Name: The Roman, Chrysoblephus Laticeps after which the site is named. There are several places on the South African coast known as "Roman Rock", and Roman Reef, and it is probable that they are all named after the common endemic reef fish, the Roman, Chrysoblephus Laticeps. Depth: Maximum depth is on the sand at about 21 m to the south and east. The top of the reef breaks the surface in places. The eastern part of the reef has a greater depth range than the western part. Marine life: The rocks are encrusted with a variety of organisms depending on depth and orientation. The intertidal and shallow subtidal zone of the main reef can be heavily encrusted by black mussels, There is kelp and sea urchins on the tops in shallower areas, and red-bait and other large solitary ascidians scattered around. The steeper sides are largely covered by common feather stars, with some dense areas of mauve sea cucumbers on the tops of ridges, There are also occasional sea fans, some quite large. The sand is coarse and shelly near the rocks, and there are sand stars, brittle stars, sand slugs, Cerianthids and purple sea pens on the sand. Dense aggregations of the spiny starfish can sometimes be found, often where there are large numbers of mussels. Photography: This is a good photographic site. Macro or wide-angle lenses are suggested. Topography: Roman Rock — Flat coarse shelly sand bottom at 15 to 18 m with large granite cornerstones. Very large boulders and outcrops extend over a fairly large area, with deep gullies and high ridges. Dramatic relief. Two large rocks break the surface and support the lighthouse structure and a small helipad. The long axis of the reef runs roughly southeast-northwest and the main reef is about 400 m long and 110 m wide north to south, with the widest point to the east of the lighthouse. The Eastern part of the reef is very high profile, and extends from the sand to shallower than 3m in several places, though the extreme southeast part slopes more gradually. The western section is demarcated by a deep gully opening to the south, with a sand bottom extending some way across the reef, which nearly disconnects the shallower western section from the eastern section. Minimum depth of the western section is about 10 m, and much of it is deeper than 12 m. There is a smaller ridge of reef approximately parallel to the main reef about 20 m away to the northeast of the north-west end of the main reef, and a few unsurveyed patches nearby.