How often, as a tourist, do you take an excursion to some famous ancient site only to be whisked around by the guide on a whirlwind tour of the ruins, accompanied by a rapid commentary that leaves you completely confused? And if there is an explanatory booklet, it’s probably in a shop at the end of the tour — too late to visit before the bus roars off to another destination.
Add to this the fact that — with few exceptions (Pompeii, preserved by volcanic ash) — wandering about a Roman town can be a bewildering experience to all but the structural archaeologist. A jumble of seemingly disconnected low walls and piles of stone and rubble greet the visitor’s eye. This title sets out to present some of the best ancient Roman sites you can visit in Europe, Asia Minor, the Middle-East and North Africa in a clearly understandable manner that will help reconstruct them in the imagination through selected photographs, site maps, building plans and reconstructions. Armed in advance with the essential information, a visit to an ancient Roman site can become even more enjoyable.
Brief histories of the appropriate Roman provinces give local colour and place the sites in their historical and geographical context. Maps locate the sites and their connection to other Roman towns and roads in the region. Selected photographs identify the main buildings and, in conjunction with the text and floor plans, help explain their functions. Includes a quick guide to Roman construction techniques for identification of the common types of wall to be seen.
About the author
Roger Michael Kean has been a film-maker and journalist, and editor of historical reference books for many years, including the Historical Atlas series. Kean is author of The Complete Chronicle of the Emperors of Rome and Forgotten Power — Byzntium — Bulwark of Christianity, also published by Thalamus Publishing. He lives in Ludlow, Shropshire, England.
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Roman Construction Techniques
A brief guide to the types on conrecte wall construction employed by Roman architects shows the reader what to look for and helps self-determination of possible periods of building, as well as introducing the basic Latin terms often employed by tour guides. - 1. ITALY
Rome — Imperial Forums, Forum Romanum, Palatine, Colosseum / Baths of Caracalla / Aurelian Wall
Ostia Antiqua / Benevento / Pompeii-Herculaneum - 2. Gaul and Germany
France — Nîmes (Nemausus) / Orange (Arausio) / Autun (Augustodunum) / Grand (Grannona)
Germany — Trier (Augusta Treverorum)
Switzerland — Avenches (Aventicum) / Augst and Windisch (Rauraci and Vindonissa) - 3. Britain
Wroxter (Viroconium) / Fishborne Villa (Noviomagus) / Bath (Aquae Sulis) / Hadrian’s Wall and Housesteads / St. Albans (Verulamium) - 4. Spain
Merida (Augusta Emerita) / Italica / Segovia - 5. The Danube
BULGARIA — Plovdiv (Philippopolis)
CROATIA — Split (Spalatum) / Pula (Pola)
HUNGARY — Budapest (Aquincum)
ALBANIA — Butrint (Butrinto) - 6. Greece
Athens / Corinth / Thessalonica - 7. Asia Minor
Ephesus / Aphrodisias / Side / Amida / Pergamon / Perge - 8. The Middle-East
SYRIA — Palmyra / Dura Europous
LEBANON — Baalbek
ISRAEL — Caesarea Maritima / Hippos
JORDAN — Petra
EGYPT — Dendera / Luxor - 9. Africa
MOROCCO — Volubilis
ALGERIA — Djemila / Timgad
TUNISIA — Carthage / Bulla Regis / Dougga (Thugga) / El Djem (Thysdrus) / Hammamet (Pupput) / Sbeitla (Sufetula) / Thuburbo Maius
LIBYA — Cyrene / Leptis Magna / Sabrata - Index