for finding the sites are given. The text has been updated for this second edition and several additional sites have been included.

128 pp, 78 ills. This book outlines the history of man in England and Wales from earliest times to the Norman Conquest and explains the basic terminology of archaeology, the methods used by archaeologists and the ways in which one can take part in excavations. For many, visiting the tombs and hillforts of prehistoric times, the villas of the Romans and the churches of the Saxons brings history to life and brings one face to face with the past. James Dyer is a freelance archaeologist and writer. He taught archaeology for a great many years and was a principal lecturer in archaeology at a college of education. He is general editor of the Shire Archaeology series.