ABSTRACT
The cities of the Roman west varied greatly in their origins, importance and material splendour. Nevertheless, they manifested a consistent family likeness, both in their layout and in the amenities which they provided (Berchem, 1977, 25). They represented an aggressively homogeneous culture which stretched from Scotland to the Sahara. The very incongruity of the remains of certain Roman cities, in surroundings which today seem utterly alien to them, serves as a dramatic reminder of the penetration of Graeco-Roman civilization into the lands around the western Mediterranean and occasionally finds an echo in the east (p. 332) (pl. 13.1).
