TRAC 2015

The 2015 TRAC proceedings feature a selection of 14 papers summing up some of the key sessions presented at the conference held at the University of Leicester in March 2015, which drew over 180 delegates of 17 nationalities from a variety of universities, museums, and research institutions in the UK, Europe, and North America. As this conference marked the 25th anniversary of TRAC, the volume opens with a preface commemorating the last 25 years with an eye toward the future direction of both conference and community.The proceedings begin with Dr Andrew Gardner’s keynote paper on the topic of ‘Debating Roman Imperialism: Critique, Construct, Repeat?’. This is followed by an array of papers with topics ranging in geographic scope and period, from small finds in early Roman Britain to bathing practices Late Antique North Africa, and from the investigation of deviant burials to the application of urban scaling theory in Roman contexts. Because of this diversity the volume is not broken into specific sections, however, papers with similar themes are grouped accordingly, allowing the text to flow and be read as a whole. The range of contributing authors is also of note, as papers were submitted by PhD students, post-doctoral researchers, and university faculty, all helping to make the 25th anniversary of this series one that continues to emphasise and reflect the aims of TRAC, both as a conference and as a conduit for exploring more theory-driven approaches to the Roman past.

Matthew J. Mandich is a PhD student in the School of Archaeology & Ancient history, University of Leicester. His PhD is entitled: Power and Place: Imperial Residences in Rome’s South-eastern suburbium (AD 14-394). Sergio Gonzalez Sanchez is a PhD student in the School of Archaeology & Ancient history, University of Leicester. His PhD is entitled: Roman-Barbarian Interaction: "Myths" and national traditions in archaeological interpretation in North-Western Europe. Eleonora Zampieri is a PhD student in the School of Archaeology & Ancient history, University of Leicester. Her PhD is entitled: Propagandist town planning between the Republic and the Principate: Caesar, Pompey and the attainment of consent. Thomas J. Derrick is a PhD student in the School of Archaeology & Ancient history, University of Leicester. His PhD is entitled: The socio-cultural implications of the consumption of unguentaria and their contents in Britannia.