As an attempt to address ‘the commonality of problems involved in discussions of the creation, identity and role of colonies across the Empire’ (p. 2), in conception this work is warmly welcomed; in execution, it is somewhat lacking. Originating in a conference held in St Andrews in 2007, but apparently not including all the papers presented there, this volume shares many of the well-known faults of the genre of conference proceedings: the quality of the papers is variable, the papers fail to engage meaningfully with each other, the coverage of the ostensible theme of the volume is haphazard and so forth. Some papers are in need of copy-editing, typos are far more frequent than they should be and the constant page-flipping caused by the use of endnotes instead of footnotes is annoying, especially as the main articles average more than 100 notes each.
The coverage is wide-ranging in that it encompasses colonies from Lusitania to Pisidia, with numerous points in between. At the same time, however, many of the papers focus on rather narrow issues that may be of importance for the understanding of the colony under consideration but for which any wider importance or applicability remains unexplored. There are important questions to be asked about the founding of Roman colonies and the subsequent century or so of their existence (especially given ‘the sense of a time lag between historically attested foundation and the first archaeological traces’ [p. 155]), and drawing upon disparate examples across the Roman world has the potential to be illuminating. Nevertheless, despite the attempts in the introduction (by the editor) and the thoughtful afterword (G. Woolf) to frame some of these issues, the volume as a whole remains somewhat unsatisfying.
K. Korhonen offers a useful survey of language usage in the colonies of Sicily. While the conclusions are unsurprising (‘fairly stable and widespread bilingualism’ [p. 21] in the east, Greek somewhat weaker in the north-west), it is helpful to have an overview of the evidence, and the insistence on viewing different types of inscriptions (e.g. public vs private) as distinct phenomena is particularly praiseworthy. The discussion would have been aided by the inclusion of a map.
J. Edmondson outlines the development of Augusta Emerita (Mérida) and explores the relationship between it and the neighbouring but smaller Metellinum (Medellín), while looking elsewhere in the Iberian peninsula A. Jiménez and J.R. Carrillo analyse the growth of Colonia Patricia as a re-foundation of Corduba.
The central section of the book is devoted to ‘Greece’, with papers on Corinth, Butrint (twice) and Knossos. P. Scotton provides a serviceable overview of the architectural development of the central area of Corinth in the early years of the colony, but claims such as ‘Cn. Babbius Philinus is known as the benefactor of the Southeast Building’ (p. 78) ought not to be taken seriously given that his name is wholly and speculatively restored in the relevant inscription (West no. 122) (in Kent no. 323, a new fragment from the end of the same inscription, Kent's restoration [ - - - (?)colo]nia is nonsensical; surely [ - - - sua pecu]nia is preferable). Babbius may have been an important early benefactor at Corinth but he was neither alone in this nor was he the only man to hold the offices of duovir and pontifex (contra West's claim ad loc.; cf. West no. 81 for another example). Similarly, I remain deeply sceptical of Scotton's claim for a direct relationship between Corinth's embrace of the Imperial cult and putative Augustan favours towards the colony.
The two papers on Butrint, by I.L. Hansen and W. Bowden respectively, are among the best in the volume and complement each other well. Hansen ably surveys the formation of the local elite and its relations with the elite of Rome. Discussion of the strategies used for managing these relationships and comparisons with contemporary colonies such as Corinth and Dyme are to the point and enrich the argument. Bowden explores a rather different avenue by attempting in part to address questions concerning the sub-elite while simultaneously discussing the colony's development in its larger setting, particularly through constant comparison with contemporary Nicopolis. Despite reaching the ‘slightly depressing conclusion … that most of our currently available evidence in north-west Greece is basically ill-suited to addressing questions about the reality of the colonial experience for both colonists and colonised’ (p. 113), the paper contains much of value for understanding life in early Roman Epirus.
In the final paper on Greece, M.W. Baldwin Bowsky presents a detailed account of Italian sigillata stamps at Knossos, including a significant number of additions to Corpus Vasorum Arretinorum 2. This material provides the evidence for discussion of Knossos' position on trade routes as well as possible social factors that influence the use of imports. Finally, A.U. De Giorgi moves further east and gives a run through of colonies in Pisidia, emphasising their effect on the landscape and pre-existing settlements, particularly because of expansionist tendencies.
Despite the criticisms expressed at the outset, this volume does make a valuable contribution in that it gathers a number of detailed case studies in order to elucidate Roman colonisation as a whole. Too often scholars become stuck in their own corner of the Empire, whereas to understand the phenomenon more fully requires embracing its full extent, as impossible as that may be for any one individual. Even if this book is not what it could have been, it is certainly a step in the right direction.
