Tom Brindle – författare

This volume contains a selection of papers presented at TRAC 2014, as well as some invited contributions. In keeping with the aims of TRAC, several papers make make innovative use of interdisciplinary theory: in humanistic geography, philosophy and archaeology; social psychology; and the cognitive science of religion in the study of Roman monuments, military social history and religion. Other papers share a common theme: the critical interpretation of archaeological evidence. A more careful consideration of non-grave good pottery sherds from graves suggests that these often disregarded items potentially shed light on funerary rites which are usually considered to be invisible; the potential importance of plant remains, particularly of exotic and rare species, in ritual deposits is examined and a new perspective on the negative aspects of Roman conquest of Northern Gaul presented. New approaches towards our understanding of space and landscape in the Roman world comprise an examination of the suburbs of ancient Rome and preliminary results of an ongoing project exploring the relationship between wetland landscapes and domestic settlements, presenting a case study from Spain.

The series of archaeological investigations summarised in this volume took place to the east of Lydney between 2016 and 2020, in response to an extensive programme of residential development in the area. Four programmes of archaeological investigation were undertaken during this period by both Cotswold Archaeology and Headland Archaeology. The four main investigation areas were located in close proximity to one another, with in some cases coterminous boundaries, situated towards the north of a wider area of land to the east of Lydney that had been subject to preliminary archaeological investigations. The archaeological results from the investigations evidently related to a densely occupied archaeological landscape, with evidence for activity dating from the prehistoric through to the post-medieval and modern periods.Post-excavation analysis was undertaken for each of the four phases of archaeological excavation individually, and standalone archive reports are available for the individual investigations. However, given the closely interrelated archaeology identified in the individual excavation areas, the decision was made to publish summary results of the investigations collectively in a single volume, to facilitate easier access to the interconnected results.