An Archaeology of Social Practices : Soldiers and Society in Later Roman Britain Book

List of Illustrations     9
Preface     13
Acknowledgements     14
Introduction: the Roman Empire in the 21st century     15
An archaeology of identity     15
Particular studies and general problems     20
The development of Roman studies     24
21st century agendas     31
The practice of identity     35
Texts and theory in a historical discipline     35
Agency, structure, and practice     39
4th century problems     51
The material dimensions of 4th century life: objects and spaces     63
Studying materiality     63
Portable material culture     67
Architectural material culture     97
Texts as objects     122
Material practices and identity     128
The temporal dimensions of 4th century life: traditions and change     133
Studying temporality     133
Biographies of assemblages     139
Biographies of places     166
Writing Roman history     186
Tradition, transformation, and structuration     191
The social dimensions of 4th century life: interactions and identities     197
Studying sociality     197
From practices to identities     203
The social world in late Roman Britain     217
A topography of 4th century identities     239
Conclusion: Roman Britain in the 4th century     243
The dynamics of identification in late Roman Britain     243
Late Roman Britain and the late Roman Empire     258
The archaeology of complex identities     261
An empire for the 21st century?     264
Bibliography     267
Index     303
About the Author     312