An analysis of security and privacy issues relating to RFID enabled ePassports

The European Union sees the introduction of the ePassport as a step towards rendering passports more secure against forgery while facilitating more reliable border controls. In this paper we take an interdisciplinary approach to the key security and privacy issues arising from the use of ePassports. We further anallyse how European data protection legislation must be respected and what additional security measures must be integrated in order to safeguard the privacy of the EU ePassport holder.

Making the most of PAS data: Macro- and micro-level studies of Romano-British settlement

The Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) database includes records of over 225,000 artefacts of Roman date, with a wide geographical coverage and the potential to contribute to our understanding of Romano-British landscapes and settlement at several scales of analysis. This paper draws upon the author’s doctoral research to describe regional case studies from six counties (Wiltshire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire, Northamptonshire, North Lincolnshire and Cumbria) on the use of PAS data. The data have value nationally and regionally as general guides to ancient settlement patterns, but it is arguably at the micro-scale that they have the most potential. With reference to detailed landscape studies from parts of Warwickshire and Wiltshire, the paper argues that sites represented by PAS data are often rural settlements that show evidence for continued activity throughout the Roman period. The paper demonstrates that with an appropriate methodology PAS data can be an immensely valuable archaeological resource, particularly when interpreted at multiple scales, and can be considerably more than a guide to broad distributions of Roman finds.