Review: Roman Architecture in Provence, by James C. Anderson Jr.

Abstract

James C. Anderson Jr. Roman Architecture in Provence Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012, 303 pp., 155 b/w illus. $99.99, ISBN 9780521825207 James C. Anderson Jr.'s Roman Architecture in Provence aims to provide a survey of Roman architecture and town building in the modern French region of Provence. While Provence was not a Roman province in itself, it is notable for the survival of a number of impressive buildings that have played a pivotal role in our understanding of the architecture of the Roman west, such as the amphitheaters at Arles and Nimes, the theater at Orange, and the houses of Vaison-la-Romaine. These monuments provide tantalizing material for any architectural historian of the Roman period, and they deserve the attention they receive within the scholarly literature. Anderson seeks to describe this evidence, discussing some of the dating issues connected with the buildings’ construction. This focus raises the question of whether the dating and description of buildings is enough in itself, or whether this material would be better served by an examination of broader historical and architectural issues. The book is divided into four very unequal chapters. The first, titled “Historical Overview: Roman Provence/‘Provincia Nostra,’” provides a chronological narrative of the development of Provence/Narbonensis as an administrative entity from the late second century BCE through to the fourth century CE. It also raises two key ideas to be explored within the book: the process of cultural change or Romanization seen …