William Bowden

Roman and late-antique Butrint: excavations and survey 2000-2001

The Roman and Byzantine port of Butrint, situated on the SW coast of Albania directly opposite the island of Corfu, has been the focus of a major research project since 1994. The investigation of the site and its hinterland commenced with excavations within the walled town and a survey of sites and monuments in the region (Hodges et al 1997). Despite a brief hiatus caused by civil unrest in Albania in 1997, work continued with excavation and study seasons in 1998 and 1999. The results of the first five years of the project are due to be published shortly (Hodges, Bowden and Lako, forthcoming). The second phase of the Butrint project, starting in 2000, has encompassed a wide variety of research aims. They have included extensive research on the archives of the Italian mission that conducted large-scale excavations between 1928 and 1942. Among other finds, this resulted in the discovery of the manuscript of L. Ugolinis Albania antica vol. 4, the hitherto unpublished results of the Italian excavation of the Hellenistic and Roman theatre (Gilkes, forthcoming). Other archival research has focussed on the records of the communist-period archaeological investigations, and has resulted in a much better understanding of the aims and results of these projects, which in some cases are almost wholly unpublished. Our project is also concerned with the controlled development of the site for tourism. This has resulted in the expansion of the UNESCO World Heritage site to 2900 ha and the creation of a National Park with the intent of protecting the archaeological and natural landscape around Butrint (Hodges and Martin 2000; Martin 2001). The present report is a synthesis of the first results of the major excavations of 2000 and 2001. While it is possible (and indeed likely) that interpretations may change as excavations continue, it was felt that the material was of sufficient interest to justify an interim statement.

The Urban Plan of Venta Icenorum and its Relationship with the Boudican Revolt

The idea that the town of Venta Icenorum (Caistor-by-Norwich) was laid out in the early Flavian period, as part of the Roman reaction to the Boudican revolt, has become canonical in literature on Roman Britain. Drawing on the results of recent excavations, this paper re-evaluates the evidence relating to the establishment of the street grid and questions the idea that the town reflects a coherent act of urban planning. It concludes by arguing that previous interpretations of the site within a ‘Boudican’ paradigm are fundamentally flawed.

THE CONSTRUCTION OF IDENTITIES IN POST-ROMAN ALBANIA

Late antique social structures in the provinces of Epirus Vetus and Epirus Nova, as represented by urban centres, ecclesiastical authority and Roman material culture, largely disappeared during the first half of the 7th c. Around this time the practice of furnished burial was adopted by sections of the population. This transition has traditionally been interpreted as reflecting an expression of ethnic identity on the part of an indigenous population. This paper argues, however, that these post-Roman cemeteries are a reflection of the more localised and fluid social structures that emerged in post-Roman Epirus rather than an attempt to construct or maintain ethnic identities.

Georgios Deligiannakis. The Dodecanese and the eastern Aegean Islands in Late Antiquity, AD 300–700. 2016. xxi + 232 pages, 185 bw 978-0-19-874599-0 hardback £105.

The close relationship between the Dodecanese, the coast of Asia Minor and the wider eastern Mediterranean has been highlighted by the recent refugee crisis; the eastern Aegean islands have become the first port of call for those fleeing conflict and instability in the Middle East and beyond. This study of those same islands during the sometimes turbulent centuries of Late Antiquity emphasises their earlier role as key staging points in the movement of goods, people and ideas in the Mediterranean.

R.H. White, C. Gaffney a V.L. Gaffney with Arnold Baker. Wroxeter, the Cornovii and the urban process: final report of the Wroxeter Hinterland Project, 1994–1997. Volume 2: characterizing the city . xii+227 pages, 210 colour and baw illustrations, 22 tables. 2013. Oxford: Archaeopress; 978-1-905739-61 paperback £ 15.50

has been matched by recent reappraisal of Britain’s links to the Continent during the Iron Age. It is no wonder, therefore, that a significant theme in this book is that of movement: of animals to water, people moving through the landscape and, ultimately, from life to death. Giles’ account, however, acts as a counterpoint to the sometimes rather simplistic debate over indigenous versus exogenous influences, exploring more nuanced ideas of how knowledge and ideas are transferred, perceived and adopted.

Architectural innovation in the land of the Iceni: a new complex near Venta Icenorum (Norfolk)

Crop-marks of one aisled building had previously been noted by aerial photography, but in 2007 a very wet early spring followed by a sudden hot dry spell meant that previously unknown sub-surface features were clearly marked by crops that were both higher and riper than the surrounding ones3 of unique plan, intersected by a substantial aisled building. There were possible indications of a second apsidal structure of oval or polygonal plan adjacent to the east. Trial excavation in 2007 demonstrated that the winged building was of Roman date.4

John Fairclough. Boudica to Raedwald: East Anglia's relations with Rome. x+270 pages, numerous colour & bw 978-0-9539680-3-9 paperback £29.50.

This volume covers the archaeology of East Anglia relating to a period that starts approximately with Caesar’s expeditions to Britain in 55–54 BC and ends with the death of Raedwald in c. AD 625. There is an anachronism inherent in the idea of ‘East Anglia’s relations with Rome’ and there is an inevitable tension in using an Anglo-Saxon kingdom or modern region as a framework for the study of the Roman period there. Fairclough never makes the reasons for his geographical frame of reference explicit, although it mainly encompasses Suffolk and Norfolk with some forays into Essex and Cambridgeshire. Coverage of these areas is by no means consistent and there is a marked emphasis on Suffolk (particularly east Suffolk) reflecting the author’s detailed knowledge of this region. The structure of the book is a slightly awkward mix of chronological narrative and more thematic sections, with chapters on the Boudican rebellion and the East Anglian kingdom sandwiching chapters on the economy, towns and country houses, coastal defence and religion.