This is an introductory chapter of the book A Companion to the Archaeology of the Roman Republic. In the provinces, Stone (for Africa), Rodá (for Spain), Overman (for Israel) and Hoff (for Greece) explore reforms initiated in the Augustan period, in order to help us see what was begun in the Republican period that would come to full maturity in Imperial Rome. The contributions of the book are organized into six parts. The authors of this Companion have combined their careful reading of specialist literature with their ability to explain specialist issues to a broader audience. The authors hope the reader uses these chapters, and the guides to further reading, as springboards to thinking about old problems in a new way or considering in a new way the varied and complicated world of Republican Rome.