Britannia 38

Recent developments in the reading of Iron Age British coin-legends have added considerably to knowledge of Latin in pre-conquest Britain. The author claims that the picture that is now emerging is of the nuanced and sophisticated use of Latin over quite a wide area of southeast England from the late-first century b.c. onwards. The implications of this material for understanding of key developments in the culture, politics and societies of southeast England in the decades before the Roman invasion are considered.

Based on a new online database of Celtic personal names, the research demonstrates how the study of Romano-British onomastics can shed light on the complexities of linguistic and cultural contacts, complementing archaeological material and literary sources. After an introductory section on methodology, Part One analyses naming formulae and expressions of filiation as evidence for both continuity and change dependent on social and geographical factors. Confusion and contamination between the Latin and Celtic systems proved much less common than on the Continent, where earlier contact with Roman culture and the written tradition for Continental Celtic occasionally facilitated an unusual form of syncretism. Part Two examines the naming formulae attested at Roman Bath and the mechanisms by which Celts adopted Latin names. The case-study of Bath relates continuity and change in both naming formulae and nomenclature to an acceptance of, or resistance to, `Romanization' in Britain. Includes

The article reviews the principal surviving examples of inscriptions on mosaic pavements and wall-paintings in Roman Britain. For some of these it makes tentative suggestions towards new readings or seeks to adjudicate between the conflicting readings of earlier commentators. The eleven inscriptions examined belong to different classes: signatures, dedications, good luck messages, labels, and literary or pseudo-literary glosses upon figure-scenes. The existence of the inscriptions implies that viewers were expected to be literate, or at least that being literate, if not actually well-educated, was socially important.

The large hillfort at Hembury, near Honiton (Devon), occupied in the Neolithic and Iron Age, was taken over by a Roman force about or shortly before AD 50. Substantial timber buildings were constructed, including a probable fabrica, in which iron from the adjacent Blackdown hills was worked. The Roman site was abandoned by the early Flavian period and not reoccupied. Though not evidently a conventional fort, Hembury joins a list of hillforts in southwest England which were used by the Roman army in the early decades of conquest. These include Hod Hill and possibly Maiden Castle (Dorset), Ham Hill and South Cadbury (Somerset). Includes

Fish bone assemblages from 109 sites were analysed for evidence of Roman influence on fish consumption. Temporal divisions within the period were not informative, but sites were divided by region. Secondary evidence, including amphorae and fishing tackle, was also considered. Eel was most common overall but some species were regionally important, e.g. salmon. Towns and villas showed the greatest range of fish, from freshwater and inland marine fisheries and also imported salted fish and fish-sauce. Native sites continued to show restricted fish consumption from very local sources, while Roman sites suggested an increase in variety and some evidence for status, which may result from cultural change in culinary practices. Includes

The archaeobotanical record of Britain in the Roman period is reviewed. The data are plotted against area of the country, phase of occupation, type of site, and mode of preservation. Lacunae in the dataset are identified and research priorities formulated. It is suggested that more data are needed, especially from southwest and northwest England, Wales and Scotland, from major towns (especially from waterlogged deposits), from rural sites with waterlogged preservation (all parts of the country), and from burials and temple/shrine sites. Matters of concern are the identification of a downward trend in the average number of samples analysed from the 1990s onwards, and poor access to unpublished archaeobotanical reports (grey literature). Possible solutions to redress these are offered.

The attributes of Mercury include his purse and winged sandals and one of his animal companions is the cockerel. Purse brooches are few in number, but shoe sole and cockerel brooches occur at Temple 10 at Colchester, a centre of the god's cult, and at other temples, and both also occur in graves, reflecting Mercury's role as the guide of dead souls. Fly brooches have been found at both Temple 10 and Uley, also a centre for Mercury worship, and in a grave, and may be a fourth type associated with the god.

New interpretations are suggested for two terms in Docilis' letter found on a wooden tablet from Carlisle and published in Britannia 29 (1998), 34--84, no. 16 (= AE 1998, 839). It is contended that Lanciarius does not refer to all the horsemen of ala I Gallorum, but only to those equipped with lancea-spears and lancea are not weapons but felt-padded, rainproof doublets worn under the armour.

divided into A. Monumental and B. Instrumentum domesticum