About

Focus and Scope

The Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal (TRAJ) provides a venue for innovative and interdisciplinary research in the field of Roman Archaeology. The journal promotes the use of theoretical approaches to the Roman past and facilitates fresh interpretations of datasets, rather than solely the presentation of archaeological data. Furthermore, it is designed to include and interact with the disciplines of Archaeology, Classics, and Ancient History, as well as the Biological Sciences, Humanities, and Social Sciences in an interdisciplinary fashion. As a publication outlet, the annual TRAC Proceedings have long been at the forefront of Roman Archaeology regarding engagement in current theory and practice, and TRAJ will continue to lead the field in this capacity. The journal’s geographic focus is the whole of the Roman world, including areas beyond the frontiers where Roman influence was evident. The journal’s temporal scope is from the Bronze Age to the Late Antique period; however, the subject of most contributions will usually range from the third century BC to the fifth century AD.

Publication Frequency

The journal is published online as a continuous volume and issue throughout the year. Articles are made available as soon as they are ready to ensure that there are no unnecessary delays in making content publicly available.

Open Access Policy

This journal provides immediate access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge. Authors of published articles remain the copyright holders and grant third parties the right to use, reproduce, and share the article according to a Creative Commons license agreement. 

One of the benefits of open access publishing lies in others being able to re-use material. We believe that the greatest societal good is possible when people are free to re-distribute scholarship and to create derivative works. This is why we use the CC BY 4.0 license, under which others may re-use your work, on condition that they cite you.  

If a more restrictive licence is required (for example, if you are reproducing third party material that cannot be reproduced under more open licences), please make this request upon submission in the ‘Comment to the Editor’ field or email your editor directly, stating the reasons why.  

Archiving Policy

The journal's publisher, Open Library of Humanities focuses on making content discoverable and accessible through indexing services. Content is also archived around the world to ensure long-term availability.

Open Library of Humanities journals are indexed by the following services:

In addition, all journals are available for harvesting via OAI-PMH.

To ensure permanency of all publications, this journal also utilises CLOCKSS, and LOCKSS archiving systems to create permanent archives for the purposes of preservation and restoration.

If the journal is not indexed by your preferred service, please let us know by emailing editorial@openlibhums.org or alternatively by making an indexing request directly with the service.

History

TRAC is an unincorporated voluntary association that has developed from and around the annual Theoretical Roman Archaeology Conference (TRAC) held since 1991. The annual conference is known for being an unorthodox, radical, and highly critical event that provides an inclusive and egalitarian venue for discussion and debate, allowing a broad range of archaeologists to contribute to our understanding of the Roman past. The proceedings of the Theoretical Roman Archaeology Conference (TRAC) have been published annually since the first meeting in 1991. However, from 2017, the Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal has taken over as the venue for papers originating from the annual conference and elsewhere.

TRAJ joined the Open Library of Humanities and became Open Access in 2017. Articles published before this date have been made freely available under a Creative Commons Attribution License. All content published since 2017 is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work’s authorship and initial publication in this journal.