ABSTRACT
In the case of Cyrene and Apollonia, two closely linked Cyrenaican cities in Roman Libya, each city introduced the orthogonal grid as a central unit of administration, which enabled the organisation of large areas of land into districts that were in turn sub-divided into smaller plots. In Cyrene, during the Hellenistic period, six districts were laid out across a steep incline with the agora situated in the centre of the grid. Administratively as a city, Apollonia was parcelled spatially into approximately six or seven districts, the gates of the town giving onto each insula block, with the agora at the centre. In Apollonia, the original grid became rendered obsolete as a new linear pattern emerged through alternate uses and external forces. Apollonia/Sozusa was originally the port of Cyrene. In the city centre of Apollonia, a new pathway emerged which served the Christian community attending the churches.
