British Archaeological Reports

J C Mann (1-9) suggests the Notitia was collated some time between AD 395 and 408; what we have is a copy kept in the officium of the western magister militum, with later haphazard updating of the military chapters V-VII and XLII alone. J J G Alexander (11-49) traces the Notitia illustrations to Spirensis, with a few likely additions from completely different sources; J P Wild (51-8) describes the origin, nature and distribution of gynaecea (weaving establishments); M Roxan (59-79) tabulates pre-Severan auxilia named in the Notitia, with special notes on cohortes II Asturum and V and VI Raetorum among others; S Johnson (81-102) argues that a Saxon Shore command which must have originally included both sides of the Channel was divided between Britain and Gaul some time between 370 and 395; M W C Hassall (103-17) in describing the British section argues that at old Carlisle RIB 899 should be expanded as vik(ani) Mag(lonenses) or Mag(enses), not vik(anorum) mag(istri), Old Carlisle being Magis or Maglone, gives meanings for directores and supervenientes and suggests that Banna may be Birdoswald and Camboglanna Castlesteads; A L F Rivet (119-41) argues that the Notitia Galliarum is contemporary with the Notitia Dignitatum but asks is it ecclesiastical, what is a castrum and why are castra included, and airs other problems regarding the civitates. R M Price (143-55) suggests that the garrisons in Lower Egypt are Theodosian and form a logical system to defend against invasion from the north-east and Berber raids; J F Matthews (157-86) describes the geography of Mauretania in relation to the Notitia and Ammianus's account of the rebellion in Mauretania put down by count Theodosius; R S O Tomlin (189-209) argues that military and civil officials did not form distinct and antagonistic groups; C E Stevens (211-24) suggests that Giraldus Cambrensis consulted a manuscript that was collateral to Spirensis in this country. B D

M Spriggs (3-17) discourses on ethnographic analogy and structuralist-Marxist approaches, with special reference to Childe's work. R W Chapman (19-33) argues, using evidence from a Copper Age cemetery at Los Millares, that the synchronic and diachronic study of human burials will yield much information about changing social and cultural organization. R F Ellen (35-48) reviews some ecological contributions (mainly Indonesian) to the understanding of non-urban settlement and explores the use of a generative model for the interpretation of particular patterns. R Fletcher (49-68) searches for common features in archaeological and anthropological data when turned to the study of human behaviour. L M Groube (69-90) rejects any reliance on anthropological data and theory (because they are just as fragile as those of archaeology) in favour of a concentration on the archaeology of regions rich in ethnographic data; archaeologists need general anthropological education, not specific anthropological scholarship. C Haselgrove (91-115) argues the need for closer cooperation between archaeology and anthropology in urban research and defines some of the most promising approaches. I Hodder (117-41) reports some ethnoarchaeological research in W Kenya, explaining the observed phenomena in terms of awareness of group conformity and identity. M J Rowlands and J Gledhill (143-58) suggest that both archaeologists and anthropologists must initially come to terms with their relationship to history. Edmund Leach (161-76) adversely criticizes nearly all the foregoing papers, stressing that archaeologists must remember that artefacts are expressions of ideas; he develops this with special reference to the symbolic aspects of boundaries and burials.

E V Wright lists the steps which should follow any discovery of an ancient boat, and J E G McKee puts the need for a glossary of boat terms to be widely agreed. A section on conservation problems includes contributions from J F Levy, J deJong, C W Gregson and J Roefzema and ranges from fundamentals of wood properties to a foil cocoon system for impregnating wood. Two papers deal with ethnographic matters; Olof Hasslof writes on the ways in which the 'living tradition' is handed on, while O L Filgueiras describes and discusses the saveiro boat of Portugal. The symposium then moved on to quantitative methods of analysis, with S McGrail applying these to twenty-four log boats of England and Wales (with a consideration of shrinkage estimates) and offering a provisional functional classification. However, J M Graham believes that the wide variety of boat finds and characteristics is inimical to the use of numerical taxonomy though prediction of boat performance (payload, manning etc) appears a promising area of research. Recording of boat finds is vital, and Ole Crumlin-Pedersen discusses the relative merits of scale drawing, full-scale tracing and stereophotogrammetry in matters of reconstruction and publication. A C Evans calls for the establishment of an accepted framework of measurements applicable to all wreck sites for comparative purposes, while C O Cederlund describes the recording of a sewn boat from Stockholm (1896 find). J E G McKee discusses the nature of reconstructions when several alternatives are available from the fragmentary evidence. J F Coates puts the view of a naval architect when confronted with, for example, fragmentary Bronze Age remains. Experimental archaeology is J M Coles' topic: he defines three levels of experiment (display, production, function) and stresses the need for critical examination of the reliability of reconstructions. S McGrail takes this point further: the authenticity of replicas must be tested before deductions are made about the capabilities of the original vessel; variant interim models should be used. The Brendan project is described by its instigator: T Severin sailed his replica of a 5th century skin boat as far as Iceland, and hopes to make a N American landfall eventually. Arne Emil Christensen offers a provisional classification of ancient boat building methods, discussing the importance of the concepts of shell and skeleton building and the need for more research especially on the 'transitional' method. Celtic - or rather, celtic - ships and barges of Europe are P Marsden's subject, while D Sturdy outlines a research project for the archaeology of the Thames boats. Basil Greenhill sums up and a glossary is provided.