The
Roman Remains of Southern France
This book does not give you any information about hotels or restaurants. As the title says, the focus is on the Roman remains of southern France. The term “southern France” is not very precise. In his introduction (pp. 2-3) Bromwich explains what it means to him:
“Here I have chosen it to mean all the departments in the Languedoc-Roussillon region and all those in Provence and Côte d'Azur. In addition there are the three southern-most departments of the Rhône valley. These more or less cover the Roman provinces of Narbonensis and the Alpes Maritimae.”
There are two types of illustrations in this book:
* Type one: 95 figures (maps and drawings) which are placed next to the text to which they belong.
* Type two: 41 plates which are placed in a block in the middle of the book.
The photos are only in black-and-white, but the quality is surprisingly good. It is not very user-friendly to place them in a block in the middle of the book, but perhaps we can accept it here, because every caption has a cross-reference to the relevant pages in the main text.
All the famous Roman sites of southern France are presented here. In addition, there are some sites which are not so famous and maybe not so well known, for instance Barbégal, where you can see a rare (and very interesting) case of a Roman industrial complex (a mill driven by 16 water wheels). On page 157 Bromwich says:
This book does not give you any information about hotels or restaurants. As the title says, the focus is on the Roman remains of southern France. The term “southern France” is not very precise. In his introduction (pp. 2-3) Bromwich explains what it means to him:
“Here I have chosen it to mean all the departments in the Languedoc-Roussillon region and all those in Provence and Côte d'Azur. In addition there are the three southern-most departments of the Rhône valley. These more or less cover the Roman provinces of Narbonensis and the Alpes Maritimae.”
There are two types of illustrations in this book:
* Type one: 95 figures (maps and drawings) which are placed next to the text to which they belong.
* Type two: 41 plates which are placed in a block in the middle of the book.
The photos are only in black-and-white, but the quality is surprisingly good. It is not very user-friendly to place them in a block in the middle of the book, but perhaps we can accept it here, because every caption has a cross-reference to the relevant pages in the main text.
All the famous Roman sites of southern France are presented here. In addition, there are some sites which are not so famous and maybe not so well known, for instance Barbégal, where you can see a rare (and very interesting) case of a Roman industrial complex (a mill driven by 16 water wheels). On page 157 Bromwich says:
“The
Roman mill that once covered the hillside at Barbégal is the the largest
surviving powered industrial unit in the classical Mediterranean world.”
In each case Bromwich explains exactly where the site (or the museum) is and what you can see there today. Let me give you a few examples of the sites which are presented in the book:
* Arles, Bouches-du-Rhône, pages 138-152 (plus plates 13 and 15-19)
* Barbégal, Bouches-du-Rhône, pages 156-160 (plus plate 21)
* Narbonne, Aude, pages 83-93
* Nîmes, Gard, pages 93-109 (plus plates 7-9 and 14)
* Orange, Vaucluse, pages 181-194 (plus plates 24-25)
* Pont du Gard, Gard, pages 110-120 (plus plates 10-12)
* Vaison-la-Romaine, Vaucluse, pages 221-237 (plus plates 33-35)
It is obvious to compare this book with Henry Cleere's book from 2001 which covers the same area and the same topic: Southern France: An Oxford Archaeological Guide. Cleere's book is good, but too compact. It has only 211 pages. Bromwich's book is better. It has more than 300 pages.
In each case Bromwich explains exactly where the site (or the museum) is and what you can see there today. Let me give you a few examples of the sites which are presented in the book:
* Arles, Bouches-du-Rhône, pages 138-152 (plus plates 13 and 15-19)
* Barbégal, Bouches-du-Rhône, pages 156-160 (plus plate 21)
* Narbonne, Aude, pages 83-93
* Nîmes, Gard, pages 93-109 (plus plates 7-9 and 14)
* Orange, Vaucluse, pages 181-194 (plus plates 24-25)
* Pont du Gard, Gard, pages 110-120 (plus plates 10-12)
* Vaison-la-Romaine, Vaucluse, pages 221-237 (plus plates 33-35)
It is obvious to compare this book with Henry Cleere's book from 2001 which covers the same area and the same topic: Southern France: An Oxford Archaeological Guide. Cleere's book is good, but too compact. It has only 211 pages. Bromwich's book is better. It has more than 300 pages.
Bromwich got some good reviews. On the back cover of the paperback version there are excerpts from two reviews of the hardcover version.
Times Literary Supplement:
“Bromwich has done well in achieving what he set out to do: that is to provide an unpretensious guidebook.”
Greece & Rome:
“This
excellent guidebook is is systematically organized, highly informative at both
the practical and the academic level, … generously and adroitly illustrated and
fully comprehensive.”
I agree with these positive reviews of the book. I had it with me on a trip to southern France during which I was able to check (some of) the information presented here. Based on this experience I can say that this is an excellent guidebook; useful and reliable.
I agree with these positive reviews of the book. I had it with me on a trip to southern France during which I was able to check (some of) the information presented here. Based on this experience I can say that this is an excellent guidebook; useful and reliable.
There is, of course, one more point to consider: the price. Amazon UK sells the paperback version for ca. 22 British pounds. It is a bit expensive for a paperback, but sometimes you have to pay to get a product of high quality.
* * *
James
Bromwich,
The Roman
Remains of Southern France: A Guidebook,
Routledge,
London & New York, hardcover 1993, paperback 1996, 309 pages
* * *
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