Cities, Monuments and Objects in the Roman and Byzantine Levant

Chapters by leading archaeologists in Israel and the Levant explore themes and sites connected with cities and villages from the Hellenistic to early Islamic periods across the region. The result is a rich trove of up-to-date data and insights that will be a must read for scholars and students active in this part of the ancient Medit

Cities, Monuments and Objects in the Roman and Byzantine Levant celebrates Gabriel Mazor and his lifetime of work at the monumental city of Nysa-Scythopolis, Bet She’an Baysan. This metropolis, part of the storied Decapolis, or league of ten cities, that flourished during the Hellenistic, Roman-Byzantine and very early Islamic periods until the devastating earthquake of AD 748, has been the singular focus of Gabi Mazor for a generation. The excavations, conservation and reconstruction at the site, and the detailed publications all are deserving of praise and appreciation. Chapters by leading archaeologists in Israel and the Levant explore themes and sites, in most cases by the chief archaeologists themselves, providing the latest information and insights about cities and villages from the Hellenistic to early Islamic periods across the region. This rare assemblage of scholars offers new material and interpretations of many of the key archaeological sites active today. The result is a rich trove of up-to-date data and insights that will be a must read for scholars and students active in this part of the ancient Mediterranean world.

Gabi Mazor: An Appreciation - Nanette Goldman Back to Bet She'an: Results of the 2019-2020 Fieldwork of the German-Israeli Tell Iztabba Excavation Project - Meir Edrey, Philip Ebeling, Tamar Harpak, Achim Lichtenberger and Oren Tal Monumentalizing Nysa-Scythopolis from the Late 1st - 2nd century AD - Walid Atrash and J. Andrew Overman 'This was the Case with Beth She'an': The Character of a Jewish Community in a Gentile City - Tziona Grossmark Beth She'an 'Beauties': An Introduction to the Sculptures from Roman and Byzantine Nysa-Scythopolis - Elise A. Friedland Swinging Handles / 'Door Knockers' from Nysa-Scythopolis - Renate Rosenthal-Heginbottom The Church of the Martyr and Other Churches at Scythopolis (Beth She'an): A Study of Literary and Epigraphic Sources - Leah Di Segni The Christian Topography of Nysa-Scythopolis after Cyril of Scythopolis Historicity Versus Reality - Benjamin Y. Arubas The Israeli Mount Hermon - 50 Years of Discoveries - Shimon Dar Temples for the Imperial Cult in the Roman East: The Architectural Aspect - Arthur Segal The Ascent to the Temple Platform in Caesarea from the Harbor Side - Joseph Patrich Three Unique Mausolea in the Western Upper Galilee - Mordechai Aviam and Dina Shalem Unfinished Business: What Caused the Sudden Cessation of the Construction Works during the Foundation of Aelia Capitolina? - Shlomit Weksler-Bdolah and Orit Peleg-Barkat The Roman Veterans' Settlement at Mo?a c. AD 70-130 - Uzi 'Ad, Rachel Bar-Nathan and Itamar Taxel Ramat Bet Shemesh Site 94/10: First Steps for the Understanding of Social Space Organization in Rural Hasmonean Shephelah - a View from Na?al Yarmut - Debora Sandhaus and Ianir Milevski The Lod Mosaic Revisited: New Discoveries in the Roman Domus - Amir Gorzalczany The Late Antique Mansion Occupying Insula W2S4 Caesarea Maritima - Peter Gendelman and Yosef Porath Champleve Reliefs from Caesarea Maritima - Rivka Gersht Byzantine Church at Kafr Kama - Nurit Feig and Mordechai Aviam Mosaic Floors of the Monastery in Sede Nahum - Lihi Habas Shivta Mosaics - Rina Talgam, Yotam Tepper, Michael Peleg and Orit Bortnik Mampsis: Mapping the City Following a New Survey - Ofer Sion and Shoshana Israeli Landscapes as Palimpsest: The 'Ancient Lands' Myth and the Evolution of Agricultural Landscapes in the Southern Levant in Late Antiquity - Gideon Avni Hiding Complexes in Galilee: Aspects and Significance - Yinon Shivtiel An Early Islamic Residential Quarter at Tabariyya - Walid Atrash and J. Andrew Overman First Guidebooks to the 'Russian Palestine': From Sacral Journey Itinerary to Decision Maker's Tool and Advertising Mean - Alla Nagorski and Mitia Frumin, Gabi Mazor: An Appreciation – Nanette Goldman Back to Bet She’an: Results of the 2019–2020 Fieldwork of the German-Israeli Tell Iẓṭabba Excavation Project – Meir Edrey, Philip Ebeling, Tamar Harpak, Achim Lichtenberger and Oren Tal Monumentalizing Nysa-Scythopolis from the Late 1st - 2nd century AD – Walid Atrash and J. Andrew Overman ‘This was the Case with Beth She’an’: The Character of a Jewish Community in a Gentile City – Tziona Grossmark Beth She’an ‘Beauties’: An Introduction to the Sculptures from Roman and Byzantine Nysa-Scythopolis – Elise A. Friedland Swinging Handles / ‘Door Knockers’ from Nysa-Scythopolis – Renate Rosenthal-Heginbottom The Church of the Martyr and Other Churches at Scythopolis (Beth Sheʼan): A Study of Literary and Epigraphic Sources – Leah Di Segni The Christian Topography of Nysa-Scythopolis after Cyril of Scythopolis Historicity Versus Reality – Benjamin Y. Arubas The Israeli Mount Hermon – 50 Years of Discoveries – Shimon Dar Temples for the Imperial Cult in the Roman East: The Architectural Aspect – Arthur Segal The Ascent to the Temple Platform in Caesarea from the Harbor Side – Joseph Patrich Three Unique Mausolea in the Western Upper Galilee – Mordechai Aviam and Dina Shalem Unfinished Business: What Caused the Sudden Cessation of the Construction Works during the Foundation of Aelia Capitolina? – Shlomit Weksler-Bdolah and Orit Peleg-Barkat The Roman Veterans’ Settlement at Moẓa c. AD 70–130 – Uzi ‘Ad, Rachel Bar-Nathan and Itamar Taxel Ramat Bet Shemesh Site 94/10: First Steps for the Understanding of Social Space Organization in Rural Hasmonean Shephelah – a View from Naḥal Yarmut – Débora Sandhaus and Ianir Milevski The Lod Mosaic Revisited: New Discoveries in the Roman Domus – Amir Gorzalczany The Late Antique Mansion Occupying Insula W2S4 Caesarea Maritima – Peter Gendelman and Yosef Porath Champlevé Reliefs from Caesarea Maritima – Rivka Gersht Byzantine Church at Kafr Kama – Nurit Feig and Mordechai Aviam Mosaic Floors of the Monastery in Sede Nahum – Lihi Habas Shivta Mosaics – Rina Talgam, Yotam Tepper, Michael Peleg and Orit Bortnik Mampsis: Mapping the City Following a New Survey – Ofer Sion and Shoshana Israeli Landscapes as Palimpsest: The ‘Ancient Lands’ Myth and the Evolution of Agricultural Landscapes in the Southern Levant in Late Antiquity – Gideon Avni Hiding Complexes in Galilee: Aspects and Significance – Yinon Shivtiel An Early Islamic Residential Quarter at Tabariyya – Walid Atrash and J. Andrew Overman First Guidebooks to the ‘Russian Palestine’: From Sacral Journey Itinerary to Decision Maker’s Tool and Advertising Mean – Alla Nagorski and Mitia Frumin