The Roman 'small town' of Ariconium in southern Herefordshire has long been known as an important iron production centre but has remained very poorly understood. The town is suggested to have developed from a late Iron Age Dobunnic tribal centre, which owed its evident status and wide range of contacts to control of the production and distribution of Forest of Dean iron. Rapid expansion during the second half of the 1st century AD indicates that the local population was able to articulate rapidly with the economic opportunities the Roman conquest brought. The town developed as a typical small roadside settlement and a major iron production centre but a heavy reliance on ironworking appears to have made it especially vulnerable to the economic decline of the latter part of the 4th century. Some role as an administrative and political centre can be suggested during the late 4th century and may be implicated in the survival of the name Ariconium in the early medieval kingdom of Erynyg or Archenfield, however, firm archaeological evidence for any continuing occupation remains elusive.

The Yarnton landscape, extending from the floodplain of the Thames up onto the higher Second Gravel Terrace, has witnessed a long history of topographic and vegetational change linked to human activity. Settlements on the edge of the Second Gravel Terrace were occupied throughout the Iron Age and Roman periods. Associated with the middle Iron Age settlement was a small cemetery of some 35 crouched inhumation burials. Further burials were made in the Roman period. The Roman settlement is marked by its ditched enclosures and small paddocks suggesting intensive stock management, although the presence of an extensive surrounding field system shows that arable agriculture was also intensive, at least in the early Roman period.

The site of 1 Poultry, excavated in the 1990s, is located near the Bank of England in the heart of the City of London. It lay immediately west of the point where the main east-west road through Roman London bridged the Walbrook stream and proved to be one of the most significant archaeological sites ever excavated in the City, with an unparalleled sequence of buildings, roads and open spaces. A timber drain of AD 47 beneath the main road is the earliest, securely dated structure yet known from Londinium and a pottery shop destroyed in the Boudican revolt gives a snapshot of life in AD 60/61. A 2nd-century AD writing tablet preserves the only evidence for the sale of a slave found in Britain to date, while the 3rd- and 4th-century buildings on the site provide a rare demonstration of the continuities and changes that occurred in Roman urban life. The key sequence from 1 Poultry provides the majority of the evidence but is augmented by findings from Docklands Light Railway sites at Bucklersbury, Lothbury and Lombard Street and other work at 72-75 Cheapside, 76-80 Cheapside, 36-37 King Street and Mansion House. Together, the sites provide a comprehensive record of the development of Londinium over the entire Roman period.

Between 1998 and 2001, Albion Archaeology (formerly Bedfordshire County Archaeology Service) carried out a series of archaeological investigations in advance of development at Marsh Leys on the outskirts of Bedford. Although the discovery of flint artefacts suggested limited earlier prehistoric activity, the first firm evidence for sustained use of the site was a ditched enclosure, which pre-dated the late Iron Age. The vast majority of the archaeological evidence was associated with two Romano-British farm sites c. 400m apart. The farms varied in size over time, ranging from c.1ha to 3.3ha. Their layout, morphology, chronological development through three distinct phases, mixed farming economy and environment were similar, although subtle contrasts were identified.

Characterising urban life, City in Transition is the second volume reporting on the archaeology of the continuing excavation of Silchester Insula IX, taking the story down to the early 2nd century. In describing the evidence for the occupation of the 2nd and 3rd centuries it follows on from Life and Labour in Late Roman Silchester (2006), which published the late Roman occupation. Geochemical and micromorphological analyses inform the interpretation of the use of space within buildings and, together with the study of an abundant material culture and environmental record, provide a rich characterisation of the houses and their occupants. The report sheds important light on the urban condition, debating such themes as population density, status, occupation, diet and domestic ritual.

Excavations in 2002 by Pre-Construct Archaeology on two adjacent sites in Shadwell revealed an extensive late Romano-British settlement over a kilometre beyond the walls of Londinium on an escarpment overlooking the north bank of the Thames. The area's importance became apparent in the 1970s through the discovery of monumental masonry and 3rd-century settlement and burial practice. This volume presents the evidence for Roman Shadwell as revealed by these excavations and considers its place within the broader context of Londinium and its hinterland.

Finds from the Frontier brings together papers given at a conference held at Newcastle upon Tyne in 2008. Its aim is to elucidate the life of the 4th-century limitanei of Britain through their material culture. The papers consider whether the excavated artefacts justify the traditional implication that the period is one of declining standards and largely come to the conclusion that, on the contrary, the period was rich in artefacts that have much to tell us about the late frontier.

Lankhills and its late Roman cemetery have played a significant role in the understanding of the military in civilian areas of Roman Britain in the fourth century, and these new excavations double the number of graves explored and add to the variety of finds represented. New analytical techiques show that some of those buried were immigrants from other parts of Europe and perhaps even North Africa. The new excavations revealed a further 307 inhumation graves (plus six more partly excavated previously) and 25 more cremation burials. The most spectacular individual burial contained a gilded and inscribed crossbow brooch, silver gilt belt fitting and decorated spurs, a unique assemblage for Roman Britain. The report provides a full catalogue of the graves and a comprehensive study of the finds.

This volume brings to a triumphant conclusion this monumental project to catalogue, describe and illustrate every Romano-British mosaic. The area covered by the fourth and final volume in the corpus is one of the richest regions of Britain in economic as well as architectural and artistic terms and this is reflected in the quantity and quality of the region's mosaics, which include the largest figured mosaic ever found in Britain - the Woodchester Orpheus pavement - which was perhaps the inspiration for the other famous Orpheus mosaics of the Roman Cotswolds. At the heart of this affluent region is Cirencester, Roman Britain's second largest town, represented here by more than sixty mosaics, the second-century examples being the most exquisite in the country. There are also many fine mosaics from the region's highly ornate villas, as well as from the towns of Gloucester, Caerwent and Wroxeter. The catalogue follows the format of earlier volumes in providing an account of each mosaic's discovery and locating the mosaic within its building plan. Following the description are notable parallels and major references. Many of the illustrations are by the authors, with additional ones by Luigi Thompson, as well as photographs and historical engravings, a high proportion of the latter by Samuel Lysons whose home was in Gloucestershire where he did much of his pioneering work in archaeological excavation and illustration. Brief biographies of Lysons and all the other artists whose work grace all four volumes appear at the end of this volume. As with previous volume the work is preceded with a substantial introduction. This deals with the history and topography of the region, buildings and rooms, an assessment of regional workshops, and schemes, ending with a consideration of mosaics in relation to the end of Roman Britain.

The Hoxne treasure, a spectacular collection of gold and silver coins, gold jewellery and silver artefacts, was buried early in the 5th century AD, and was rediscovered in November 1992. Although the major objects have been exhibited in museums and illustrated and discussed in both popular and scholarly publications over the last fifteen years, the results of detailed research on the entire find are published here in full for the first time. This volume provides a complete, illustrated inventory of the items in the treasure other than the 15,000 coins, which have been separately published (in The Late Roman Gold and Silver Coins from the Hoxne Treasure, by P. S.W. Guest, British Museum Press, 2005). It catalogues the 29 superb pieces of gold jewellery, a dozen silver vessels, nearly a hundred silver spoons, and about 40 additional silver objects. The numerous objects made of organic materials (ivory, bone and wood), though individually small, are rare discoveries, and the iron nails and other fittings bear witness to the chest that originally contained the treasure: all are described in detail, bringing the total to just over 400 entries. Fifteen chapters of wide-ranging discussion include specialist contributions on the excavation, conservation and scientific study and analysis of the material, and the identification and interpretation of the inscriptions. Together they place this outstanding find both in its immediate environment of late Romano-British society and in the wider context of the art, iconography and luxury of the late Roman world.

The East London Line Project presented a unique opportunity, as structures were demolished and cleared for London's latest railway, to discover more about some of London's earliest railways. This included previously undiscovered parts of one of the world's first operational passenger railways, the Eastern Counties of 1840. The new construction led to important archaeological discoveries, particularly at the site of Holywell Priory and beneath Bishopsgate Goods Yard in Shoreditch. The sparsely occupied hinterland of Roman London either side of Roman Ermine Street was used for occasional burials. Gradual medieval development came with the foundation of Holywell Priory on one side of Shoreditch High Street, contrasting with the outskirts of the village of Shoreditch lining the other, with open fields to the east. The growth of early post-medieval occupation, notably the earls of Rutland's Tudor mansion on the site of the priory, followed the Dissolution. The spread of the suburbs from the 17th century onwards encouraged large-scale quarrying of brickearth and brickmaking on the expanding periphery of new settlement, east of Shoreditch High Street. By the mid 18th century the character of the area had completely changed and it was covered with suburban housing. In the early 19th century, the railway cut through the area and continued to develop and expand throughout the century.

Beneath Drapers' Gardens, in what was once a damp and uninviting quarter of the Roman city of Londinium lies the buried valley of the Walbrook, home to some of the more unpleasant industries of the town, as well as some remarkable and unexpected finds, including a hoard of metal objects buried in a fourth century well. However, what really sets this site apart is both the extraordinary preservation of finds due to the particular soil conditions of the Walbrook Valley, and the sheer size of the area investigated. A near complete urban street with associated buildings spanning many years of the Roman occupation was uncovered. The land was purchased by the Drapers' Company in the mid 16th century and remained open gardens for the next 400 years, contributing to the amazing preservation on site. Secrets of the Gardens is a lavishly illustrated, full colour, popular interim account of the excavations, aimed at the general reader and published in advance of a fuller account in standard monograph format. It also includes sections on the Drapers' Company history and the story of the construction of the new building.

The third volume in this massive project to create the first complete corpus of the Roman mosaics of Britain covers the areas of Britain that were first to come under Roman control and where some of Britain's most impressive mosaics are to be found - in Colchester, Silchester, London and Verulamium, and in villas and palaces at Brading, Bignor, Fishbourne and Rockbourne. In their introduction to the volume, the authors trace the origins of mosaic-making in Britain, and the development of colour palettes and motifs, from the mainly black-and-white geometric designs of first-century Fishbourne Palace, reflecting contemporary Gaulish fashions, to the more elaborate polychrome designs of the third and fourth centuries, featuring figures from classical mythology, some of which (like Brading's Orpheus taming the animals with his music, or Lullingstone's Bellerophon slaying the Chimera) had been invested with new meaning as symbols of Christianity. They consider too the types of buildings with which mosaics are associated, the functions of mosaic-decorated rooms, the materials from which they are made, the impact of mosaic discoveries on early antiquaries and the pioneering mosaic paintings of artists such as Richard Smirke and Charles Stothard, published in Samuel Lysons' Reliquae Britanniae Romanae (1817). The catalogue follows the format of earlier volumes in providing an account of each mosaic's discovery and locating the mosaic within its building plan. Every mosaic is described, with significant parallels and major references, and illustrated with the authors' own paintings, reproductions of historic engravings and photographs, taken in situ wherever possible, before lifting or restoration. The result is an unrivalled scholarly resource for anyone interested in Roman art, craftsmanship, architecture and social life, which will shortly be complete with the publication of the fourth and final volume on Western Britain, including Wales.

This report presents an overview of Roman urban development in London south of the Thames. The establishment of the Roman bridge and the first approach roads and landing places, made Southwark an ideal location for the development of facilities for the trans-shipment of goods between land and river. The wide range of data from 41 previously unpublished north Southwark sites provides the means for 'mapping' Roman activity in Southwark: the nature of the early settlement, changing patterns of land use and broader processes of social and economic change. Early land reclamation preceded the establishment of a thriving trade centre involved in the redistribution or marketing of locally processed and imported goods, with evidence of a concentration of buildings burnt in Boudican fire of AD 61 along the main road to the bridgehead. Increased land reclamation and construction of more masonry buildings in the 2nd century AD indicate further growth. By the 3rd century large stone buildings at ten of the sites reported suggest an administrative area housing official residences. After the mid 4th century the settlement contracted to the area immediately around the bridgehead with a cemetery on previously occupied land to the south.

The Biddenham Loop has been the scene of human activity from the Palaeolithic through to the present-day but the majority of the archaeological evidence spans the Neolithic to the early 4th century AD. Apart from two handaxes, probably brought up from deep within the gravel by recent quarrying, no evidence for Palaeolithic activity was recovered. Given that the Biddenham area once had a reputation as a prolific source of material of this date, its absence is explained by the developments relatively limited impact on the underlying gravel terrace. The report looks at each chronological phase individually, and gives a site narrative, with plans and section drawings as well as detailed structural, artefactual and ecofactual data, primarily by 'activity' type.

This volume, a collection of essays in honour of Harvey Sheldon, begins with a section on the chronology and cartography of Roman London. The second section examines the landscape and environment of Roman London and its hinterland, drawing from a variety of disciplines.The third part of the book examines themes which are more difficult to identify through the archaeological record, such as education, cults and attitudes to death and burial. In the fourth section of the volume, the rich material culture of Roman London is examined through a series of papers on artefacts, including brooches, inkwells and toilet implements.