The two books reviewed here are very different approaches to similar subject matter, and demonstrate the versatility of their author in writing for very different audiences. David Breeze is the pre-eminent exponent of the archaeology and interpretation of Hadrian's Wall of his generation. As such, there is no doubt of his qualifications to undertake the daunting task of transforming the venerable Handbook of the Roman Wall for twenty-first-century use, and also to epitomise the study of the Roman frontiers in Britain for a new, young audience.

The first edition of the Handbook to the Roman Wall was published by John Collingwood Bruce in 1863. Since his death in 1892 it has been regularly updated by five editors: Robert Blair, R.G. Collingwood, Sir Ian Richmond, Charles Daniels, and now David Breeze. The current 14th edition is the latest iteration of a book that can claim to be the oldest guidebook in continuous existence, having been out of print but briefly in almost 150 years.

At a time when guidebooks to Hadrian's Wall have been appearing in quantity, as the National Trail has opened up the frontier to a completely new audience, is there still room for another version of this old classic? The answer is a very clear affirmative for two reasons. Firstly, the new generation of guides are of variable quality and most go into the subject of the Roman Wall in surprisingly little depth, being equally (in some cases more) concerned with landscape and other issues interesting to the general leisure walker, but not necessarily to the serious student. Secondly, this volume is emphatically not merely another version of the old classic — it is effectively a completely new book.

Collingwood Bruce's original was a fascinating mix of hearsay and solid archaeology, describing the surviving remains as then understood. Successive editions have updated the descriptive text as new information has emerged, but interpretation has become rather layered over time. In the preparation of the book, B. has walked and examined the whole length of the Wall, the Stanegate and the Cumbrian Coast in order to ensure the accuracy of every detail of the description, a task that took five years. In addition, he has read or re-read most of a century's worth of excavation and survey reports, as well as consulting with all living Wall excavators and scholars. By going back to the field and the original literature he has dispensed with the factoids and whimsy that was retained to some degree in the 13th edition of 1978. The result of this mammoth effort is a concise and authoritative survey of the Wall, without which no-one interested in the Roman frontier should travel.

The structure of the book is familiar from previous editions, with the same initial chapter heads. Ch. 1 ‘Introductory’ contains sections on ‘Earlier Accounts’, which is actually a concise history of writing and research on the Wall from Gildas to recent geophysical and excavation reports, a ‘Historical Summary’ recounting the known historical events and framework within which the northern frontier has to be understood, and a list of ancient sources. The chapter also contains a concise account of the Roman army and its officers, drawing on epigraphic evidence and the Vindolanda writing-tablets, and a table of heights above sea-level of points on the Wall. Ch. 2, ‘A General Account of the Works’ presents the anatomy of the frontier, describing all its components: the Stanegate, the Walls of stone and turf, the Wall ditch, turrets, milecastles, forts, the Vallum, Military Way, roads and bridges, and the Cumbrian coast installations. It also contains brief descriptions of the outpost forts (a group of forts that merited a separate chapter in the 13th edition). The later history of the Wall is summarised, and the various views of the purpose and function of the Wall are explored. The summaries in these chapters are brief and to the point, wasting no words, but avoiding terseness. They are longer than those in previous editions, taking account of the new evidence and thought on the subject that has burgeoned since 1978. As a scholarly but accessible introduction, they reflect B.'s mastery of his subject, and would be hard to better.

Ch. 3, the ‘Description of the Wall’ is the meat of the book at 256 pages in length. It is a continuous narrative of the archaeology of the Wall, describing visible parts in detail, summarising known and excavated portions which are no longer visible, and stating clearly what is inferred, unknown, or yet to discover. As has been mentioned, the description is the fruit of close, recent, personal observation and a thorough reading of the literature. The narrative proceeds from east to west beginning in Arbeia, South Shields and ending at Maia, Bowness-on-Solway. The forts are described in detail in terms of structures, layout, dating and phasing, with evidence from excavation, geophysics, epigraphy, and significant finds woven into a narrative that is part history and part guide, and that allows the visitor rapid understanding of what (s)he is looking at, its importance and historical context. Between each pair of forts the line of the Wall and the smaller installations are as carefully described, with everything known summarised, however brief or obscure the original source of information might be. One example among many is on p. 162, ‘Lost in this stretch [is] T8a (West Denton), sought in 1928, but its location only implied by the discovery of pottery and “occupation earth”…’, the only reference to which is a mention in the Northumberland County History. Chs 4 and 5 describe the Cumbrian Coast and the Stanegate in similar close detail. The extraction of the Stanegate from the Wall description, where it appeared in previous editions, is a welcome innovation, allowing it to be discussed in its own terms, and to properly contextualise the substantial results of recent work on two of its forts: Vindolanda and Carlisle.

The descriptive sections are well illustrated, in the main with new plans and maps drawn, with admirable clarity, by Sandra Rowntree. Aerial photographs and geophysical transcriptions are included for the first time. Older and more familiar images do appear, mostly pictures of inscriptions and other finds, and one of the site illustrations from the Collingwood Bruce original remains — the engraving of the Wall visible in the surface of the Military Road at Walwick (210).

Finally, the bibliography is the only complete bibliography of Hadrian's Wall generally available; an essential resource for anyone wishing to study a particular part of the monument.

Though much thicker than its predecessors, the format and page size has been retained, the binding is robust, and it will still fit readily in the pocket of an anorak, waxed jacket or rucksack. It is meant to be a field guide, and no other book can compete with it as such.

The second book is part of the ‘Classical World Series’, designed to summarise aspects of classical civilisation for students in the late school and early university stage of education. This slim volume is a simply written distillation of B.'s encyclopaedic knowledge of the subject. He begins with a discussion of sources, from classical literature to geophysics, concluding with the useful caveat that ‘it would be nonsense to state that we fully understand [the walls]’. Succinct chapters examine the Roman army and frontier policy and the military conquest of Roman Britain up to the Stanegate. Thirteen pages cover the construction of Hadrian's Wall and its function up to the Antonine advance, and twelve pages give the same information on the Antonine Wall. Two further chapters consider the post-Antonine history of Hadrian's Wall up to the end, and life on the frontier. The book utilises the most up-to-date evidence and interpretation, including the recent geophysical evidence and the obstacles on the berm. It concludes with a selection of sites to visit, themes for further study, and a well chosen list of further reading. The illustrations are well chosen, if familiar from several of B.'s other works. Above all, this introduction to the subject manages to be comprehensive and is written in a simple prose style that reflects the author's undimmed enthusiasm for his theme. It has the potential to inspire a new generation with an interest in Roman Frontier Studies.