Lucerna Newsletters
Current and recent print editions of Lucerna are available solely to members of the Roman Finds Group. Published twice-yearly, this newsletter is now past its 60th edition.
Lucerna contains all that this website does, and even more: articles submitted by members, recently-discovered artefacts, appeals for help with identification, as well as information on all the page headings above, in greater detail, such as summaries of study days and conferences, book reviews and forthcoming events.
Contributions are always welcome – short notes or longer articles – so please send them to our editor Frances McIntosh (see ‘RFG Committee’ page), and share your knowledge, information and requests with the rest of the Roman Finds Group.
Older editions of Lucerna are available to download free of charge below. More recent editions of Lucerna, along with all RFG Datasheets, can be accessed via our ‘members login’ area, at the top of this page.
(Please note that contact details of current committee members should be taken from our ‘RFG Committee’ page above, not from these archive Lucernae.)
Index to Online Lucerna
Members may download all copies of Lucerna from their membership page. Non-members may download copies that are over 2 years old. We have provided an index of the main articles included in each issues.
Lucerna 63, July 2022
| Davis, Glynn J. C. | Jar Pendants from Roman Britain: Reconsidering the Ivory Bangle Lady’s Earrings’ | 7-15 |
| Paites, Ben | Roman inscriptions at Colchester Museums | 16-17 |
Lucerna 61, July 2021
| Nicola Hurt | Toward a typology of hare and hound folding knife handles. | 7 |
| Lisa Brundle, Laura Burnett, John Pearce, Lucy Shipley and Sally Worrell | The Leasingham horse and other animals: three zoomorphic objects reported to the Portable Antiquities Scheme in 2020 | 11 |
| Barbara Birley and Stephen Greep | A New Antler Roundel Pendant with Phallic Decoration from Vindolanda | 16 |
Lucerna 60, January 2021
| John Pearce | ‘If you love me…’ An Inscribed Brooch from Orton, Northants | 5 |
| Stephen Greep | Two-Piece Bone Hairpins with Carved Busts from Roman Britain | 9 |
Lucerna 59, July 2020
| Glynn J.C. Davis & Martin Henig | The Recent Re-discovery of Roman and Later Intaglios at Colchester Museums | 7 |
| John Pearce, Angie Bolton & Sally Worrell | Love Handles: A Roman Folding Knife with a Sex Scene from Mappleborough Green, Warwickshire | 20 |
Lucerna 58, January 2020
| Adam Parker | A Marble Relief of the ‘All-Suffering Eye’ in Woburn Abbey | 6 |
| Roland Cobbett | The Colliton Park Dice Tower and others Made of Wood and Bone | 10 |
Lucerna 57, July 2019
| Summer L. Courts and Timothy M. Penn | A Corpus of Gaming Boards from Roman Britain | 4 |
| Alastair Willis | An Anthropomorphic Cosmetic Mortar from Flintham, Nottinghamshire | 13 |
Lucerna 56, January 2019
| Gil Burleigh and Ralph Jackson | AImages of Silenius from the Territoriu, of Romano-British Baldock | 4 |
| Natasha Harlow | Roman Bone Gaming Counters from Caistor St Edmund | 8 |
Lucerna 55, July 2018
| Michael Marshall | An Anthropomorphic Clasp-Knife Handle from the Thames Foreshore at London | 5 |
| Jörn Schuster | Is there such a thing as a Roman Slate Stylus? | 8 |
Lucerna 54, January 2018
| Gil Burleigh | Finds from Sacred Places in the Landscape around Romano-British Baldock | 5 |
| Piercebridge, County Durham | Mystery Objects | 19 |
Lucerna 53, June 2017
| Michael Marshall | Stained Bone Hairpins from Roman London | 6 |
| RFG | Spring Conference, St Albans | 11 |
| Can you help? | Linchpins and a Silver Finger-ring | 6 |
Lucerna 52, January 2017
| Adam Parker | A Copper-Bowl with Phallic Decoration from Trier, in the Collection of the Yorkshire Museum | 5 |
| Martin J. Dearne | A Crossed Line: A Slightly Different (?Military) Harness Mount | 9 |
| Adam Parker | Mystery Object: A Gold Plaque in the Yorkshire Museum | 10 |
| David Sherlock | Bringing Writing Tablets to Life | 11 |
Lucerna 51, June 2016
| Glynn J.C. Davis | Bone Spatulate Strips From Roman London | 6 |
| Tatiana Ivleva | Ongoing Research: Global Glass Adornments Event Horizon in the Late Iron Age and Roman Period Frontiers (100 BC – AD 250) | 15 |
Lucerna 50, January 2016
| Ben Paites | The Manufacture and Symbolism of Radiating Designs on Brooches in Roman Britain | 14-21 |
| John Pearce, Sally Worrell and Frank Basford | Mars, Roma or Love. Actually? A New Monogram Brooch from Britain | 22-23 |
| Philip Smither | Ongoing Research: Romano-British Weighing Instruments | 24-25 |
Lucerna 49, July 2015
| Humphreys, 0wen and Marshall, Michael | “The same, but different”: a miscellany of ‘Bügelzangen’ and related objects from Roman London | 4-14 |
| K. Adams, D. Boughton, A. Byard, R. Griffiths, M. Phelps, D. Williams, J. Pearce and S. Worrell | From figurines to fob-danglers: finds from PAS | 25-29 |
Lucerna 48, January 2015
| Barbara Birley, | Keeping up appearances: the wooden hair combs from Vindolanda | 5 |
| Gill Dunn | Recent finds from Chester focusing on finds from the amphitheatre | 5 |
| Nicholas Ford | EXPLORING SECONDARY USE AND MEANING IN ROMAN COINS WITH REFERENCE TO A NUMMUS OF DIOCLETIAN | 8-10 |
Lucerna 47, July 2014
| Greep, Stephen and Marshall, Michael | Brigantian immigrants to Londinium? New finds of perforated bone ‘spoons’ | 2-7 |
| Worrell, Sally | Mystery objects (bronze ?vessel fragment with relief, gilded disc brooch, and ithyphallic figurines) | 21 |
Lucerna 46, January 2014
| Dobson, Rebecca | Ritual or refuse? A summary of an artefact assemblage from the river Tees, Piercebridge | 2-4 |
| Lydamore, Chris with Hall, Jenny and Jackson, Ralph | Nodge Nolan obituary | 5-6 |
| Greep, Stephen | Red deer at the end of Roman Britain- a change in diet, hunting practices or new industrial processes? | 7-9 |
Lucerna 45, July 2013
| Wardle, Angela and Marshall, Michael | Two obsidian objects from Roman London (probably handles) | 1-2 |
| Worrell, Sally and Pearce, John | A selection of Roman artefacts recorded by the Portable Antiquities Scheme in 2012 | 4-8 |
| Greep, Stephen | Some more fishes? (bone fish pendants) | 13 |
| Bowsher, Julian and Marshall, Michael | A first glance at two prehistoric objects from Roman London |
Lucerna 44, January 2013
| Cool, Hilary; Briggs, Stephen; Irving, Pam; Ward, Margaret; Henig, Martin | Glenys Lloyd-Morgan: an appreciation; the life; the young archaeologist; Glenys at Chester; Glenys and Venus | 1-5 |
| Crummy, Nina | Glenys Lloyd-Morgan: a bibliography | 5-8 |
| Swift, Ellen | An Iron Age helmet from Kent | 9 |
| Henig, Martin | The Silchester eagle: a comment | 32-33 |
Lucerna 43, July 2012
| Durham, Emma | The Silchester eagle | 7-8 |
| Greep, Stephen | Five little fishes…or more? (bone fish pendants) | 8-11 |
| Mackreth, Donald | Dragonesque brooches (list including PAS items) | 11-12 |
| de Jersey, Philip | Jersey: a new coin hoard (iron age coins) | 12 |
| Friendship-Taylor, Roy | Mystery object | 13 |
Lucerna 42, January 2012
| Friendship-Taylor, Roy and Greep, Stephen | A Claudian pit-group of bone hinges and box fittings from a ‘military’ latrine pit beneath the Piddington phase 1b proto-villa | 2-9 |
| Mackreth, Donald | Brooches needing a home (plea from specialist who wants to return finds to excavators) | 9-10 |
| Statton, Michelle | A follow-up on the AHRC collaborative doctoral awards, with an introduction to a study on dress, adornment and identity in late Iron Age and Roman Britain | 16-19 |
Lucerna 41, July 2011
| Aggujaro, Angela | Roman razor from Bishop’s Cleeve, Cheltenham | 3-5 |
| Ferris, Iain | Images of disabled and Africans/black people (plea for information) | 7 |
Lucerna 40, January 2011
| Dearne, Martin | A flagon lid from Enfield and a note on the type | 3-5 |
Lucerna 39, September 2010
| Feugère, Michel | The Artefacts Project: an encyclopaedia of archaeological small finds | 4-6 |
Lucerna 38, July 2009
| McIntosh, Frances | Wirral brooch: a regional variant of Roman bow brooch | 3-5 |
| Sherlock, David | Towards a typology of Romano-British spoons | 5-8 |
| Reynolds, Julie | A puzzling object from South Wales- any clues gratefully received (unusual pair of tweezers) | 8 |
| Payne, Naomi and Durham, Emma | The little horse from Chalk Pit Field, Sedgeford, Norfolk. | 9-10 |
| McIntosh, Frances | Brooch patterns? (lead trumpet brooch) | 10 |
Lucerna 37, March 2009
| Daubney, Adam | Romano-British ‘ToT’ rings- some variations | 3-4 |
| Crummy, Nina | Evidence for an Isis cult in Colchester | 4-5 |
| Timby, Jane and Rigby, Val | Gallo-Belgic pottery database | 5 |
| Hobbs, Richard | British Museum collections now just one click away | 6-7 |
| Friendship Taylor, Roy (with Feugère, Michel) | Mystery object identified (as Etruscan strainer) (see Lucerna 35) | 13-14 |
Lucerna 36, July 2008
| O’Riordan, Emma Jane | Small finds in the bigger picture: 3D scanning of archaeological objects for education and interpretation | 3-10 |
| Henig, Martin | A valedictory forbidding mourning (retrospective on his career as a small finds expert) | 10-11 |
| Dearne, Martin | A little poser from Enfield (possible Roman horse harness mount) | 11-13 |
Lucerna 35, March 2008
| Dawson, Alan | ‘Minerva’ wax spatula handle from near Norwich | 2 |
| Friendship-Taylor, Roy | Mystery object | 2 |
| Williams, Sandie | Plea for bells | 3 |
| Scott, Wendy | Possible temple site in Leicestershire | 3 |
Lucerna 34, December 2007
| Webb, Dave | A patera/trulleum from Clay Farm, Cambridgeshire. Notes from ongoing research and the development of an online resource | 2-5 |
| Lydamore, Chris | A bath saucer from near Harlow, Essex | 6 |
| Lydamore, Chris | A possible method of producing barbed projectile heads in the late Roman period | 6-8 |
Lucerna 33, March 2007
| Mould, Quita | A double-headed button and loop fastener from Reighton, North Yorkshire | 2-6 |
| Shaffrey, Ruth | The puddingstone rotary querns from Springhead Roman town, Kent | 6-10 |
Lucerna 32, September 2006
| Kiernan, Philip | The Roman model objects project | 2-3 |
| Hobbs, Richard | Unusual silver spoon fragment | 4 |
| Crummy, Nina | A jug handle from Silchester | 4-6 |
Lucerna 31, January 2006
| Schuster, Jorn et al | A late 5th – 6th century context (for a brooch) from Springhead, Kent | 2-3 |
| Jackson, Ralph | Unusual greyhound brooch | 4 |
Lucerna 30, September 2005
| Hill, JD & Crummy, Nina | Late Iron-Age shears from Hertfordshire | 2-4 |
| Pooley, Laura | A gilded bone hairoin from Colchester | 5 |
| Puls, Jodi | Roman hairpins from Hampshire | 6 |
| Watters, Julian | Figurine of Harpcrates | 7 |
| Hobbs, Richard | Unusual Roman ‘test piece’ | 8 |
| Williams, Sandie | Two bone stoppers from Silchester | 9 |
| Jackson, Ralph | An enamelled bronze pan from Staffordshire Moorlands, England: a souvenir from Hadrian’s Wall | 10 |
Lucerna 29, January 2005
| Palmer, John | Catalogue of Roman Purbeck mortars | 2-4 |
| Major, Hilary | A pincer-type brooch from Southwark | 5 |
| Booth, Paul | Late Roman spurs from Lankhills, Winchester | 6 |
| Crummy, Nina | An unusual lamp from Colchester | 7 |
| Reece, Richard | The new Corinium Museum | 8-9 |
| Williams, Sandie | Tubular ferrules | 9-11 |
| Cool, Hilary | Brooches and moulds from Dymock | 22 |
Lucerna 28, July 2004
| Jackson, Ralph | An unusual weapon find from Roman Britain | 2-3 |
| Wallace, Colin | (Portable) pine cone symbolism in Roman Britain | 4-6 |
| Friendship-Taylor, Roy | A new pair of Agathangelus type tweezers from Piddington Roman villa | 6 |
| Eckardt, Hella & Crummy, Nina | Presenting the body – toilet instruments in Roman Britain | 7 |
| Tracey, Justine | Purbeck marble inscriptions in Silchester | 8-10 |
| Minter, Faye | Strap fasteners from Suffolk | 12-14 |
| Worrell, Sally | Some new late Roman rivet spurs | 20-22 |
| Crummy, Nina | Using the Portable Antiquities Scheme data for research (using nail cleaners as a source) | 23-27 |
Lucerna 27, January 2004
| Major, Hilary | The dating of Puddingstone querns | 2-4 |
| Bolton, Angie | Ox-head bucket mounts – a plea for details | 4-5 |
| Cool, Hilary | A soldier from Herculaneum | 5-7 |
| Hoffman, Birgitta | A brief note on the end date of the Cipius Polybius skillets | 8-9 |
| Herepath, Nick | A survey of Roman brooches from Cheshire | 9-12 |
| Herepath, Nick | ‘Jelly baby’ mounts from Yorkshire | 13 |
| Crummy, Nina | And there’s more (wax spatula handles) | 21 |
| Tongue, James | Seal boxes from Britain – a morphological review | 23-41 |
Lucerna 26, July 2003
| Jackson, Ralph | A new treasure and a new goddess for Roman Britain | 2-4 |
| Crummy, Nina | Hunter-god handle from Yorkshire | 5-6 |
| McSloy, Ed | A zoomorphic clasp-knife handle from Gloucester | 6-8 |
| Cambridge, Owen & Watt, Tommy | The northernmost Roman brooch from Britain | 8 |
| Feugere, Michel | Penknives from Newstead: writing accessories | 9-11 |
| Hobbs, Richard | New iron Age site from East Leicestershire | 12-14 |
| Pugsley, Paola | Pasta shapes | 14-15 |
| Croom, Alex | Sexing brooches | 16-19 |
Lucerna 25, January 2003
| Eckardt, Hella & Hobbs, Richard | An unusual decorated candlestick from Springhead, Kent | 2-5 |
| Robinson, Dan & Clarke, Vanessa | Possible temple inscription found in Chester | 6 |
| Grew, Francis & Brown, Gary | Londiniensium – cast in stone | 7-8 |
| Snape, Margaret | A worked stone from the vicus at South Shields (Arbeia) | 8 |
| Jackson, Ralph & Friendship-Taylor, Roy | The Piddington gladiator clasp-knife | 9-11 |
| Hill, JD | A pair of silver penannular brooches from Wheathampstead | 11-12 |
| Wardle, Angela | Ivory implements from London | 12-13 |
| Worrell, Sally | More Minerva bust wax spatula handles | 13 |
| Crummy, Nina | Other types of wax spatula from Britain | 14-17 |
Lucerna 24, July 2002
| Pugsley, Paola | An item of Roman coopered furniture from Dorchester (Dorset) | 7-10 |
| Worrell, Sally | Some portable antiquities from Hampshire and Wiltshire | 13-14 |
| Geake, Helen | New wax spatula from Suffolk | 14-15 |
| Greep, Stephen | More amulets (Silchester) | 15 |
| Eckardt, Hella | Candlesticks in Roman Britain | 15-16 |
| Cool, Hilary | The Catterick Gallus | 18-21 |
Lucerna 23, January 2002
| Major, Hilary | Roman decorated iron styli | 2-6 |
| Crummy, Nina | Wax spatula handle from Yorkshire | 6-8 |
| Johns, Catherine | A gold amulet-pendant from Eaton Constantine, Shropshire | 9-10 |
| Dunn, Gillian | Bronze vessels from Middlewich | 11 |
| Eckardt & Crummy | Ivory folding-knife handle from Silchester | 12-13 |
| Abauzit, Pierre | No more mystery? Bone phalluses – an explanation for the mystery widgets in Lucerna 22 | 13-14 |
| Harrison, Emma | Box appeal – boxes found from Grateley South, Hants | 14-15 |
| Codreanu-Windauer, Silvia & Bartei, Antja(Trans, Eckardt & Crummy) | Spindle, Whorl, Pot – a remarkable group of grave goods from Bavaria | 17-27 |
Lucerna 22, July 2001
| Crummy, Nina | Nail-cleaners: regionality at the clean edge of Empire | 2-6 |
| Wardle, Angela | Mystery widgets – 2 unusual bone objects from London | 7 |
| Stokes, Mike with contributions from Henig, M & Johns, C | Rings and things | 7-8 |
| Pugsley, Paola | Etruscan hinged shoes | 9-10 |
| Penny, Stephen | Lead salt pans | 11 |
| Cotton, Jon | Bibliography of sets of gaming counters | 12-13 |
Lucerna 21, January 2001
| Pugsley, Paola | Of Timotei and boxwood combs | 3-6 |
| Hembrey, Nicola | Help needed – mystery sandstone ?table fragment | 7 |
| Crummy, Nina | Toy storey – stacked counters from Colchester | 7 |
| Carter, Barry | Two lead bull heads from Cambridgeshire | 7-8 |
| Paynton, Ceinwen | Button-and-loop fasteners in a Roman province: A step towards a regional typology? | 8-9 |
| Pugsley, Paola | Wooden combs and niche markets | 9-10 |
Lucerna 20, July 2000
| Cooke, Nick | Antler combs, big hair and the Mafia in late Roman Britain – an e-mail correspondence | 3-7 |
| Eckardt, Hella | An imported candlestick from Silchester | 8 |
| Crummy, Nina | An unusual brooch from Heybridge | 8-9 |
| Carter, Barry | A lead model from St Albans | 10 |
| Crummy, Nina et al | Agathangelus stamp | 10-11 |
| Snape, Margaret | Some unusual brooches from Arbeia Roman fort, South Shields | 12 |
Lucerna 19, January 2000
| Cool, Hilary | Hairstyles and lifestyles | 3-6 |
| Crummy, Nina | A late Roman grave group from Durobrivae | 7-10 |
Lucerna 18, July 1999
| Cool Hilary | Surfing the database | 9-10 |
| Allason-Jones, Lindsay | Gilding the black lily | 11-12 |
| Carter Barry | Lead brooches from Gloucester | 12-13 |
Lucerna 17, January 1999
| Cooper, Nick | Mystery objects from excavations at Scole, Norfolk/Suffolk 1993-94 | 3-6 |
| Crimmins, Julia &Keally, Claire | A fibula in Dublin | 6-8 |
Lucerna 16, July 1998
| Riddler, Ian | Hone News from Abroad: The Clausentium Lamella | 3 |
| Guest, PeterJohns, Catherine | The Hoxne Hoard – an update | 4-8 |
Lucerna 15, March 1998
| Dearne, Martin | Research into Brooch Catchplate Return Decoration | 3-4 |
| Allen, Vincent | Mystery objects from Clausentium- bone objects | 6 |
Lucerna 14, July 1997
| Pollard, Richard | A ceramic cult figure from LeicesterLonger version published in Britannia 29 (1998) | 2-4 |
| Hoffman, Birgitta | Millefiori gaming counters | 5-6 |
| Ponting, Matthew | Roman Military Metalwork from Masada and Gamla, Israel: the chemistry of soldier and civilian in first century Palestine | 7-9 |
Lucerna 13, January 1997
| Cool, Hilary | Panelled enamel vessels | 2-3 |
Lucerna 12, August 1996
| Snape, Margaret | First century brooches on the northern frontier | 2-5 |
Lucerna 11, April 1996
| Mackreth, Don | Colchesters in the North | 5-8 |
| Seeley, Fiona | An enigmatic object from Scole | 12 |
Lucerna 10, November 1995
| Wallace, Colin | Gallo-Roman clay figurines: how to find your way around the literature | 2-5 |
| Dearne, Martin | Spoon brooches | 6 |
| Wise, Philip | A fragment of Roman silver plate from Ratley and Upton | 7-8 |
Lucerna 9, June 1995
| Dearne, Martin | A burning question (Roman coal use in Britain) (Later article published:Dearne, M. I. & Branigan K. The use of coal in Roman Bntain Ant. J.75 (1995), 71-105) | 3-4 |
| Seeley, Fiona | Roman doorbells | 5-6 |
Lucerna 8, March 1994
| Croom, Alex & Snape, Margaret | Grave goods from the cemetery at Arbeia Roman fort, South Shields | 1-2 |
Lucerna 7, April 1993
| – | – | – |
Lucerna 6, July 1992
| Cool, Hilary | Introducing – Empty Vessels Signifying Something: An introduction to the common types of drinking vessels found on Romano-British sites | 4-8 |
| Kennett, D H | Introducing – An Introduction to late Roman bronze vessels and their literature | 9-13 |
Lucerna 5, February 1992
| Snape, Margaret | A Roman or Sub Roman Brooch | 2-3 |
| Clay, Patrick | Lead seal rewrites history– Roman lead seal from Thorpe by Glebe | 4-5 |
Lucerna 4, September 1991
| Mackreth, Don | Brooch stamps in third-century Britain | 2-3 |
| Appleton, Graham | An introduction to the literature on Roman garden decoration with special reference to sculpture | 4-8 |
Lucerna 3, January 1991
| Jones, Christine | Annum Novum Faustum Felicem Mihi!- Ceramic lamp celebrating the New Year | 3-4 |
| Davies, John | A late Roman bronze punch from Hampshire | 5-7 |
| Dearne, Martin | A Hebridean brooch | 8 |
| Bishop, Mike | An introduction to the literature on Lorica Segmentata | 9-12 |
| Davies, John | An introduction to the literature on Roman coins from British sites | 13-16 |
Lucerna 2, Spring 1990
| Evans, David | Column base from the extra-mural settlement at Caerleon: Gwent | 7-9 |
| Jones, Christine | An identification problem unhinged – bone hinges | 10-12 |
| Lloyd-Morgan, Glynnis | An introduction to Roman mirrors and their literature | 13-18 |
Lucerna 1, Autumn 1989
| Bayley, Justine | Castleford moulds – bronze flask(Request for parallels) | 4 |
| Clay, Patrick | A Roman clasp knife from the Shires excavation, Leicester | 5-6 |
| Cool, Hilary | An introduction to the literature on Romano-British brooches | 8-12 |
| Duncan, Holly | Roman boxwood comb | 13-15 |