This thesis develops and tests an analytical method of delineating ritual styles within the context of a particular type of ritual sequence: Roman period cremation and associated deposition. Part one deals with theoretical issues, initially discussing the inherent problem of seeking `monolithic' meanings for ritual sequences, focussing attention on the reconstruction of ritual action from the archaeological record, and developing diagnostic indices (selection and modification of objects, temporal and spatial features) along which ritual sequences might be compared, and profiles of ritual styles at regional, local, site- and burial- level produced. A method that will take account not only of homogeneity but also diversity at these levels is proposed. Current theoretical debates on cremation and associated deposition are then re-evaluated. Finally the methodology used is outlined and discussed, with particular emphasis on transparency of analytical criteria. Parts two and three report findings, developing profiles of cremation and associated cremation burials from east Kent case studies focussed on Canterbury and comparative case studies from Colchester, Essex, and east London respectively. Part four compares the profiles generated in previous chapters, delineating homogeneity and diversity in ritual styles and meaning. Cremation practices appear to have been quite uniform, governed by the need for specialist knowledge and skill; there is some evidence however that pyre side ritual could be more diverse. The data suggest an overall increase in cremation burials in the second and third centuries, and while general traditions in certain components of burials are clear, so too is considerable and increasing diversity at local, and especially burial level in terms of accessories. Each ritual sequence seems to have had the capacity to incorporate region wide references, as well as many more diverse meanings contingent on the locality and even personality of ritual participants and those whose remains were afforded such treatment

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What became of towns following the official end of ‘Roman Britain’ at the beginning of the 5th century AD? Did towns fail? Were these ruinous sites really neglected by early Anglo-Saxon settlers and leaders? Developed new archaeologies are starting to offer alternative pictures to the traditional images of urban decay and loss revealing diverse modes of material expression, of usage of space, and of structural change. The focus of this thesis is to draw together still scattered data to chart and interpret the changing nature of life in towns from the late Roman period through to the mid-Anglo-Saxon period (broadly AD 300 to 600). The research centres on towns that have received sufficient archaeological intervention so that meaningful patterns can be traced. The case studies are arranged into three regional areas: the South-East, South-West, and Midlands. Individually each town contains varying levels of archaeological data, but analysed together these illustrate more clearly patterns of evolution. Much of the data exists as accessible but largely unpublished reports, or isolated within regional discussions. Detailed analysis, review and comparisons generate significant scope for modelling ‘urban’ change in England from AD 300-600. The research demonstrates complicated and variable degrees of continuity and discontinuity, dispelling the simplistic myth of outright urban decline and failure after Rome.

This thesis provides a comprehensive study of the social and psychological characteristics of modem consumer behaviour that is then used as an interpretative perspective with which to consider the evidence for a selection of villas in Roman Britain. Existing explanations for the development and aggrandizement of these country properties of the elite are contextualised and the commonly-applied hypothesis of conspicuous consumption is critiqued. A quantifiable `costing' model is introduced and consumer theories are summarised against a background of Roman archaeology. The consumer approach allows us to get closer to the decision-making of the individual and the determinants that can influence personal choice are considered. Case-studieasr e offered that rigorouslye xaminea rangeo f apparentlys tatusenhancing amenities on villas within a framework that focuses on specific consumption arguments. This process serves to question existing orthodoxies. Important and under-appreciated contexts in which social identity could be expressed were the Roman roads that passed close to villas, and this suggestion is explored. A wider outcome of the burgeoning desire to consume in elite society may have been psychological change. It is possible that ingroup values evolved from being collectivist to become more individualistic in nature, and also that the selfhood of generations of owners gradually changed over time to be characterised as less interdependent and more independent. If so, this allows the proposal to be made that villas may in future be classified additionally in terms of psychic and not just architectural structure. To help gauge the potential of such arguments the author entered into an introductory collaboration with specialists across the social sciences.

This thesis is concerned with what the archaeological record can tell us about the modes of burial and attendant rituals that were carried out in Wales during the Roman period. The initial rationale for undertaking this research was to draw attention to this largely untapped area of study. Thus the principal aim was to draw together the burial evidence into a comprehensive and coherent whole, in order to show the extent and type of Romano-British burials in Wales. This objective has been met by the production of a database, a corpus of burial evidence derived from over 100 sites, which has made it possible to examine the various grave treatments, chronology and geographical distribution of different burial rites. By evaluating the evidence from pre-conquest Wales and comparing it with the Romano-British data, it has also been possible to detect rites that appear to have had their roots in indigenous practice. Collectively, the evidence from both Iron Age and post-conquest Wales has shed new light on the evolution and role of burial practice in Roman Wales.

This thesis investigates the rural landscape of the Vale of the White Horse in the late Iron Age and the Roman period. Its three aims are to place the Roman temple, amphitheatre and cemetery at Marcham / Frilford within the context of the wider rural landscape, to document the nature of the Romano-British social and economic structure and its relationship to earlier Iron Age systems, and to compare the rural community of the Vale with other communities in the upper Thames Valley. The first aim is addressed by analysing the archaeological data for the neighbourhood of the religious complex at Marcham / Frilford, integrating recent geophysical survey and commercial archaeological evaluations. It is considered whether the site's function was restricted to an extensive religious complex, or whether it can be classed as a small town. Although there is no evidence for urbanism in terms of densely packed buildings, market activities are possible. It is suggested that the cemetery might be a 'managed cemetery'. The second and third aims are addressed by presenting and evaluating the archaeological evidence for the use of the landscape. The development of the Iron Age into the Romano-British landscape is seen through changes in settlement density, structure and form, buildings such as villas, ditched field systems, communication via roads and trackways, increasing population and agricultural intensification. Variations in settlement forms in the Vale of the White Horse are considered within the wider context of settlement in the upper Thames Valley. The Iron Age landscape of the Vale appears similar to that of the gravel terraces north of the river Thames. In the Roman period it differs from the gravel terraces to the north by becoming a region of villas and local centres, which suggests differences in landholding and in social and economic structures. In addition, the late Iron Age and Romano-British settlement in the Vale of the White Horse is compared with other regional studies.

At its greatest extent, the Roman empire represented one of the largest continuous areas of land to have been ruled by a single central administration in the classical period. While the extent of the empire may be determined from both the extensive body of literary evidence from the Roman world, and also from the physi- cal remains of great public works stretching from Britain to Arabia, the processes by which the Romans were able to apprehend larger spaces remain infrequently studied in modern scholarship. It is often assumed that Roman spatial awareness came from cartographic representations and that the imperial Roman administration must have possessed detailed scale maps of both individual regions and of the empire as a whole. In the first part of the present study, it is demonstrated that Roman spatial understanding may not have relied very extensively on cartography, and that any maps produced in the Roman world were designed to serve very different purposes from those that we might associate with maps today. Instead, it is argued that the extensive construction projects that defined the character of the imperial world would have pro- vided a means by which the larger physical spaces of the empire could be understood. However, as transformations began to occur within the built environment between the late-third and late-sixth centuries, spatial processes would have necessarily started to change. In the second part of the present study, it is suggested that attitudes toward the built environment would have led to changes in the physical arrangement of rural and urban spaces in late antiquity; furthermore the eventual dissolution of the constructed landscape that defined the Roman empire would have resulted in new approaches to the apprehension of larger spaces, approaches in which cartographic expression may have played a more central role.