The English folly: the edifice complex

Abstract

rather than imperial – is likely to mark the establishment of the civitas Brigantum. The site was to prove of enduring importance to the supply of the frontier, and possibly to the administration of the annona in the later third and fourth centuries, particularly evidenced through large warehouses in the north-east corner of the town, and – perhaps – a large building in the north annexe, one of two such unusual and newly discovered late Roman additions to the town’s defences. The reader is informed that further fieldwork to locate the wharves necessary for landing supplies is planned, and these results will be eagerly awaited. The implications of the model of development suggested could perhaps be taken further. If London provides a model, the importance of Gallic peoples and other communities of the imperial mercantile diaspora should be considered at Aldborough as it has been for London. The apparent preference for urban living of elites at Aldborough from the beginning of the settlement, and the reduced emphasis on agricultural wealth seen by Ferraby and Millett, may be linked to the demography and identities of those creating the settlement. We might thus envisage a more diverse community at Aldborough than is implied in this volume. Perhaps the shifting of the label of the Brigantes from the kingdom and community of Cartimandua to the new civitas at Aldborough represents a transfer of power between people, as well as places? Overall this is a thorough synthesis of a very significant site for understanding Roman Britain as a whole, and the north in particular, and Rose Ferraby, Martin Millett and all those involved in the project are to be congratulated on its publication. The importance of the results, the clarity of thought and expression, and quality of production should garner this volume a wide readership across specialists and non-specialists alike.