J Roman Stud 59

"The first cohort of a legion was not double in size because it contained the adminstrative staff, technicians and specialists. The evidence for it being double in size is given, but lists show that the members of the various officia and other principales and immunes attested on the laterculi were spread throughout all the cohorts. At least in some legions from the middle of the first century until the third decade of the third century the equites were not organized into turmae but were carried on the books of the centuries. The evidence for equites legionis is given and discussed, with a list of attested officers. They occasionally had a fighting role. The one and a half barracks assigned to the equites by Richmond at Inchtuthil seem inadequate for 120 cavalry. B D

The correct expansion of n Aug and num Aug on British inscriptions is discussed. The evidence suggests that the former should usually be expanded to n(umini) Aug(usti) and the latter, which is the more common, to num(inibus) Aug(ustorum). Provinces or groups of provinces appear to have had definite conventions regarding abbreviations. The cult of the numina Augustorum in Britain began in the early 2nd century, but that of the numen Augusti, apparently of predominantly military aspect, was a 3rd century development and was probably matched in other NW provinces by the military and civilian cult of domus divina. On this basis, modifications are suggested to certain entries in RIB. A T

Review-article. The work is a very welcome new standard history of Roman Britain, satisfying to ancient historian, RB specialist and more general reader alike. The first two chapters provide an authoritative summary of the state of knowledge of pre-Roman Britain, only lacking fuller illustration. The significance of new discoveries in Roman Britain is well explained in a cogent and convincing narrative, but some minor questions of interpretation can be raised. The narrative is broken at the usurpation of Carausius (cf Collingwood's break at the death of Severus) to reflect new views on Caracalla and on the dating of town walls. Following chapters discourse on various aspects of the province; some points of civil administration are arguable. In the remaining narrative chapters, new developments have overtaken the text on a few points (eg Pelagianism) but it remains valuable as an introduction. Presentation, generally good, can be faulted on matters of footnotes, some maps and avoirdupois. See also J N L Myres' review-article in Engl Hist Rev, 85, 1970, 109-13.