| dc.description.abstract | The cities of the Near East display some of the best archaeological evidence for urban design and decoration in the Roman Empire. The plans of Apamea (Syria), Palmyra (Syria) and Jerash (Jordan) are perfect examples of orthogonal (gridded) city plans. Orthogonal city plans were a common feature of Roman urban planning. In cities where such plans were employed, streets would intersect each other at right angles. The main street of a city would usually run from east to west, this street was called the Decumanus Maximus. The street that ran north to south was called the Cardo Maximus. These main streets formed the centre of the city. These streets were often very elaborately decorated with colonnades. | en |
