Britannia 35

The paper aims to consider what can be deduced from a large assemblage of loose tesserae from a known site and early context, considering shape characteristics, petrological features and provenance and linking them with other tesserae of similar date from different locations. The author then considers whether shared materials can be equated with shared style and design. The article focuses on the region to the south of the estuaries of the Thames and Severn, and the assemblage studied is from Insula IX at Silchester, and consists of a total sample of 1,309 tesserae from contexts dating to between the later first century AD and AD 200--250. Includes

Account of the excavation of a Roman villa, originally televised as two Time Team programmes, the full report of which is lodged with the NMR in Swindon and with Gloucestershire SMR. The structural history of the villa is described, along with the villa plan, dating evidence, a summary of the finds and environmental evidence, and the phases of occupation are discussed. Specialist reports include

including stone and ceramic building materials, plaster and opus signium

Reconsideration of the villa plan, which was used as the `type' of the courtyard house in The archaeology of Roman Britain by R G Collingwood (1930). The author describes the history of this plan and the need for it to be revised, before giving a detailed account of the layout and sequence of construction phases of the villa drawn from the available evidence. Includes

Interim report on sixteen complete barrack plans obtained in excavations at the British northern frontier forts of South Shields, Wallsend and Vindolanda, some but not all of which have been published elsewhere. The author argues that this information changes understanding of several aspects of the construction, function and historical evolution of auxiliary barracks, and provides information about changes in the army and about the life of the military communities that inhabited them. Following a brief description of the conventional view of the way barrack accommodation was organised, the report considers the layout of infantry and cavalry barracks, specific aspects of the barrack plans and facilities, construction techniques and changes during the later Roman period.

Assessment of the evidence, including unpublished material, concerning a Roman bath-house at Duntocher discovered and investigated in 1775, and rediscovered in 1978 and subsequently surveyed. The author looks at the excavation of 1775, drawing on contemporary reports and correspondence, and recounts the later history of the site before giving a description and interpretation of the excavated remains and additional information produced by the 1978 excavation and the geophysical survey. A description of finds includes

Description of two hairpins of unusual design found by metal-detectorists, one from Westcott near Dorking, the other from the Hog's Back ridge between Guildford and Farnham.

Discussion of the mosaic from the masonry building that occupied Insula IV south of the forum at Silchester, including an attempt to date it on the basis of the design and materials used. The author argues that it is likely to date from the late second century AD, which would have implications for the question of a possible ecclesiastical use.

The author discusses a possible explanation for the depiction of a man with the head and feet of a bird in a mosaic at the villa, suggesting a connection with the emperor Gallus and also with a bureaucrat named Palladius who was exiled from Chalcedon .

Examination of the evidence for a Roman civilian and possibly military presence at St Asaph, and of its equation with Varis or Varae, mentioned in the Antonine Itinerary. Evidence includes the place-name itself; the Roman road network; artefacts; and the author's observations of the place and the surrounding area.