This study investigates the symbolic role of the domestic dog in Iron Age and Roman Britain through contextual analysis of their faunal remains and interpretation of their representations in iconography. Previous studies have highlighted linkages between the species and ideas about death, healing and regeneration (Jenkins 1957, Ross 1967, Toynbee 1973, Henig 1984, Green 1992). Although these connections clearly did exist in the cosmologies of Britain and the Western provinces of Rome, this detailed examination of the evidence seeks to identify reasons why this might have been so. The enquiry was also designed to highlight any previously unnoticed patterns in the dataset that might add a further dimension to our understanding of how the domestic dog was perceived at a symbolic level. It has been established for some time that dogs appear in statistically significant numbers, compared to other species, in the special animal deposits that are a feature of certain Iron Age pits (Grant 1984, Wait 1985, Hill 1995). Dramatic evidence for ritual practice involving animals found at a Romano-British temple complex in Springhead, Kent, and comparable finds from both sacred and secular sites, suggest that domestic dogs were also a favoured sacrifice during this period. As well as analysing such archaeological evidence, this study draws on anthropological, psychological and historical writings about human relationships with the domestic dog in an attempt to forward our understanding of religious expression during antiquity.

The focus of the thesis is the poorly-understood rite of decapitated inhumation which was practiced predominantly in the 3rd and 4th centuries AD in Britain. Previous studies have often involved the accumulation of data on decapitated inhumations themselves and cross analysis of examples. Conclusions drawn on the meaning of the rite almost invariably place it in opposition to 'normal' Late Romano-British funerary behaviour and consequently interpret decapitation as reflecting negatively on the social identity of the deceased. Because of this, decapitated inhumations are commonly referred to as 'deviant burials' in academic literature. This thesis argues that the interpretation of decapitated burial as 'deviant' is an artificial product of the methodologies employed in its analysis. The lack of contextualisation within the mortuary structures of late Roman Britain has entrenched the view that decapitated burial stood in contrast to 'normal', 'acceptable' funerary behaviour. By using quantitative and qualitative analysis of funerary behaviour within three regional case studies, this thesis adopts a contextualising approach to decapitated burials in order to place these individuals in relation to the social parameters governing burial within the communities in which they are found. This analysis takes into account the settlement profiles and regional variations in mortuary practices particular to each area, to investigate how these impacted on the adoption and performance of decapitated burial. Other evidence for the fragmentation of human remains during the Roman period is also investigated and assessed in relation to the decapitation rite. It is concluded that, in all three case studies, the funerary treatment of decapitated persons may be aligned with the prevailing structures governing burial of non-decapitated individuals, despite the differences in funerary behaviour between each region. This implies that decapitated individuals were not treated in opposition to standard burial practices and that interpretations of them as 'deviant' are unsound. In addition, the need to consider wider contemporary burial habits in relation to decapitated inhumation, particularly those involving other forms of corpse fragmentation, is highlighted. Assessment of disarticulated and semi-articulated deposits of human remains demonstrates that parallels may be drawn between the processes that led to the deposition of this material and the processes surrounding decapitated inhumation. It is argued that decapitated inhumation should be understood as a facet of broader mortuary practices involving the fragmentation of human remains practiced in certain areas of Roman Britain, rather than being treated as an anomalous variation of supine extended inhumation.

No / There is increasing evidence for complexity in mortuary practices in Britain during the Roman period. One class of burials demonstrates an association between inhumation in stone sarcophagi or lead-lined coffins, 'plaster' coatings, textile shrouds and natural resins. It has been suggested that this 'package' represents a deliberate attempt at body preservation. Fragments with a resinous appearance found in one such burial from Arrington, Cambridgeshire, UK were analysed using gas-chromatography-mass spectrometry. The triterpenic compounds identified are biomarkers for the genus Pistacia and provide the first chemical evidence for an exotic resin in a mortuary context in Roman Britain. / AHRC

Yes / Resinous substances were highly prized in the ancient world for use in ritual contexts. Details gleaned from classical literature indicate that they played a significant role in Roman mortuary rites, in treatment of the body and as offerings at the tomb. Outside of Egypt, however, where research has shown that a range of plant exudates were applied as part of the mummification process, resins have rarely been identified in the burial record. This is despite considerable speculation regarding their use across the Roman Empire. Focusing on one region, we investigated organic residues from forty-nine late Roman inhumations from Britain. Using gas chromatographyemass spectrometry and the well-attested biomarker approach, terpenic compounds were characterized in fourteen of the burials analysed. These results provided direct chemical evidence for the presence of exudates from three different plant families: coniferous Pinaceae resins, Mediterranean Pistacia spp. resins (mastic/terebinth) and exotic Boswellia spp. gum-resins (frankincense/olibanum) from southern Arabia or beyond. The individuals accorded this rite had all been interred with a package of procedures more elaborate than the norm. These findings illuminate the multiplicity of roles played by resinous substances in Roman mortuary practices in acting to disguise the odour of decomposition, aiding temporary soft-tissue preservation and signifying the social status of the deceased. Nevertheless, it was their ritual function in facilitating the transition to the next world that necessitated transportation to the most remote outpost of the late Roman Empire, Britain. / R.C.B is supported by a PhD studentship from the Art and Humanities Research Council (43019R00209).

No description available.

This work deals with the Romano-Celtic temples in the Roman province of Britannia in the period from first to fourth century AD. The first chapter describes temple architecture and possible reconstruction of this type of buildings, used materials and the decorative elements of the temples. Attention is also paid to various temples with atypical elements or ground plans, as well as to a separate group of simple temples without surrounding ambulatory. In the following chapters, the work focuses on temple precincts and buildings accompanying this type of temples, and also on the origin and evolution of the temple type, their distribution in the province of Britannia and finally, also to the deities that were worshipped in these Roman-Celtic shrines.

Whilst Roman architecture has long stood as a discrete branch of classical studies, investigated for its artistic merit and cultural importance, the technical details of Roman construction have only recently started to receive considerable attention. This thesis contributes to a growing trend in Roman scholarship, that of the investigation of the processes, materials, and technologies behind the Roman built environment. The most prestigious buildings of the Empire often remain the focus of many of these studies, and so this thesis turns to explore the use of more everyday buildings and building materials, seeking a Romano-British vernacular, and investigating the processes of construction, building material production, and transport. It is argued, through using theoretical calculations of building material quantities, that even for relatively minor constructions, considerations of building material supply must have represented highly significant economic and logistical investment. To comprehend fully the subject it is asserted that building materials should not be treated, as they often are, as disparate artefacts, divided by substance into stone, ceramic, mortar, metal, etc., but rather they should be considered as related fragments of a building. They require synthetic analysis, through which a far truer understanding of the incredible effort involved in construction in the ancient world can be gained. The built environment of Roman Oxfordshire, and the Roman building material assemblage from Dorchester on Thames, are used as case studies. Primary analysis of building materials is carried out using an integrated analytical approach, combining thin section petrography with scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive x-ray analysis. The outcomes of these analyses are interpreted against a background of archaeological and historical evidence for construction and material supply, in both the Roman and later periods, in the region and beyond.

Devenue province, la Bretagne romaine connaît une profonde acculturation, modifiant les activités politiques et économiques passées. Parmi les importations, l’écrit constitue une nouveauté s’installant tant comme un outil de communication quotidienne qu’un vecteur du pouvoir. Commun aux diverses provinces de l’Empire, il permet autant d’établir un lien administratif, commercial et culturel avec la capitale romaine, qu’il creuse un fossé entre ceux qui savent la maîtriser, et les autres. Instrument du quotidien des forts romains, l’écrit est le liant indispensable permettant aux légions en place de gérer le territoire. Le monde civil n’est pas en reste. Au-delà de la symbolique, c’est l’ensemble des activités funéraires, alimentaires, économiques ou encore religieuses qui semble avoir été impacté. Tout Breton baigne, à divers degrés, dans cette nouvelle culture de la communication écrite, celle d’une expression durable de la volonté, qu’elle soit individuelle ou commune. Cet acte joue un rôle novateur dans les relations de droit au sein de la Bretagne romaine. / Since Roman Britain became a province, it experienced a profound acculturation, amending the past political and economical activities. Among the imports, writing is a novelty, that became a tool of daily communication and a vector of power. Shared by various provinces of the Empire, it allows establishing an administrative, and commercial and cultural link with the Roman capital city, as much as widening a gap between those who know how to master it and the others. As the instrument of everyday life in the Roman forts, writing is an essential binder for the legions in place to manage the territory. The civilian world is not outdone. Beyond the symbolism, all funeral, economic, religious or food related activities seem to have been affected. Every Breton is immersed, to various degrees, in this new culture of written communication, that of a long lasting expression of the individual or common willpower. This act plays a pioneering role in the law relationships within Roman Britain.

This study provides chemical confirmation for the use of resinous plant exudates in mortuary contexts in Roman Britain. Analysis of amorphous masses, adhering residues and grave deposits using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry has revealed terpenoid biomarkers in sixteen inhumation and two cremation burials. The natural products characterized include European Pinaceae (conifer) resins, Pistacia spp. (mastic/terebinth) resins from the Mediterranean or the Levant and Boswellia spp. (frankincense) gum-resins from southern Arabia or eastern Africa. In addition, traces of a balsamic resin, probably Liquidambar orientalis, have been identified. A correlation between the use of these exotic exudates and interment in substantial, often multiple, containers with high-quality textiles and grave goods was observed. Theoretical consideration of this imported rite illuminates the multiplicity of roles played by resins/gum-resins in the mortuary sphere. The material properties of these highly scented substances speak to the biological reality of the decomposing body and to the socially constructed identity of the individual. On a practical level, they acted as temporary preservatives and masked the odour of decay. As social signifiers, they denoted the status of the deceased and promoted remembrance through conspicuous consumption and sensory impact. Encoded with ritual meaning, they purified the body and facilitated the final rite of passage to the afterlife. The recovery of these resinous traces provides us with new insights into the treatment of the body in the Roman period and establishes fresh links between the remote province of Britannia and the remainder of the Empire.

Presented here is a bibliography representing a core collection on the Celtic and Roman religion in Roman Britain. This religion, which was formed from the mixing of Celtic and Roman religions, was truly a new religion. It was formed from two powerful but different religions. The Celts believed in nature and the power it held within everything in their world. The Romans believed in the power of their pantheon of gods and goddesses. When these two factors merged it produced a religion unlike any other in the world during the Iron Age. This bibliography will list the resources to form a core collection to be used for researching the Celtic religion and Roman religion. It will also provide resources for researching what became the religion of Roman Britain and how it can be examined through burials. It provides a variety of information from historians and archaeologist who have studied these religions in depth. Many academic libraries may already include several of the primary sources in their collections, which will minimize the cost of setting up this specialized collection.