section 78), but rarely do <strong>the</strong> lawyers or even <strong>the</strong> l<strong>and</strong> surveyors tell us of any legal rules relat<strong>in</strong>g to plann<strong>in</strong>g as dist<strong>in</strong>ct from survey<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> general. The rate at which cities were built, <strong>and</strong> who paid for public build<strong>in</strong>gs, was <strong>in</strong>dividual to each city <strong>and</strong> a highly complex matter (Duncan-Jones, this volume, p 31), as was <strong>the</strong> organization of <strong>the</strong> build<strong>in</strong>g trade, discussed by L<strong>in</strong>g (this volume, pp 14-27). Duncan-Jones has calculated that <strong>in</strong> north Africa, depend<strong>in</strong>g on <strong>the</strong> status <strong>and</strong> wealth of <strong>the</strong> town, it could take up to 140 years to provide essential build<strong>in</strong>gs. The f<strong>in</strong>ancial resources employed were imperial, municipal, <strong>and</strong> private, <strong>the</strong> labour voluntary, compulsory labour by <strong>the</strong> citizens <strong>the</strong>mselves (perpopulum), or forced labour by crim<strong>in</strong>als (damnatio ad opus publicum). In practice, though, <strong>the</strong> development of cities owed much to civic pride, both private <strong>and</strong> communal, as reflected <strong>in</strong> acts of benevolence towards <strong>the</strong> city (Frere, this volume, pp 34-6); <strong>the</strong> emperor Anton<strong>in</strong>us Pius made no secret of <strong>the</strong> fact that he preferred long-term <strong>in</strong>vestment <strong>in</strong> public build<strong>in</strong>g to expenditure on impermanent public festivals, games, <strong>and</strong> shows. Though plann<strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong> build<strong>in</strong>g controls were few <strong>in</strong> respect of found<strong>in</strong>g a city, both municipal charters <strong>and</strong> imperial laws protected <strong>the</strong> townscape from destruction. The unroof<strong>in</strong>g or speculative demolition of urban build<strong>in</strong>gs was not permitted unless <strong>the</strong>y were to be replaced immediately by a build<strong>in</strong>g at least as good (Mommsen, Ephem Epigr, ix; ILS 6086). Many emperors – Augustus, Claudius, <strong>and</strong> Nero, for example – were concerned about <strong>the</strong> physical aspects of cities because <strong>the</strong>y believed that <strong>the</strong> image of a reign could be tarnished or enhanced by <strong>the</strong> character of town build<strong>in</strong>gs. But, as Casey shows (this volume, p 44), notwithst<strong>and</strong><strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> need for f<strong>in</strong>e build<strong>in</strong>gs, citizens were at great risk of los<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong>ir homes from collapse, s<strong>in</strong>ce build<strong>in</strong>g st<strong>and</strong>ards were very poor <strong>and</strong> many private build<strong>in</strong>gs were far too flimsy. In addition, <strong>the</strong> risk of fire was high, outbreaks be<strong>in</strong>g frequent <strong>and</strong> extensive; Ulpian <strong>in</strong>forms us that <strong>in</strong> imperial Rome not a day passed without several fires (Digest, i. 15.2; cf Strabo, v.3.7; Aulus Gellius, Noctes Atticae, xv. 1.1-3). Speedy rebuild<strong>in</strong>g was encouraged <strong>in</strong> Rome by mak<strong>in</strong>g contractors’ carts <strong>the</strong> one exception to Caesar’s edict which prohibited <strong>the</strong> entrance of wheeled transport <strong>in</strong>to <strong>the</strong> city dur<strong>in</strong>g daylight (CIL, 1, 206). Whe<strong>the</strong>r rebuild<strong>in</strong>g was always so rapid may be doubted, however, for <strong>in</strong> London at least reconstruction after <strong>the</strong> Boudican <strong>and</strong> Hadrianic fires seems to have been protracted. These factors created constant topographic change with<strong>in</strong> a city, a <strong>the</strong>me which is especially clear <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> papers on London <strong>and</strong> Wroxeter. Marsden presents evidence for an ‘Anton<strong>in</strong>e decl<strong>in</strong>e’ <strong>in</strong> London <strong>and</strong> for a substantially lower population <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> 3rd <strong>and</strong> 4th centuries (this volume, pp 99-102). In <strong>the</strong> late 2nd or early 3rd century an oak quay ¼ mile long <strong>and</strong> a defensive perimeter 3 miles long was constructed to enclose 330 acres (134 ha), a remarkably extensive area with scattered built-up regions but much open ground, recognized archaeologically by ‘dark earth’ deposits which were probably laid down by extensive horticultural processes. In spite of <strong>the</strong>se restoration projects, which were <strong>in</strong>tended both to stem decl<strong>in</strong>e <strong>and</strong> to stimulate growth by provid<strong>in</strong>g security <strong>and</strong> improved facilities for waterborne trade, <strong>the</strong> reduction <strong>in</strong> long-distance trad<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> north-<strong>western</strong> prov<strong>in</strong>ces meant that from <strong>the</strong> 3rd century London’s role X V Introduction was primarily that of prov<strong>in</strong>cial adm<strong>in</strong>istration. At Wroxeter, however, development took a ra<strong>the</strong>r different course. The impos<strong>in</strong>g public build<strong>in</strong>gs of <strong>the</strong> early city underwent major changes of plan <strong>and</strong>, as <strong>in</strong> London, were f<strong>in</strong>ally completed <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> early 2nd century when a planned extension was made on <strong>the</strong> nor<strong>the</strong>rn side of <strong>the</strong> city. A major recent discovery, however, has been that <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> late Roman period large-scale replann<strong>in</strong>g was still underway <strong>and</strong> possibly cont<strong>in</strong>ued up to 500, beyond <strong>the</strong> end of <strong>the</strong> Roman period. 1 In 1910 <strong>the</strong> evidence exam<strong>in</strong>ed by Haverfield for <strong>the</strong> survival of Roman topography <strong>and</strong> cont<strong>in</strong>uity through <strong>the</strong> medieval period seemed as rare as it does today. He was pr<strong>in</strong>cipally concerned with <strong>the</strong> cont<strong>in</strong>uity of <strong>the</strong> unaltered grid system <strong>and</strong> saw ‘that Roman town plans have far oftener vanished than endured’ <strong>and</strong> that ‘only here <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong>re its vestiges l<strong>in</strong>gered on <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> streets of scattered cities’ (Haverfield 1913,140-l). Seventy-three years later, <strong>in</strong> 1983, Reece (this volume, p 37) <strong>and</strong> o<strong>the</strong>rs have commented that even <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>tensive <strong>in</strong>vestigations <strong>in</strong> recent decades have not caused Haverfield’s diagnoses to be revised ei<strong>the</strong>r <strong>in</strong> Rome, Italy, or <strong>the</strong> prov<strong>in</strong>ces. Today, as <strong>in</strong> 1910, <strong>the</strong> major challenge of European urban studies is to underst<strong>and</strong> how Roman town plann<strong>in</strong>g – both <strong>in</strong> its ‘chessboard’ <strong>and</strong> organic forms – perished <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> medieval pattern emerged. For early <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> 13th century <strong>the</strong> rectangular gridiron plan returned to Europe, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g Engl<strong>and</strong>, whence it spread worldwide to reach America <strong>in</strong> 1682 with <strong>the</strong> found<strong>in</strong>g of Philadelphia. If it can be shown that this movement was a revival of <strong>the</strong> Roman system, <strong>the</strong>n a significant historical l<strong>in</strong>k is made between <strong>the</strong> Old World <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> New. Acknowledgement Thanks are due to Professor Sheppard Frere for many valuable comments on this paper. Note References
Introduction xvi