In today's age, we rarely think about what it was like to live in the 'standard' city of centuries past. Aside from the fact that these places were not the huge metropolis that they are today. It was also common for these places to have ways to keep out invaders so most major and minor cities had some sort of fortifications. The most common was a wall.

These early walls were generally made of timber and earth, with stone soon replacing them as the needs arose. One of the older cities of antiquity is Rome and she went through the full gamut of wall building. Of course, these were not tossed up overnight, and to be sure, for a long period of time, there were only small sections that were walled. These things were not free, requiring time and materials to construct. Eventually the walls grew in both size and in elegance, culminating in the Aurelian Wall of around 270 AD.   

Researcher Nic Fields has put together a superlative volume on the various stages of the walls surrounding Rome. Thanks to the importance of the city, much of these ancient works are still standing. Mostly the ornate, but effective gate works are those which have remained extant, though many sections of standard wall remain.

Thanks to the careful documentation of the construction of these edifices as well as period art work and photos of remaining structures, we are able to clearly see how things advanced. The superb art work of Peter Dennis further enhances our abilities to look back in time to the way these walls were and how they affected every day life.

In all, this is an outstanding addition to the Fortress series and one that we can use both as a historical reference and as a guide to find and see these remnants for ourselves.

May 2008

For more on the complete line of Osprey books, visit www.ospreypublishing.com. In the US, it is Osprey Direct at 44-02 23rd St, Suite 219, Long Island City, NY 11101., where you can get a catalogue of available books.

If you would like your product reviewed fairly and quickly, please contact me or see other details in the Note to Contributors.