But the columns of and that gave Composite urban fabric was also a reminder ubiquitous the of Roman rule, especially on frontiers where such towns were in striking contrast to the settlements the of indigenous population The remains of Pompeii, the destroyed in eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79 reveal the sophistication of a town of the early imperial Roman p.186). Surrounded by period (see walls punctuated by twelve towers, the town was laid out on an orthogonal plan with broad streets leading from the gates to the civic centre (5.40). The streets had high pavements on either side and stone blocks at the intersect tions to slow down traffic and enable pedestrians to cross with dry feet. The rectangular forum, which served as administrative, religious and civic centre, was dominated by the Temple of Capitoline Jupiter on its high podium and surrounded by two-story porticos that gave access to shrines temples and offices, as well as to an aisled basilica, which housed lav courts and public meetings, and to a covered market with porticoes and a central fountain. Bathhouses, theatres and palaestrae completed the public buildings of the city. The sophistication of the hydraulic system Pompeii, begun under Augustus, in which water was piped to private as well as public buildings and fountains, was rivalled only in Rome itself.