Antiquarian records provide indications that shamanic rituals and practices, though fragmented, were still being actively performed in Wales during the nineteenth century. These antiquarian ethnographic records display striking parallels with global shamanic traditions, especially from the northern hemisphere, suggesting a similar if not shared spiritual framework, supported by archaeological evidence for its origins dating back at least to 12,000 bp . A study of Welsh folklore, magico-religious traditions, place-names, rock art and megalithic structures suggest they might include substantial shamanic influences, warranting more detailed interdisciplinary investigation.

Stukeley and Stamford, Part II: tribulations of an antiquarian clergyman, 1730–1738. Edited by John F H Smith. 320mm. Pp xi + 139, 58 ills. Lincoln Record Society and The Boydell Press, 2023. isbn 9781910653104. £50 (hbk).

Discussions of the Gallo-Roman dodecahedron often note the significance of the dodecahedron in Platonic and Pythagorean philosophy, but they tend not to relate the archaeology to the textual evidence in any detail. We attempt to do that in this paper. We argue that, whilst it remains the case that there is no contemporaneous description of the Gallo-Roman dodecahedron, there are several texts – including an overlooked passage in Iamblichus’ On the Pythagorean Life – that point to its possible inspiration. We relate these texts to the location of dodecahedra in Gaul and Britain and to the interest of the Druids in Pythagoras, which was frequently remarked upon by Roman commentators.

50 Early Medieval Finds from the Portable Antiquities Scheme. By Jo Ahmetand Simon Maslin . 234mm. Pp 96, 140 ills. Amberley Publishing, Stroud, 2024. isbn 9781398118911. £15.99 (pbk). - 50 LGBTQ+ Finds from the Portable Antiquities Scheme. By Ben Paites . 234mm. Pp 96, 149 ills. Amberley Publishing, Stroud, 2025. isbn 9781398122116 . £15.99 (pbk).

This small project was initiated to create a broader understanding of the working properties of sarsen and its challenges. This notoriously durable coarse-grained sandstone is most familiarly associated with the Phase 3 monument at Stonehenge, Wiltshire, although its exploitation persisted into the twentieth century. Discussion has focused on the probable methods employed in prehistory to work the stone: splitting, flaking and pecking. These techniques have rarely been applied in practice, but have been considered broadly in this project. The preliminary results, obtained from a single block of saccharoidal sarsen, have reawakened understanding and appreciation of the potential provided by shock waves to split and shape this intractable silicate successfully and repeatedly using direct percussion, techniques that were familiar to Neolithic communities to work flint. The flaking properties of the stone are considered together with attributes of hammer mode in comparison with data from prehistoric stone assemblages at Stonehenge. The discussion questions to what extent flaking could be controlled repeatedly to form a major part of monolith production. Results derived from the laborious nature of pecking supplement previous attempts to recreate dressed surfaces at Stonehenge. Efficiency was not improved by applying heat to the surface of the stone; indeed, it confirmed that uncontrolled, excessive heat shatters the structure of sarsen, rendering it unworkable.

Objects of Empire: the ceramic tradition of the Imperial Inca State. By Tamara L Bray. 279mm. Pp xiv + 211, 126 figs (mostly col), University of Texas Press, Austin, 2025. isbn 9781477330685. £56 (hbk).

This review article discusses five volumes that provide the final report on the excavations in Insula ix at Silchester (the ‘Town Life Project’), which began in 1997 and were completed in 2014: M Fulford, A Clarke and H Eckardt 2006. Life and Labour in Late Roman Silchester: excavations in Insula ix since 1997 (Britannia Monogr no. 22), Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies, London [henceforth Vol 1] M Fulford and A Clarke 2011. Silchester: city in transition. The mid-Roman occupation of Insula ix c AD 125–250/300. A report on excavations undertaken since 1997 (Britannia Monogr no. 25), Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies, London [henceforth Vol 2] M Fulford, A Clarke, E Durham and N Pankhurst 2018. Late Iron Age Calleva: the pre-conquest occupation at Silchester Insula ix (Britannia Monogr no. 32), Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies, London [henceforth Vol 3] M Fulford, A Clarke, E Durham and N Pankhurst 2020. Silchester Insula ix . The Claudio-Neronian occupation of the Iron Age oppidum: the early Roman occupation at Silchester Insula ix (Britannia Monogr no. 33), Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies London [henceforth Vol 4] M Fulford, A Clarke and N Pankhurst 2024. Silchester Insula ix : oppidum to Roman city c 85–125/150 (Britannia Monogr no. 37), Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies, London [henceforth Vol 5]

This paper anatomises and illustrates drawings and prints in the British Museum extracted from an early seventeenth-century album. The drawings, which were inserted by the museum into a new album, suggest that the original album originated in the workshop of a London goldsmith with German or central European origins who worked for the royal court and had a connection to Thomas Cecil, Earl of Exeter. Particular attention is paid to forty-four ornament prints, mainly German, long separated from the drawings. Nearly all are signal additions to the canon of engraved ornament documented in London at this early date. The ensemble thus reassembled is a rare window into design sources, style and processes early in the Stuart period.