The two German provinces of the Roman Empire, Germania Superior and Germania Inferior, which included modern Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and parts of France and Belgium, formed a vital link between the Mediterranean and the North Sea. Maureen Carroll's synthesis of past and recent archaeological research introduces readers to the main features of the Roman Empire in these provinces. It deals with the pre-Roman societies and their landscapes, which were to be changed by the Romans after the conquests of Caesar and Augustus. The book also explores the concept of frontier and assesses the role of the German provinces as border zones of the Empire.