The Annual General Meeting of the Society was held at 2pm on Saturday 2 June 2018, in the Woburn Suite, Senate House, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HU. The President, Professor Catharine Edwards, was in the chair and welcomed members and non-members.

The President reported on the Society's activities over the previous year, starting with its publication programme. She thanked the Publications Secretary, Dr Lynn Pitts, the current Editors, Professor Christopher Kelly (JRS) and Professor Barry Burnham (Britannia), and the Review Editors, Dr Peter Thonemann (JRS) and Dr Hella Eckardt (Britannia). Dr Eckardt would now succeed Professor Burnham as Editor, and Dr Will Bowden would take over as Review Editor. The President thanked Professor Burnham warmly for all his work for Britannia, and his contribution to the Society over the years, and was pleased to announce that the Council had proposed his election as an Honorary Vice-President. In 2017, the Society published Britannia Monograph 30: Martyn Allen, Lisa Lodwick, Tom Brindle, Michael Fulford and Alexander Smith, The Rural Economy of Roman Britain, the second of a series of volumes (New Visions of the Countryside of Roman Britain). The third volume will appear later this year, and also Britannia Monograph 32, Late Iron Age Calleva by Michael Fulford et al. Finally, the President noted that two further editions of Epistula had also been published online and emailed to members, and she thanked the Editor, Dr Matthew Symonds.

The President then turned to the programme of events and lectures. In the session 2017–2018, the usual programme of lectures held in London at Senate House featured Professor Roy Gibson (The Next Life of Pliny the Younger), Professor Roger Bagnall who delivered the M.V. Taylor Lecture on Papyrology and Ancient History: a Changing Relationship, and a successful joint event with the Hellenic Society on the theme of The Culture of the Greek Cities of the East, with talks by Professors Ewen Bowie, Bert Smith and Karen Ni-Mheallaigh. The Society held another joint event with the Hellenic Society in June 2017: a major day conference on Sculptural Display: Ancient and Modern (generously sponsored by Christian Levett); and the customary joint conference with the Association for Roman Archaeology at the British Museum was on the Emperor Trajan. The Society also hosted a conference on Retrospect and Prospect: 50 Years of Britannia and the State of Romano-British Archaeology, looking ahead to the publication of Britannia 50 in 2019. There was also a visit for Society members to the Leighton House Museum to see the exhibition Alma-Tadema: at Home in Antiquity, and to King's College London to see The Classical Now exhibition.

The highlight of the year for the Archaeology Committee had been the Roman Archaeology Conference (RAC) hosted by the University of Edinburgh in April, along with the Theoretical Roman Archaeology Conference (TRAC). Over four hundred attended this conference which included a wonderful reception in the National Museum of Scotland, and a popular trip to the Antonine Wall. The Society's prize for the best undergraduate dissertation in Roman Archaeology was awarded to Daisy Bendall (University of Leeds), and for the first time a prize was given for the best student poster (the inaugural Sheppard Frere prize): the winning poster was produced by Rhys Williams, Tim Thompson, Caroline Orr and Gillian Taylor of Teeside University.

The President also drew attention to a number of forthcoming events in the autumn including a conference on Sensory Experience in Rome's Northern Provinces; the annual conference at the British Museum on The People of Roman Britain at Home and Abroad, and the Joan Pye Lecture hosted with the Roman Research Trust. In July 2019 the Roman Society, along with the Hellenic Society, Classical Association, ICS and London Colleges will be hosting the FIEC / CA conference 2019. We expect several hundred delegates in London to participate in the conference and enjoy workshops, various cultural events and receptions.

The President thanked all who serve on the Society's Committees, especially Dr Andrew Birley (Chair of the Archaeology Committee) and Mr David Moyes (Chair of the Schools Committee); the officers, Professor Roland Mayer and Dr Philip Kay; and members of Council, including the retiring members: Mr Robert Lister, Dr Dunstan Lowe, Professor Annalisa Marzano and Mr Julian Spencer. The President also thanked Ms Joanna Ashe and the team of librarians, as ever; and the Secretary, Dr Fiona Haarer.

On the fundraising campaign for the Library, the President reported that since the last AGM, the HARL Campaign Board and HARL Board had been meeting to oversee the fundraising strategy. The new HARL website is now up and running, with a promotional film about the Library, and four additional films featuring Mary Beard, Paul Cartledge, Natalie Haynes and Tom Holland. It is possible to make a donation directly via the website. A number of fundraising events have been held in London, Bath and Boston. She encouraged members to make even a small donation, and to help spread the word.

The President asked Dr Philip Kay, the Honorary Treasurer, to deliver his report. Dr Kay presented the accounts for 2017, and referred members to MacIntyre Hudson's statement approving the Accounts.

Dr Kay noted that this was the second year of the new twenty-five year arrangement with the University of London under which the Roman and Hellenic Societies pay fees to the Hellenic and Roman Library (HARL) mainly to fund the salaries of the librarians of the Joint Library. As forecast, the need to fund the Society's share of these new arrangements had an impact on both net income and cash flow in 2017, though the underlying financial picture improved somewhat compared to 2016. The accounts show net expenditure before investment gains of £91,814 (2016: net income of £27,324) and net income of £49,002 (2016: £178,834) after investment gains. Included in the accounts, however, is a one-off donation of £152,178 to HARL for the Library fundraising campaign. Without this, the accounts would show net income before investment gains of £60,264 and net income of £201,180 after investment gains, in both cases small improvements on 2016. The cash outflow from the operating activities of the Society in 2017 was £166,290 (2016: £85,548), although this included the one-off donation of £152,178 to HARL, and adjusting for cash outlays on capital purchases, the total net cash outflow from the Society in 2017 amounted to £186,606. However, adding back the investment proceeds relating to the one-off donation of £152,178 to HARL, the net decrease in cash in 2017 was a more palatable £34,428 (2016: £104,058). A major factor was the revenue from the publishing agreements with CUP for JRS and Britannia which rose by 20% to £168,987 (2016: £141,070).

The Society funded its £152,178 donation to HARL by transferring to it units in the Newton Growth and Income Fund with this value. However, because the Fund again performed well in 2017 (+13.8%), the Society's investment portfolio was still worth £1,470,848 at the end of the 2017 financial year – about the same level at which it started the year (£1,482,210). The Treasurer noted that the funding of the Joint Library will continue to be a significant expense for the Society, and he echoed the President's words in encouraging members to make a donation, and to help promote the fundraising campaign themselves.

The President thanked the Treasurer for his work on the accounts during the year. The Report and Accounts for 2017 were approved on the proposal of Dr Andrew Burnett and seconded by Dr Helen Cockle. The remuneration of MacIntyre Hudson was proposed by Professor Tim Cornell and seconded by Professor Andrew Poulter, and the reappointment of MacIntyre Hudson was proposed by Professor Amanda Claridge and seconded by Mr John Bradley.

Professor Annalisa Marzano proposed and Mr Julian Spencer seconded the following nominations for Council: as President for 2018–2021: Professor T.J. Cornell; Vice-Presidents for 2018–19: Dr A.M. Burnett, CBE, FBA, FSA, Professor C.H Edwards, Professor D.W. Rathbone; as Hon. Treasurer and Hon. Secretary for 2018–19: Dr P.B. Kay, FSA and Professor R.G. Mayer, respectively; and as Council members for 2018–19: Dr S. Corcoran, Dr J. Corke-Webster, Professor S. Cuomo, Dr S. Hay, Professor H. Lovatt, and Dr R. Thomas. All the above Resolutions were passed nem. con.

The President reported that Dr H. Eckardt had been appointed as the Editor of Britannia; Professor M. Corbier had been appointed as an Honorary Member, following the death of Professor Nörr; and that Professor B.C. Burnham and Professor M.G. Fulford had been appointed Hon. Vice-Presidents.

Dr Kay then thanked the outgoing President as follows:

The AGM was followed by a colloquium on Nero: Art, Politics, Culture. The speakers were Professor Dominic Rathbone: Nero: Naughty but Nice?, Professor Eugenio La Rocca: The Parietal Mosaic with the Apotheosis of a Poet from the Mouseion on the Oppian Hill, Dr Carrie Vout: Nero and the Art of Dissolution, Professor Matthew Leigh: Pliny the Elder and Nero, and Professor Catharine Edwards: Seneca's Letters: How (Not) to Write about Nero.