Religion,toleration, and religious liberty in republican empire

ABSTRACT

The essay considers the nature and extent of toleration extended by Roman authorities to the religious pluralism of the empire. Roman legal instruments and works of law and political theory identify religion not as a concern of individuals but communities, and above all of juridically-constituted communities. As a related matter, classical and Christian Latin employs the language of political belonging, most notably that of republican citizenship, as its dominant apparatus for discussing religious affiliation. These related conceptual apparatus placed considerable limits on Romans’ ability to afford liberty in matters of religion to individuals.     

Subsistence and symbol: the interpretation of bird remains in archaeology

This issue of the journal is devoted to papers on the role of birds in archaeology. Most of the contributions are based on papers given at the second meeting of the Bird Working Group of the International Council for Archaezoology (ICAZ) held at the University of Southampton (UK) in September 1995. The meeting brought together archaeologists, zoologists and ornithologists, and the subjects discussed cover most of the relationships between humans and birds that can be established form the study of birds from archaeological sites.