Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology (765 page)

Roman emperor, elevated in ad 364 by his brother Valentinian I, the western emperor, to rule the east. He was an Arian, and intolerant. He permitted the Visigoths to enter the empire, and was killed by them in ad 378 at Adrianople.

 
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Roman emperor, proclaimed by the army in ad 364. He placed his brother Valens in power in Constantinople and he himself took over Rome. Much of his reign was spent defending the northern frontiers. He died in ad 375.

 
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Roman emperor, a son of Valentinian I and his successor in Italy in ad 375. His reign was troubled by the usurpation of Magnus Maximus and the overthrow of Gratian in Gaul. He fled from Italy to escape Maximus . His restoration by Theodosius the Great was shortly followed by his death, perhaps murder, in ad 392, at Vienne.

 
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Western Roman emperor, nephew of
HONORIUS
and his eventual successor in ad 425. Most of his reign he was dominated by his mother Placida and by the commander in Gaul,
AETIUS
, whom he murdered in ad 454. He died in ad 455, a victim of retribution by Aetius' retainers.

 
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Situated in the western desert on the west bank of the Nile opposite Thebes, the Valley of the Kings is a narrow steep-sided valley into the walls and floor of which were cut numerous tombs for the kings of the
NEW KINGDOM
from Tuthmosis I through to
RAMESSES XI
. Some members of the immediate royal family and high court officers were also buried here. To date some 62 tombs have been identified and numbered, each tomb having a corresponding temple on the banks of the Nile for the performance of the rituals necessary for the well-being of the dead person. The best-known tomb in the valley is that of
TUTANKHAMUN
, discovered in 1922. In addition to the tombs, excavations in the valley have revealed traces of huts occupied by workers.
[Sum.: J. Romer , 1988,
The Valley of the Kings
. London: O'Mara]

 
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1
Roman term for a heaped rampart or bank.
2
The vallum along the south side of
HADRIAN'S WALL
in northern England is a misnomer since its principal feature is a great ditch, perhaps marking a military zone along the frontier; the term has been applied to this feature since the time of Bede in the 7th century
ad
.

 
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