This book collects a selection of ten papers that were delivered among many others at the international conference ‘People of the Ancient World’ (Cluj-Napoca, 13–15 October 2016). As openly stated in the title, the focus of this event was on ‘people’ – hence the general theme covered in this short volume of proceedings. The intention of the editors is to engage with this theme from different perspectives and through different methodologies, looking at prosopography, onomastics, professions, social history and military life under the Roman Empire. Many contributors are early-career researchers; their papers are often preliminary in terms of the conclusions they draw, or are a summary/excerpt of more substantial publications that are either in preparation or are now available in print elsewhere. Nevertheless, inclusion of their texts in this book was an opportunity to display the progress and results of their research, and therefore must be regarded as a welcome initiative. The book can be broken down into three sections: the first section (pp. 1–55) deals with trade and professions; more general aspects of prosopography and social status are considered in the second section (pp. 57–113); while the last section (pp. 115–64) focuses on themes related to provincial military communities.

In the first paper M. Zimmermann briefly looks at the gens Barbia from Aquileia, drawing on his broader study Romanisation und Repräsentation in Noricum (2017). The conclusion of his survey, in accordance with other scholars, is that there is no evidence that this family ever had a monopoly of trade activities in Noricum or across the neighbouring regions. In the following paper Varga outlines an ongoing digital project that aims to analyse all Latin inscriptions related to professions, complementing more archaeology-oriented databases such as that of the Oxford Roman Economy Project (www.romaneconomy.ox.ac.uk). This effort is praiseworthy and also brings to our attention the fact that such digital, web-based platforms – whether they deal with themes of archaeology, ancient history, art and antiquities or endangered cultural heritage – should be interlinked and ‘talk to each other’, which would improve accessibility worldwide and avoid duplication of information. I. Dumitrache discusses the nomenclature of people involved with the textile trade across the Roman world, in particular the traders of luxury linen and wool garments, concluding that these were specialised activities and each group tended not to deal with more than one type of product. An assessment of the epigraphic evidence attesting to the professions of private slaves and freedmen in Moesia Inferior is presented by L. Mihǎilescu-Bîrliba. The author argues that these two categories of individuals were mainly active in the field of agriculture, although the number of extant inscriptions within the current state of knowledge (twelve examples) represents quite a small sample.

Moving towards issues of prosopography, E. Robinson outlines some preliminary observations on the leading families from the town of Larinum (Molise, Italy), which are to be more fully discussed in a forthcoming monograph. Robinson concludes that shifts of power in this town through time were not caused by the arrival of new elite members from Rome or from other cities of the Italian peninsula, but rather involved different families within the local aristocracy (the gentes Cluentia, Didia, Paquia, Papia, Vibia, Raia, Coelia and Gabbia). In her short review of private associations from the Black Sea, A.I. Pázsint examines usage of the terms mater, pater and adelphos in local inscriptions, highlighting the occurrence of fictive and actual familial relationships as part of these associations. Jumping to the opposite end of the Roman world, D. Gorostidi, R. Mar and J. Ruiz de Arbulo present an overview of social life at Tarraco during the second century ad. The bibliography – mostly in Spanish – on this Hispanic capital city is vast, especially when one looks at its urbanism and architecture (among the most recent titles, see in particular R. Mar et al. [edd.], Tarraco. Arqueología y urbanismo de una capital provincial romana, Vol. 1 [2012] and 2 [2015]). However, the present essay is a valid addition and a useful guide for those who are interested in the local epigraphy and social history.

The last three papers are concerned with matters relating to the Roman provincial army. M. Gui and D. Petruţ examine depictions of soldiers on funerary monuments in Dacia. The two authors look at specific aspects of iconography, especially representations of cuirassed men, soldiers in battle gear, riders, soldiers in camp dress and funerary banquet scenes, to reconstruct social and cultural patterns. While issues of identity within the auxiliary troops and across the entire province of Dacia are taken into account, it is surprising that some important recent works on these subjects are not listed, in particular W.S. Hanson and I.P. Haynes (edd.), Roman Dacia. The Making of a Provincial Society (2004) and I.P. Haynes, Blood of the Provinces: the Roman Auxilia and the Making of Provincial Society from Augustus to the Severans (2013). The essay by T. Grüll offers interesting remarks on the way in which soldiers referred to their origin in written texts. The evidence from private epitaphs shows a certain degree of confusion and overlap in the use of terms like civis, natione and domo, which would suggest reassessing some statements made by previous scholars on this matter. Finally, in the last paper Cupcea focuses on a particular group of individuals, the centurions, and questions whether one should regard them as a military or a social elite. It is ascertained that centurions were often charged with civilian duties and were involved in political and judicial matters, also playing a central role in the religious and cultural life of communities. On balance, despite this mixture of military and civilian duties, Cupcea supports the case that local provincial societies mostly perceived centurions as military men, regardless of what their duties were at the time.

One of the positive aspects of this collection is that the texts were put together quickly, which allowed for the book to be published in a very reasonable time. There are important insights that can be drawn from many of these papers and that will encourage debate and further research. In particular, the first four essays on trade and professions offer a range of information that complements the content of recent publications, such as A. Tchernia, The Romans and Trade (2016); A. Wilson and M. Flohr (edd.), Urban Craftsmen and Traders in the Roman World (2016); A. Wilson and A. Bowman (edd.), Trade, Commerce, and the State in the Roman World (2017), just to cite some examples from Anglophone scholarship. Likewise, research on the daily life, social status, art and culture of the Roman army is a popular field of investigation, which is generating a wealth of new data. The three papers in the last section of this volume are a useful supplement to the available evidence.

Some shortcomings and weaknesses, however, are evident when one makes an assessment of the book as a whole. It is regrettable that the volume lacks an introduction by the two editors – only a one-page foreword is to be found, which hardly serves the same purpose. It is worth keeping in mind that introductory essays, especially in the case of edited volumes, are not just repetitive, rhetorical exercises. On the contrary, they are fundamental tools that provide context for the argument and set it within current strands of scholarship, thus guiding the reader and facilitating identification of subjects of interest through a careful assessment of the status quaestionis. The fact that none of this is present in this volume is a missed opportunity. Another problem lies with the general organisation of the book. The papers and the three sections into which they can be grouped do not appear to be interrelated or to follow a precise order, each of them rather functioning as a stand-alone block. The geographical and chronological frame under examination is very broad, covering a large number of territories across the Roman world over three or more centuries. It would have been desirable to have some additional information on the criteria that determined this choice. At the same time, one may also regret the lack of an index, which would have been particularly useful as numerous names of individuals and places appear in all the essays of this collection.

One will gladly acknowledge that many non-native English speaking scholars submitted their work in English for publication in this volume. Without doubt this will boost dissemination and discoverability of their research at an international level. On the other hand, linguistic revision and copy-editing should have been more exhaustive – mistakes, typographic errors, spelling inconsistencies and some formatting issues occur throughout the text. Unfortunately, the publisher provides little support, or none at all, in this regard. This is particularly regrettable, given that their ‘Roman Archaeology’ book series is otherwise well produced – the quality of paper and printed images, for instance, has much improved in recent years and can now stand comparison with other major UK and international publishing houses.