Series: 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

Corpus of sites arranged by region, and introductory discussion on fortification types and chronology. Sites are chosen to reflect the growth of urbanism. Construction of rampart and form of entrance are discussed and the chronological indicators given.

The eight papers are: John Collis (3-23) on town and market in Fron Age Eorope; C Haselgrove (25-49) on external trade as a stimulus to urbanism; Eva Petres (51-80) on the late pre-Roman Iron Age in Hungary with special reference to oppida; Ji i B e (81-94) on the earliest settlements with urban character in Central Europe, Daphne Nash (95-133) on the growth of urban society in France; Barry Cunliffe (135-61) on the origins of urbanism in Britain; Jeffrey May (163-80) on the growth of settlements in later Iron Age Lincolnshire; and Warwick Rodwell (181-366) on coinage, oppida and the rise of Belgic power in SE Britain.

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.