RIB III indices

Further to a couple of earlier posts:

The Journal of Roman Archaeology currently has a number of pdf copies of recent reviews available on its website. Of particular interest is the review of RIB III by Antony Birley. Of much interest in itself in fact, but of particular interest in that he has gone to the effort of producing a series of indices, lacking from the volume itself.

Find it here, at least for the time being. Probably best save yourself a copy. My earlier link to a review by Hurst (on Roman Gloucester) seems still to be live even though it no longer appears on the JRA page, but who knows for how much longer...

Binchester redux

The latest (which is to say, only the second) Epistula newsletter is out from the Roman Society. In it a note on the past season at Binchester including almost exactly the form of words used in Current Archaeology interpreting the inscription. So 'dedicated by' may come from David Mason and not be down to the editors of CA. It's still not right...

While I'm back on that subject: Sacellum? I've only the photo to go on, but after SAC we have a reversed E ligatured with another letter. Is there the lower bar of an L there? I thought perhaps we might just see the foot of an R. But... the context may fit sacellum better and without seeing it, I'd have to defer to RSOT (in fact I'd probably have to anyway!).

Roman cemetery Gloucester

Looking up the latest issue of the Journal of Roman Archaeology, I found this review by Henry Hurst of the publication of the Gloucester London Road cemetery excavated by Oxford Archaeology.

Quite pertinent to the Twentieth legion (it is the findspot of the tombstone of Lucius Octavius Martialis) with interesting comments on dating. May not be up for long (its a sample review from Vol. 23 and I suppose may be replaced by a sample from Vol. 24 at some point).

Newly Published - RIB III

Roman Inscriptions of Britain III

Landed on my desk yesterday, and well worth the wait. The definitive publication of Roman inscriptions discovered in Britain over the last 50+ years. Handsomely produced, with photographs as well as drawings of (virtually) all of the inscriptions, as is now standard practice in such corpora. Discussion is rather more comprehensive than in RIB I with extensive critical apparatus. The longer entries and additional illustration have led to some odd layout decisions with acres of white space leading to illustrations over the page but on the whole the expansive treatment makes RIB I now seem rather compressed (by contrast it dispenses with its first 550 entries in 183 pages).

The only real quibble? No indices (other than place of discovery). With only 550 entries (compared to the 2400 items in RIB I) it wouldn't seem a vast labour (unless of course someone's working on a consolidated index as we speak!).

Expect some further comment on individual entries as I work my way through...

Available now from Oxbow. Although as of today it's still listed as Not Yet Published!

RIB III - coming soon?

Roman Inscriptions of Britain Volume III: Inscriptions on Stone.
Not so nearly here, after all.

July publication became August publication becomes now 'Not yet published'. Shall just have to exercise some patience (it's Oxbow, after all...)

The pre-publication offer survived into August but if you didn't get in there while you had the chance, hard luck.

RIB III - Nearly here

Been waiting for this for a long while! Expected soon...

Roman Inscriptions of Britain Volume III: Inscriptions on Stone

Sign up for a copy while it's cheap(ish). Of course this will mean updating a lot of references (but I shall want to go through all the new entries anyway; my idea of fun.)