Reviews

REVIEWS The Roman Soldier. By G. R. Watson. 8½ in. x5½ in. Pp. 256, pl. 26. Thames and Hudson, 1969. 50s. Here, at last, is a book which can be recommended to anyone interested in learning about the Roman army in the most natural wayfrom the point of view of the men who joined it.s ranks and served in it. In just over 150 pages Mr. Watson, after a brief introduction, takes us through the activities of the recruit, the trained soldier, the conditions of service, the soldiers' religious beliefs and their chances of marriage, and the place of soldiers in society. Many of the ancient sources, literary or archreological (papyri from Egypt or Syria), are quoted in translation; and the serious student will find in another hundred or so pages detailed notes and the full Latin texts of the documents quoted in translation earlier in the book. There are full indexes and 26 well-chosen half-tone illustrations. An apt sub-title might have been 'The Roman army as a career'; Mr. Watson would have been a good recruiting officer! Eruo BIRLEY Greek and R.m,,an J ewellenJ. By R. A. Higgins. 9 in. X 6 in. Pp. xlvii + 236, pl. 68 (4 in colour), figs. 33. Methuen, 1961. 75s. Dr. Higgins's book maintains the best traditions of the welle. stablished series of Methuen's Hanabooks of Archreology. It is clear, very conciS&-a little too concise for some tastes, perhaps-very systematic, and easy to use as a work of reference. It provides the essential information on this important a.nd very colourful branch of ancient craftsmanship, and although sevoral more lavishly and better illustrated books on classical jewellery have appeared before and since, this one is likely to be the standard textbook for many years to come. It covers a range a good deal wider than the title suggests, by inclucling Minoan and Mycenean jewellery. Indeed, some of the best and most original parts of the book are to be found in these early chapters which are nearer the author's own interests. By contrast, and perhaps rather culpably, the Roman period gets very short shrift, just fourteen pag<:>,g, It is inevitable that the best of such a book reflects the author's tastes, but, a better balance is expected iri a Hariabook, and Dr. Higgins's acute stylistic sense, had it been applied to the Roman material, might have produced a genuine contribution to the study of Roman jewellery . .. • . There are. 􀄍xcellent opening chapters on. metallurgy (very brief) .265 at 􀀇EVIEWS and on the basic. processes used in the manufacture and decoration of ancient jewellery. The reader will find clear explanations, accompanied where necessary, by drawings, of some very complex techniques. Win: chains and loops which are the basis of so many jewellery fonns; the method of granulation which the Etruscans used with such skill; and the history and techniques of enamelling are extremely well described. The jewellery is discussed in a series of chapters, each of which is preceded by a brief, historical introduction; the jewellery is divided up by types in a formal arrangement which is excellent for a work of reference but does not make for easy reading. Dr. Higgins has a very terse style, which sometimes leads to lack of clarity, as for example in the discussion of the use of gold rings in Rome (p. 179), and one could wish that he would let himself go occasionally and .fill 'in the background with rather more discursive writing. A high proportion of the material is drawn from the jewellery in the collection of the Greek and Roman Department in the British Museum, which is incomparably the best collection in Europe, and the only one that has been well catalogued, by Marshall, as long ago as 1907. Since Marshall, Dr. Higgins himself has made the chief contributions to the study of the collection by his re-examination of the Aegina Treasure and his publication of important new acquisitions such as the Elgin jewellery. But the book draws its material from widely different sources and much new material from Greece and elsewhere is included. The monochrome illustrations do not always bring out the qualities of the jewellery and a lot of the detail is lost in some of them, but the explanatory line drawings are masterly. The few colour illustrations are not very good, but then they hardly ever are. A major part of the book, and a clear illustration of the high quality of Dr. Higgins's scholarship, is the section of bibliography and site lists (pp. 193-223) where the students can find all the most important jewellery of the period systematically arranged. There is also an index of sites and a general index. New discoveries and new discussions of old material may provide· for the need of a new edition of this book before long, but it is unlikely to be superseded for a long time to come. D. E. STRONG The Archcoology of Roman Britain. By R. G. Collingwood and Ian Richmond. 91 in. x6 in. Pp. xxv+350, figs. 109, pl. xxvi. Methuen, 1969. 848. There can be few students of Romano-British archreology who have not had reason to consult The Archaology of Roman Britain, or, briefly, 'Collingwood', since it first appeared in 1930; its immense value as .a handy. well-head. of .informati.on has _been,_ j)V,er. the. ye.a1·s, , a. lasting ·".:266 REVIEWS- tribute to its author. Even such a monumental work of distillation and condensation, however, does need periodic revision in order to take into account advances in knowledge brought about by subsequent work, and it was generally known that this task had been undertaken and virtually completed by Sir Ian Richmond before his untimely death. Now, at long last, The Archawlogy of Roman Britain bas been brought up to date, steered to the press by D. R. Wilson and published. In format rather larger than the original and running to 350 pages against 293, the text has been expanded and re-written to include much new material, but the original chapter-headings have been retained; perhaps, a slight departure here might have allowed a chapter on glass. Some chapters have, of course, been re-cast more than others, and this is nowhere more obvious than in the new sections on various classes of pottery and in those dealing with military esta blii,hments, towns and villas, all subjects close to Sir Ian Richmond's heart whose hand can easily be detected in the virtually new chapter on the villas. The whole volume is profusely illustrated by numerous text-figures; some of these appeared in the original book, though the opportunity has wisely been taken both to draw afresh some of the earlier plans and to add many others, particularly in the chapters dealing with forts and fortresses, villas and towns, samian ware and coarse pottery. A welcome innovation, too, is the addition at the end of the book of 26 plates consisting of a new series of coins and photographs, with perhaps an over-fondness for air views, excellent though these are. Dealing with the villas (Chapter VII), the new edition retains the form of the original chapter but most of its content has been altered; many archreologists will applaud the disappearance of Collingwood's rather clumsy nomenclature of bi- and tripartite corridor houses and basilican houses and the substitution of Richmond's more easily understood cottage, courtyard and aisled houses. It is a pity, however, that Lockleys (pp. 134-5) is still thought of as belonging to the late first century A.D. when recent work has cast serious doubt on this dating which seems to be some 100 years too early. The section devoted to towns (Chapter VI) has been enlarged by the addition of new paragraph-headings to Colling-wood's scheme in order to include arches and public monuments, market-halls and inns, aqueducts and pipe-lines, latrines and sewers, and to draw the distinction between private houses and shopfl. Chapter III, fortresses and forts, has been given an introduction, and the legionary fortresses are dealt with separately, which allows for treatment in greater depth than previously, and to treat the forts from a chronological and topographical standpoint. The section on samian ware (Chapter Xill) has been entirely re-written by B. R. Hartley, who omits Dr. T. D. Pryce's out-dated 267 .. REVIEWS: list of potters' names; for the beginner in this field, it· provides an admirable introduction and a very useful series of the most common forms and their dating. The chapter on coarse pottery (Chapter XIV) has been greatly improved by new paragraph-headings and the classification of the vessels described. In these days of standardization, one observes ruefully both the disappearance of 'pie-dish' as an acceptable term and the retention of 'Castor ware' instead of 'colour-coated ware', and the inconsistency between the 'Samian' (p. 274) and 'samian' (p. 275) of this chapter and the normal 'samian' of the preceding one. Both these chapters have been much enhanced by the new illustrations, and many readers will immediately recognize the latter chapter's debt mainly to J.P. Gillam's drawings. Unfortunately, there are too many printer's errors and inconsistencies that should not have escaped proof-reading in such a work of reference, and to mention some of these is not to render witness to this reviewer's persistence but to express the hope of their extirpation in a. future re-issue. 'Durovernum Cantiorum' (Fig. 34, and p. 106), 'Shordon Brae' for 'Shorden Brae' (p. 172), 'at the end of [the] third century' (p. 20), 'superceding' [sic] (p. 27), 'Sherd' instead of 'sherd' (p. 63), the Flavian period/times are dated inconsistently to A.D. 69-96 {pp. 29, 227) and A.D. 70-96 (p. 257), 'coypists' {p. 193), 'proably' (p. 222), both 'Chi Rho' (pp. 205, 208) and 'chi rho' (p. 163) obtain, 'parallel to [the] surface' (p. 237), 'relationships of silver to gold is no more .. .' (sic] (p. 222), etc. One of the major improvements of this new edition as additional material is undoubtedly the provision at the end of each chapter of copious references (very welcome to see, too, the find-spots, where certain, added below the illustrations of brooches), which will save many a student much laborious effort in tracing the relevant information (checldng, however, is necessary here, too: e.g. R. Merrifield, The Roman City of London, was published in 1965 and not in 1956, as on p. 129; E. Burley, PSAS, 89 (1956-6) (sic]). There is also a full index. A book of this scope is an event in itself and, in retrospect, it seems rather churlish to pin-point some of its very minor blemishes. However, in order to judge the esteem in which it is held by this reviewer, it would suffice to add that it is a very worthy successor of the earlier volume, and to add that it is a 'must' for all archreologioal libraries, public and private alike, is no mere endorsement but an expression of gratitude for so much information for many interests so readily available. It wiU obviously remain a standard work of reference for many years to come, and one hopes that 'Collingwood and Richmond' will become as standard a quotation as 'Oswald and Pryce' has been since 1920 in another field. A. P. DETSIO.AS 26$ ltEVIEWS. Roman Goins. By Harold Mattingly. Second Edition (corrected). 5 in. x8¾ in. Pp. xiv+305, pl. 64. Methuen, 1967. 75s. · The late Dr. Mattingly's book is one which no serious student of the Roman world can afford to neglect. Dr. Mattingly's writings were informed by a lifetime's devotion to classical culture, and his intimate acquaintance with its history, literature and daily life illuminate Roman Goins with a rare understanding that amateur and professional alike are quick to appreciate. The first edition was compiled at the time when Mattingly had first risen to numismatic greatness-the second, when he was the revered doyen of Roman numismatic studiesthe new corrected reprint, edited by his no less distinguished son, Professor Harold B. Mattingly, stands now as a memorial to his greatness, and is a standard work which will not easily be superseded. Roman Goins is grounded in a chronological framework. First, a section on the Roman Republic, entirely rewritten in the author's later years, when his researches had transformed the traditional picture; secondly, accounts of the earlier and later periods of the Empire, divided so as to bring out the fundamental differences between them; thirdly, a general treatment of the city coinages of the Greek world under Roman rule. There is also a comprehensive bibliography, enabling specific topics to be followed up. It should be made clear that Roman Goins is not a book for complete beginners, and it 'cannot be used for coin identification and dating. It is rather a book for connoisseurs, by one of the greatest connoisseurs of the Roman world that it has ever been my privilege to know. J. P. c. KENT A Second Kentish Patchwork. By Robert H. Goodsall. 8¾ in. x5£ in. Pp. 152, 45 plates and drawings. Stedehill Publications, Harriet. sham, 1968. 36s. To say of this book that it is 'the mixture as before' in an entirely complimentary comment as the mixture is such a pleasant one. As in his previous 'Patchwork', the author ranges over a wide variety of subjects and has found interesting and unusual things to say about them all, whether they are bathing-machines or highwaymen, Follies or chalybeate springs. The two short biographical essays provide an interesting contrast between the exemplary Mr. Barrell and the sinister Mr. Collington. Not even Mr. Goodsall's disarming advocacy, however, can persuade this reader to swallow his latest version of 'The Old Straight Track'! The quality of the illustrations, which consist of the author's own photographs and drawings, is excellent, particularly so, perhaps, in the series showing the Kent :river bridges, which includes, one is glad to 269 REVIEWS see, the M2 Motorway Bridge over the Medway at Rochester-surely no unworthy companion of his medieval predecessors. Of great interest, too, are the views of bygone Canterbury which, as they show buildings now lost to us by accident, enemy action or redevelopment, have a historical as well as an aesthetic value. A. C. HARRISON Tke Roman Imperial Army of the First an