The Roman fort of Trimontium is renowned internationally thanks to the work of James Curle (1862–1944) who led the excavations of 1905–1910. This volume brings together key sets of his correspondence which cast fresh light on the intellectual networks of the early 20th century, when professional archaeology was still in its infancy.

The Roman fort of Trimontium, near the village of Newstead in the Scottish Borders, is renowned internationally thanks to the work of James Curle (1862-1944), a solicitor in nearby Melrose. He led the excavations of 1905-1910, with their spectacular discoveries, and produced an exemplary publication. This volume brings together key sets of his correspondence which illuminate his intellectual networks and connections. They reveal a web of local, national and international contacts and travels that equipped him with an impressively broad knowledge of Roman provincial archaeology and turned him into a sought-after advisor for his expertise and knowledge of a range of topics, especially Roman pottery. Yet his interests went beyond the Roman military. His early interests in Swedish archaeology were rekindled after the Trimontiumexcavations, with a series of papers on aspects of Viking brooches, while a long-running interest in finds of Roman material beyond the frontiers of the empire shows his concern to understand the Iron Age societies of Scotland and Scandinavia. The letters are provided with a critical apparatus to explain their context, while introductory chapters consider Curle's background, his local links, his connections with the great Romano-British archaeologist Francis Haverfield, and his wider antiquarian networks. The letters cast fresh light on the intellectual networks of the early 20th century, when professional archaeology was still in its infancy and gifted amateurs such as James Curle played a key role in laying the foundations on which scholarship still builds today.

Includes List of members.

The publication in 1911 of James Curle's excavation of the Roman frontier fort of Newstead, ancient Trimontium, near Melrose in the Scottish Borders was a landmark in Roman frontier studies. This volume was conceived as a celebration of this landmark on its centenary, looking back to Curle and his work, and looking forward to how the picture is changing.

In this, the only biography of Septimius Severus in English, Anthony R. Birley explors how 'Roman' or otherwise this man was and examines his remarkable background and career. Severus was descended from Phoenician settlers in Tripolitania, and his reign, AD 193-211, represents a key point in Roman history. Birley explores what was African and what was Roman in Septimius' background, given that he came from an African city. He asks whether Septimius was a 'typical cosmopolitan bureaucrat', a 'new Hannibal on the throne of Caesar' or 'principle author of the decline of the Roman Empire'?