The excavations of the Roman fort at Newstead in the early twentieth century set a standard for British archaeology, and this lavishly produced volume celebrates the centenary of archaeological discovery at Newstead, clearly indicating its continuing importance for the Roman archaeology of Scotland and Britain in general, as well as for Roman frontier studies.
The volume consists of nineteen contributions, including the introduction, that deal with discrete aspects of the archaeology associated with the site at Newstead. The contributions can be separated into four sections, covering the place name and historiography of the site and its excavator (Chapters 2–4), the settlement and landscape archaeology (Chapters 5–11), the material culture associated with Newstead (Chapters 11–16) and more recent endeavours (Chapters 16–19). It should be noted, however, that the volume does not report on the excavations of the site between 1989 and 1996, and the final report on these excavations is forthcoming.
While marking a centenary of archaeology at Newstead, made possible by the standard-setting publication of the remains by Curle in Reference Curle1911, the contributions are more than a simple homage to this internationally renowned site. Rather, the contributions should be understood as a contemporary review and update of data associated with Newstead and its environs, and they include a considerable amount of previously unpublished data, observations and new interpretations. While there is insufficient space to address each contribution, it is pertinent to highlight a small number of these in brief. Hanson (Chapter 7) contextualises the site of Newstead with an overview of the Roman conquest and occupation of Scotland in the Flavian–Antonine periods, incorporating recent research from other sites. Cowley and Jones present a number of aerial photographs and interpretations of the fort and its environs and the series of temporary camps in the area in Chapters 5 and 6, respectively. An excellent interpretation of the annexes and extramural occupation associated with the forts is provided by Sommer (Chapter 8). Elliot and Hunter (Chapter 16) also report on new discoveries of small finds from decades of fieldwalking across and around the site.
The sum of all the contributions is an essential volume for any student of the Roman military in Britain, with the content equally suitable for the general reader or the academic, presented in a high-quality publication. Interrogation of each chapter will reveal uncertainties regarding the history of the site and disagreements of interpretation. For example, Sommer (Chapter 8) and Henig (Chapter 14) focus on the classical Mediterranean aspects of the site and material culture and could leave the reader with the impression of little interaction with the local frontier inhabitants, while Hunter (Chapter 16) demonstrates the extent to which British aesthetics influenced even the smallest material components of life. Given these and other differences of interpretation it is testament to the work done by Curle and subsequent scholars, which underscores the importance of Newstead in our understanding of Roman archaeology in Britain.
