Military Identities in Late Roman Britain

Changes in the material culture of the late Roman army in Britain mean that it is often difficult to identify archaeologically. Some of these changes have in the past been taken as symptoms of decline, without attempt at further explanation. This paper aims to explore these changes and their deeper significance, within a theoretical framework which stresses the importance of the use of material culture in the expression of identities. Building from a detailed case study of fourth century occupation at Caerleon, it will be suggested that categorising material as ‘civilian’ or ‘military’ obscures complex patterns of both uniformity and variation between different kinds of site. These have implications not only for our understanding of the army in fourth and fifth century Britain, but also for society in general at this time, as it is within this wider context that the army should be seen.     

从政治参与看古罗马后期的妇女地位

罗马共和早期,妇女在政治领域还完全处于依从地位。但从共和晚期以来,上层妇女大量参与到政治生活中去,在国家政治事务中发挥了重要的作用,政治地位有了很大提高。尽管这种提高是相对而言的,还不能被无限夸大,但其在女权发展史上仍然占据着极为重要的地位。     

Two Late Roman Wrecks from Southern Cyprus

Two scattered Late Roman shipwrecks were discovered in the course of underwater survey at Cape Zevgari and Avdimou Bay off the southern coast of Cyprus. Each was transporting a primary cargo contained in amphoras, in one case either local or from nearby Syria or Cilicia, and the other certainly from the southern Levantine coast. The two wrecks offer insight into regional maritime exchange networks within the socio-economic context of late antique commerce around the island. Both sites also contribute to a greater understanding of the utility of systematic shallow-water survey to shipwreck archaeology.
© 2007 The Author     

A Late Roman ceramic production from Pompeii

The Via Lepanto site is one of the best examples showing how the Vesuvian region was partially reconstructed and earlier re-occupied after Vesuvius's eruption in the year 79 AD. The large amount of ceramic finds illustrates the typology in use in this area during the IV and V century AD. Analyses were focused on table and cooking ware productions. Archaeometric data were obtained using chemical and minero-petrographical methods (OM, XRD, XRF and SEM). Grain size measurements using Image Analyses on thin sections and a geochemical comparison with clayey deposits outcropping in the Campania region permitted the identification of the raw materials used for these pottery productions. XRD and SEM completed the data set, establishing the protocols used for pottery production in the Pompeii area during Late Roman period. The Via Lepanto site was part of an exchange network of markets with a periodic frequency, where locally produced and imported pottery was sold, indicating a flourishing network of exchanges spanning short, medium and long distances.     

共和国晚期至帝国初期古罗马人的希腊观

公元前3世纪初至公元1世纪初,罗马经历了重要的文化转型,罗马文化受到希腊文化的全面影响。在此转型期中,罗马人对希腊的态度非常复杂,用两分法来分析这种态度并不合适。本文从紧张忧虑、反观比较和鉴别选择三种态度分析罗马人的希腊观,认为在同希腊的对照中,罗马人进一步明确了自己的文化身份。     

Stable isotopic evidence for diet in a Roman and Late Roman population from Leptiminus,Tunisia

This study investigates the diet of the Roman and Late Roman population of Leptiminus on the Mediterranean coast of Tunisia. Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis of human bone collagen and carbonate samples obtained from individuals buried in four cemeteries at Leptiminus was conducted in order to reconstruct the diet of the population, investigate the relative importance of marine vs. terrestrial resources, explore sex-, age-, and status-based variations in diet, examine temporal changes in the types of foods consumed, and compare the diet at Leptiminus with that of other Roman populations. The results of this study indicate that the residents of Leptiminus consumed a diet that was heavily reliant on terrestrial plant resources with the addition of a significant amount of marine resources. There were no significant sex differences in isotope values. In contrast, distinct dietary differences were seen between the adults and children. Nitrogen isotope values suggest that weaning began before the age of two and was completed by about 3 years of age, a finding consistent with previous isotopic studies of Roman samples. A temporal shift in diet is suggested by the nitrogen isotope values measured in samples from the most recent cemetery. A comparison of the data from Leptiminus with that derived from other Roman sites indicates that regional variability in diet existed within the Empire.     

A Late Roman Quay in the River Meuse near Cuijk,Netherlands

The detection of the waterlogged remains of massive oak foundation piles in the river Meuse near the Dutch city of Cuijk led to the discovery of a unique Late Roman site. The piles, driven into the river‐bed, had protected vast layers of organic material containing all kind of artefacts against erosion by the river. Increased erosion during recent decades has uncovered much of the structure and artefacts, which have been meticulously recorded and collected by divers of the Dutch foundation Mergor in Mosam. Analysis of all data retrieved over the past 20 years has provided much information about the environment and life in Ceuclum, the Roman city of Cuijk.     

Opportunistic Ports and Spaces of Exchange in Late Roman Cyprus

Ports served not only as interfaces between land and sea, but as central gathering spaces for economic and cultural exchange. Drawing on case studies from the eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus, this paper situates opportunistic ports lacking built facilities within a broader socioeconomic context of diverse maritime communications, expanding rural settlement, and increased agricultural productivity during late antiquity. Though simple, these sites served as active agents in the development of new maritime networks as well as local markets throughout their hinterlands, adding flexibility and dynamism to the economic ties between city, countryside, and the wider late Roman world.     

再造罗马:晚期罗马多神教知识精英的历史叙述

作为公元4—5世纪罗马帝国的多神教知识精英,朱利安、里巴尼乌斯、阿米安、攸纳皮乌斯、克劳迪安、奥林匹奥多鲁斯等六位作家在表达各自历史观念的作品中不约而同地采取了高度相似的叙述模式。他们以罗马城为帝国的文化象征,赞美罗马往昔的文治武功,谴责当前的道德没落,坚信某位杰出的精英人物能够带领罗马再造辉煌。这种再造罗马的模式继承了帝国早期的意识形态传统,并在基督教势力相对忽视世俗历史的背景下得以生存。这些多神教知识精英的历史撰述为后世留下了重要遗产,它们反映了古典文化的强大生命力,并与同时代的基督教文化产生了互动,对中世纪基督教政治理论和历史观的形成起到了推动作用。     

A Case of Early Childhood Caries from Late Roman Ancaster,England

This paper presents a differential diagnosis of pathological changes observed in the deciduous dentition of a child aged 3–4 years, recovered from a Late Roman (c. ad 270–410) cemetery at Ancaster, England. The entire maxillary dentition exhibited areas of missing enamel and erosion of the underlying dentine, which was most pronounced at the lingual surfaces of the anterior teeth, and lingual and occlusal surfaces of the molars. Additionally, the mandibular second molars and mandibular right first molar displayed superficial enamel erosion of the buccal surfaces. Radiography indicated normal enamel density, and no further dental pathology was identified. Conditions considered in a differential diagnosis included amelogenesis imperfecta, fluorosis, perimolysis, xerostomia‐related caries and early childhood caries (ECC). The nature and distribution of lesions implicates ECC – also known as ‘nursing caries’ or ‘baby‐bottle caries’ – as the most probable diagnosis. The potential significance of the findings for studies of infant health and feeding practices in past populations is discussed. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Study of stafne's defects in Late Neolithic,Late Roman,Medieval and Modern skeletal samples from Portugal

Lingual mandibular cortical defects (Stafne's defects) are relatively uncommon in recent as well as past populations, but while this condition is often discussed in clinical reports, they are rarely the subject of anthropological research. In this paper, the prevalence of Stafne's bone defects in skeletal samples from Late Neolithic, Late Roman, Medieval and Modern Portugal is investigated (N = 704 complete mandibles and 111 incomplete mandibles). The aims of this paper are threefold: (1) to present and analyse for the first time in Portuguese osteological record prevalence data on Stafne's bone defect, (2) to analyse variations in defect prevalence between skeletal samples from a wide temporal array and (3) to verify if more tenuous lesions in which resorption of the lingual cortex was not yet extensive had the classic radiographic appearance described by Stafne in order to validate the hypothesis that lesions are present clinically in many more cases than published figures indicate. In all cases, differential diagnosis against other conditions that mimic Stafne's defects, namely odontogenic lesions, cysts and neoplasms, was done. In all samples, the evidence of Stafne's defect occurred in 12 individuals (1.7%), and males (2.84%) were more frequently affected than females (0.61%). When incomplete mandibles were considered, only one left fragment (0.90%) exhibited Stafne's defect. Accurate identification of all examples of Stafne's bone defects in antiquity is thought to represent an important contribution to elucidate which factors may be responsible for this trait's cultural, ecological, temporal and geographical patterning. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.