This paper, with its appendices, gives a full account of the coinage of the Iceni in East Anglia, and brings together information much of which has not hitherto been published. A study of the coinage of this historic tribe at a turning point in Romano-British history may not be out of place in the first number of Britannia.

The Itinerarium Provinciarum Antonini Augusti is a collection of some 225 routes along the roads of the Roman Empire. In each case the beginning and the end of the route are given, together with the total mileage, and there then follows a list of the stopping-places on the route with a statement of the number of miles between each. The Itinerary begins in Mauretania, at Tingis, and then goes on to cover most, but not quite all, of the Empire in a somewhat random fashion (FIG. I). While six routes are given in Sardinia and one even in Corsica, there is none in Crete or Cyprus—in contrast to the Peutinger Table,3 which includes routes in Cyprus and Crete but not in Corsica and Sardinia. On the mainland the most obvious omission is that of transdanubian Dacia, but Achaea and Macedonia are also poorly represented and there are no routes at all in Lycia and Pamphylia. While Spain is treated generously, there are large gaps in Gaul, especially in Armorica; and even Spain is not dealt with as a province, or group of provinces, on its own, since some of its routes spill over into Gaul. A consideration of this and similar cases shows that the apparent coherence of the British section is largely fortuitous and derives from the fact that Britain is an island.

Archaeological knowledge of Canterbury's remote past obtained by excavation is of comparatively recent acquisition, being in large measure the result of work carried out since the second world war. In 1868 the streets were trenched for the installation of drains, and the city engineer of the time, James Pilbrow, F.S.A., wrote a brief account of his discoveries for Archaeologia, xliii (1871), illustrated with a plan of the city and one or two diagrams. Unfortunately the opportunity was not taken to note the Roman street plan. Nevertheless important details of the building here to be discussed were recorded under the south end of St. Margaret's Street and the west end of Watling Street.

Those loosely planned road-side settlements, Strassensiedlungen, or ‘small towns’ and minor settlements as they are generally known in Britain, are a phenomenon common to all the provinces of the Roman Empire, but perhaps because of their very familiarity, and the difficulties attending study of their remains, they have never been systematically examined, even in a single province. The large-scale attention accorded by excavators to some major Roman towns has never been directed towards humbler settlements. A brief study of those in Germania Inferior and eastern Gallia Belgica was attempted by the late Franz Oelmann in 1922. Oelmann tried to demonstrate, on evidence that has not been greatly enlarged since 1922, that the Strassensiedlungen of northern Gaul, the Germanies and Raetia were principally settlements of traders, and not agricultural villages.

Tacitus's account of the Claudian invasion of Britain and the campaigns that followed it down to the year 47 is unfortunately lost, and historians have to be content with Dio, who gives the only consecutive account, supplemented by scattered references in other sources. This short note is an attempt to extract a few more fragments of information from these literary sources and in particular it concerns the part played by Rome's Batavian auxiliaries.

For over sixty years the type of fastener under review in this note has been known to archaeologists in Britain as a dress- or cloak-fastener. It is characterized by a button-like head from the back of which a shank or loop projects. The shank is bent at an angle of 90° so as to lie roughly parallel to the head, but it remains slightly offset.

Excavations at this site, first uncovered by Sir John Evans over a century ago, have so far been undertaken in two seasons, one in 1966 and the other in 1969. No final report can be published until more work has been done not only on the main building but also on outbuildings that may exist. It is hoped that the following brief architectural description and tentative dating will suffice until a more substantial report is prepared on these and further excavations to be carried out over the next few years.

North of the Antonine Wall, four series of temporary camps have recently been distinguished. They are described as the ‘Stracathro-type’, from the distinctive gateway-plan first clearly demonstrated at Stracathro, and the 30-acre, 63-acre and 120-acre camps, after the average size of the different series. Much knowledge is to be gained if these camps can be related to the various Roman campaigns beyond the Antonine Wall, but temporary camps are notably difficult to date. Consideration of the distribution of the four series, and of the relative ages of the few camps that actually overlap, as demonstrated by excavation, has gone far towards solving the problem. Excavations at three key sites are here reported: since the crucial evidence is provided by ditch-sections, these are described minutely with the aid of detailed drawings (FIGS. 3–4, 5 and 9), specially prepared by Mr. D. R. Wilson. The excavations at Stracathro took place in September 1967, those at Ythan Wells in September 1968, and those at Ardoch in September 1969.

In 1960 I published an account of the campaigns of Aulus Plautius and Ostorius Scapula in Britain, and attempted to show that the Fosse Way was part of a frontier system established by the first governor. There have been subsequent modifications as new information has come to light. A number of new sites has been discovered and the basic pattern of the Plautian frontier, as suggested in the original paper, now requires further consideration. Our conception of the military situations between 43 and 71 has become more complicated with increased knowledge of the tide of battle sweeping forward to the west and then the ebb bringing troops back into the rearward areas subsequent to the Boudiccan revolt. Several sites such as The Lunt at Baginton, Metchley and Usk are being carefully and extensively excavated. These are producing not only interesting sequences of buildings but quantities of pottery and coins which make closer dating possible. The amount of pottery in particular allows detailed studies of shapes and fabrics, enabling the changes to be more narrowly assessed than previously. This present paper is an attempt to consider this new information and to clarify the position as it is now seen. But the situation is still far too fluid for anything but an interim statement; as more work proceeds further adjustments will become necessary.

In the Journal of Roman Studies, vol. iii, 1913, 73 ff., and vol. xxii, 1932, 99 ff., the late James Curle published two papers on ‘Roman and Native Remains in Caledonia’ and ‘Roman Drift in Caledonia’, in which he discussed with his usual acuteness the significance of Roman objects found on non-Roman sites in Scotland. The second paper, ‘Roman Drift in Caledonia’, was offered as a tribute to Sir George Macdonald, and it was in appreciation of the outstanding achievements of these two scholars that the present paper was submitted to the new journal Britannia.

In November 1967 the Ministry of Public Building and Works began the restoration of a section of the Roman Town Wall at Cirencester. The section was along the north-eastern defences of Corinium Dobunnorum, northwards of a point about 550 ft. to the north of the Verulamium Gate.

During the third century A.D., there was a series of barbarian invasions in Gaul. The last, in 276, was the most serious, for some fifty or sixty towns had fallen into enemy hands and had to be recaptured. Most Gallic towns had proved an easy prey to the Germanic invaders, for they were built in a spacious style, and for the most part without defensive walls. Dijon is said to have received its walls in the time of Aurelian, but positive evidence for the construction-date of the walls of the Gallic towns is in most cases not forthcoming, although it seems that these defences were constructed in the late third century and early fourth, probably as a result of the Germanic invasions. The style of building was what became the well-known style of the third century and after—thick walls, with exterior towers or bastions, tile bonding courses, and much re-use of earlier material.

Religious beliefs current in the Imperial army are attested by numerous inscriptions. The Roman soldier was probably no more superstitious than his civilian counterpart but the dangers to which he was exposed rendered him in especial need of divine assistance, and so, in Britain at any rate, a large percentage of the extant dedications to gods and goddesses were erected by men from the legions or the auxiliaries. Other related aspects of military thought have received less attention however. Particularly worthy of examination in this connection is the attitude of the officer class within the army to the great heroes of the past. Even the slightest knowledge of Ancient epic must have been enough to ensure that the officers in both legions and auxiliaries (and almost certainly other ranks in the legions, as well) were acquainted with such events as the Trojan War and the foundation of Rome. It would have been natural for these men to have seen themselves as the inheritors of a glorious tradition established by heroes who had overcome all difficulties.