Focusing on the Mediterranean area where water management is crucial, this pioneering study is the first to show how the supply, distribution, and drainage of water contributed to the urbanization of ancient cities. Drawing from classical archaeology, the theory and history of urbanization, geology, and hydraulic engineering, Crouch examines water-system elements, including springs, fountains, wells, channels and drains, latrines, laundry, and dishwashing, as they relate to each other and to the physical, historical, and social bases of ancient Greek cities. Studying numerous sites including...

This study explains the Greco-Roman urban form as it relates to the geological basis at selected sites in the Mediterranean basin. Each of the sites--Argos, Delphi, Ephesus, and Syracuse among them--has manifested in its physical form the geology on which it stood and from which it was made.
"By demonstrating the dependence of a group of cities on its geological base," the author writes, "the study forces us to examine more closely the ecology of human settlement, not as a set of theories but as a set of practical constraints..." Exacting attention will be given to local geology (types of...

Traditions in Architecture: Africa, America, Asia, and Oceania is the first wide-ranging, one-volume study to examine the architectural achievements of diverse cultures outside the Euroamerican tradition. In contrast with traditional chronological surveys of architectural history, this volume is arranged thematically to show the basic commonalties of all human communities. In order to provide a basic understanding of the cultural heritage defining these diverse groups, both vernacular and monumental works are discussed. The book is divided into five major sections, each of which...