Origins of the Colonnaded Streets in the Cities of the Roman East. By Ross Burns. 238mm. Pp xvi + 409, 114 b&w figs. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2017. isbn 9780198784548. £100 (hbk).

Abstract

quarrying, supply and trade was represented by the more localised demand, as shown by case studies in Narbonensis, central Lugdunensis and south-east Britain. A synthetic overview of the trade of raw and manufactured glass is offered by Foy (chapter \uf739), while Fulford (chapter \uf731\uf730) reviews the approaches to the study of Gallo-Roman sigillata in Britain and its circulation patterns. Stressing the importance of the North African pottery as an economic indicator, Bonifay (chapter \uf731\uf731) provides an up-to-date account of African Red Slip ware, amphorae and their contents, pointing out the main routes of distribution across the Mediterranean. Drawing from the results of recent archaeological research at Thamusida, a military vicus in Mauretania Tingitana (Morocco), Papi (chapter \uf731\uf734) reconstructs an economic system for this remote Roman province that contradicts the traditional model of the ‘Circle of the Straits’, arguing convincingly for a much stronger connection with the broader Mediterranean networks. Moving beyond the borders of the Roman Empire, Graf (chapter \uf731\uf735) reviews the extent of trade between Syria and China via the so-called ‘Silk Road’, whose existence has been questioned by some scholars. Surely seaborn commerce had a primary role, especially from the second century AD, but overland movements of silk are attested in the preceding, and probably later, eras; this would therefore indicate there is no need for a paradigm shift. The amount of recently published data on settlements in the Fazzan desert of Libya has provided a wealth of new information on the trans-Saharan trade in antiquity, which is summarised here by Wilson (chapter \uf731\uf739). Exchanges between Rome and the Garamantes are now attested archaeologically, and it seems that the trade of goods was at its peak during the second century AD, although it fluctuated over time due to unrest along the Libyan military frontier. It is praiseworthy that the book engages with both historical and archaeological sources, the latter being understandably more emphasised in the papers collected in parts \uf732 and \uf733. As often happens with works of this kind, the volume was a long time in the making, but its publication is of fundamental importance for the progress of scholarship and for keeping the debate on the Roman economy going. In all these papers there is plenty of useful materials for scholars of the ancient world, such as historians, economic historians and archaeologists; students, particularly those at postgraduate level, will also benefit largely from this book. This is one of those titles that will be a key resource for universities and specialised libraries, and without doubt it will feature in the core reading lists of courses of ancient history and archaeology.