Crossing the Rubicon: The End of the Republic

Roman Republicanism was doomed to failure as soon as its power spread from the confines of Rome's walls to encompass the rest of the Mediterranean. Republicanism remained an ideal to rulers, politicians and citizens alike but it was irreparably damaged by the stark ambition of the very men whose aims should have been to preserve it. This mix of tragedy and failure is vividly realised in Tom Holland's Rubicon.

From Dick Whittington to Ken Livingstone - a big leap in history but not in ideology !

London's streets aren't paved with gold and never have been, but that hasn't stopped millions of people flocking to the metropolis in search of fame and fortune. Of course it was thanks to the Romans that London grew up where it did, but it was during the medieval period that the city really began to take shape, developing into what we would recognise today as the beginnings of a modern city. In her new book Caroline Barron tells us how late medieval Londoners witnessed the emergence of the modern city and sought to control their own destinies within it.

Choose your own poet... Oxford's next Professor

Side by Side with John Cherry and Sue Alcock in the Department of Classics at Ann Arbor in Michigan is the classical scholar Anne Carson whose scholarship is matched by her talents as a poet. "I am a great admirer of her work." writes John. 'It is extraordinarily creative and moves seamlessly between ancient and modern in remarkable ways.'

Of all the new books that have passed over the desks of the Oxbow staff this month, these, for whatever reason, are the ones that grabbed their attention.

New Releases

Side by Side Survey: Comparative Regional Studies in the Mediterranean World
edited by Susan E Alcock and John F Cherry
Hardback. GB £50.00, GB £10.00

Twenty years ago, John Cherry looked forward to the day when archaeological survey projects working around the Mediterranean region (the 'Frogs round the pond') would begin to compare and synthesize the information they had collected. He anticipated researchers tackling big questions of inter-regional scope in new and interesting ways, working at a geographical scale considerably larger than that of the individual survey. Was his optimism misplaced? Despite the extraordinary growth of interest in field survey projects and regional analysis, and despite the developments in survey methodology that have been discussed and implemented in the past two decades, few scholars have attempted to use survey data in a comparative mode and to answer the broad-scale questions confronting social historians. In this volume, which is the outcome of an advanced Workshop held at the University of Michigan in 2002, a number of prominent archaeologists return to the question of comparability. They discuss the potential benefits of working in a comparative format, with evidence from many different Mediterranean survey projects, and consider the practical problems that present roadblocks to achieving that objective. From mapping and manuring to human settlement and demography, environment and culture, each addresses different questions, often with quite different approaches; together they offer a range of perspectives on how to put surveys "side-by-side".

Our 1999 series of publications on The Archaeology of Mediterranean Landscapes should be side-by-side on your bookshelf! If they are not, now is the time to fill the gaps at only £15.00 a volume.

1. Reconstructing Past Population Trends in Mediterranean Europe Hb £55.00, now £15.00
2. Environmental Reconstruction in Mediterranean Landscape Archaeology Hb £40.00, now £15.00
3. Geographical Information Systems and Landscape Archaeology Hb £30.00, now £15.00
4. Non-Destructive Techniques Applied to Landscape Archaeology Hb £45.00, now £15.00
5. Extracting Meaning from Ploughsoil Assemblages Hb £55.00, now £15.00

The Splendidly Reasonable Medieval Book Sale

This month we're offering OXeN readers the chance to get their hands on some amazing medieval bargains. All titles are offered on a 'first-come, first-served' basis so when they're gone, they're gone...

Conferences we will be attending

Classical Association (Leeds)
University of Leeds, UK (Thursday 1st April - Sunday 4th April, 2004)
In 2004 the University of Leeds will be celebrating its centenary, and is pleased to host the annual conference of the Classical Association of England and Wales. The annual conference provides a forum for discussion of many aspects of classical study from politics and philosophy to language and poetry.

Institute of Field Archaeologists (Liverpool)
University of Liverpool, UK (Tuesday 6th April - Thursday 8th April, 2004)
As usual the conference will have a number of different and varied sessions on offer.