Welsh Journals

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SHORT NOTICES In these days of urban redevelopment, we are being made aware of the urgent need to uncover and record the hidden remains of Britain's past. At the same time, there is need to communicate the recent achieve- ments of archaeology-often remarkably vivid in their detailed conclu- sions and astonishing in the completeness of their reconstructions-to the interested public. Caerleon, Fortress of the Legion, by Donald Moore (National Museum of Wales, Cardiff, 1970; pp. 52, 13 plates, 3 figs., 1 plan, 35p), is intended to do just that. Although it is particularly directed to school teachers, it is an admirable guide to any visitor to what, in its heyday, was one of the main military fortresses of Roman Britain. From about A.D. 75 to the end of the third century, it housed the Second Augustan Legion of the Roman Army, 6,000 strong. This booklet gives an account of the legion and its internal organization, a summary of the conclusions reached by archaeologists about the fortress (named Isca), a brief survey of the Roman world nearby in south-east Wales, and a scamper through the subsequent history of the area. If a criticism may be offered, it is that it attempts too much. Mr. Moore's commentary is terse, clear and informative (though sometimes lacking polish), and its strength lies in its description of the legion, the fortress and the archaeological discoveries. These qualities would have stood out more sharply if the detailed instructions on where to look and what to note at the site had been incorporated in the main text, the sections on 'school study projects' left to the teacher, and the section on 'other features of interest' (frequently having nothing to do with Isca) omitted. Too much is crammed into the booklet for comfort-or to give Mr. Moore's admirably clear exposition the impact it deserves. The plates are well chosen, though a few of them could have been larger; the plan of the western corner of the fortress (p. 18) would mean more to the visitor if it were placed alongside the aerial photograph (p. 40). J. M. Lewis, Welsh Monumental Brasses: a Guide (National Museum of Wales, Cardiff, 1974; pp. 113; £ 1.50) is a splendidly-illustrated list of the forty monumental brasses that have survived in Welsh cathedrals and churches, together with a lucid introduction on the heraldic design, engraving and other features of these brasses. Wales is necessarily less well endowed with brasses than are many individual counties in England; only three of the examples included here date from pre-1500, and one of these (from St. Non's chapel, St. David's) has disappeared. This compre- hensive, attractive and admirably indexed guide is certain to become the standard work of reference on its subject.