The history of Belgic Britain has usually been reconstructed around the names of the few known kings or chieftains. Apart from two inscriptions and some casual references in classical authors, our only information about them comes from the coinage which bears their names. The pioneer work on this subject was done by Sir John Evans in the last century, and his book is still the chief authority, but many of his conclusions now require modification. This is largely due to the researches of Dr. G. C. Brooke, who shortly before his death suggested a new dating for the earlier and uninscribed coins, but died before he had had time to apply the results fully to the inscribed series.

The excavations to be described were undertaken at the request of H.M. Office of Works in the summer of 1938, and were in the nature of ‘rescue work’, for the area on which the barrows lay had been acquired by a government department and it was felt desirable that some at least of the barrows should be excavated in advance of operations in order to avoid possible damage. With regard to the choice of sites, as will be seen from the site plan (fig. 1), there are altogether some 34 barrows in the area acquired by the Ministry, but it was found possible to limit the actual excavation to eighteen, mainly of small size and elevation, and many extremely small, and mostly within the central area of the ground. The rejection of the large barrows was largely governed by the time factor since the excavation of a large barrow would be of necessity a longer task than that of a small one, and in the limited time allowed we were faced with the alternative of excavating two or three large barrows or a larger number of relatively small mounds.

Insula XVII lies within the Gorhambury estate, immediately opposite the theatre and on the east side of the modern drive, which here almost coincides with the underlying Watling Street. It was while excavation of the theatre was in progress in 1934 that part of this area was opened up, in the process of locating the foundations of the triumphal arch which had spanned the Roman street at this point. The frontage of an apparently imposing building, running parallel to Watling Street, was then uncovered, but, though the exposed walls were planned by Mr. A. W. G. Lowther, A.R.I.B.A., F.S.A., no further work was undertaken in this area at that time and the masonry was covered in again. As the area in question lies close to the civic centre of the Roman city, now buried beneath St. Michael's churchyard and vicarage garden, and as already the theatre and a Romano-Celtic temple had been found in Insula XVI immediately to the west, it seemed likely that this new building might likewise be monumental in character and would repay further investigation. It was also hoped that excavation here, within the compass of the early Roman city might throw more light both on the earliest and on the latest occupation of the site. The Earl of Verulam was therefore approached and I would like at this point to record the thanks of the Verulamium Excavation Committee for generous permission to undertake the work.

In 1938 the Kent Archaeological Society carried out extensive excavations on the site of the important Iron Age hill-fort of Oldbury, above Ightham, Kent. An abridged report of the work has already appeared in Archaeologia Cantiana, li (1939), 137–81. But in view of the more than local importance of some of the results obtained it has seemed advisable to republish them on a considerably expanded basis. The actual work of excavation, recorded in detail in Archaeologia Cantiana, is here more briefly summarized; whereas the bearing of the results obtained upon more general problems is considered at rather greater length.