First published 1989, a new edition of the proceedings of a seminar held in South Shields (N England) in July 1985 on the architecture of the gates and defences of auxiliary forts in the early principate. Contents: 1) Timber gateways, with a note on iron fittings (W H Manning and I R Scott); 2) The evidence for the form and appearance of turf and timber defences of Roman forts in the late first century, based on experiments at the Lunt Roman fort (Brian Hobley); 3) The defences of the Roman forts at Bu Ngem and Gheriat el-Garbia (Derek Welsby); 4) The reconstructed Roman remains at Castlefield, Manchester (John Walker); 5) The principal gateways of masonry forts on the Hadrianic frontier in England: aspects of their construction, planning, and possible appearance (Julian Bennett); 6) Notes on the north gateway of milecastle 39, Castle Nick (James Crow); 7) The reconstruction of a gate at the Roman fort of South Shields (Paul Bidwell, Roger Miket and Bill Ford ).

More than a tenth of the Roman army's total strength was stationed in Britain. Focusing on the auxiliary forts that were occupied from the second century onwards, this work looks at: the plans and functions of forts; the everyday life of officers and men; what the study of finds tells us about supply systems; and more.