The Mithraeum at Caesarea Maritima
by Robert Jehu Bull, Andrew H. Bobeck, Jane DeRose Evans, Robert S. Fritzius and Alexandra L. Ratzlaff
Hardback (Published)
(April 2017)
ISBN: 9780897570978
8.46 x 10.98 inches
Price: $74.95
In stock
The Caesarea Mithraeum (sanctuary or temple of the god Mithras) is only one of two excavated from eastern half of the Empire. Includes new photographs, plans and section drawings; catalogues the small finds from the vault, technical details about the recovery of information about frescoes and how the excavations were completed. 78 illus, 28 col.
In 1973, Robert J. Bull began the excavation of a vault on the south side of the Inner Harbor of Caesarea Maritima, Israel. The vault was one of a row of warehouses built to store goods unloaded from the harbor built by Herod the Great. This monograph begins with an introduction by Bull and Jane DeRose Evans of the excavation process. The study of the stratigraphy takes into account the later excavations of the adjoining vault, and publishes new photographs, plans, and section drawings. The original construction phase, the vault’s transformation into a Mithraeum, its abandonment, and its final use as a “charnel house” are meticulously discussed and analyzed. The monograph also includes detailed studies on the frescoes and the medallion found inside the vault. Alexandra Ratzlaff offers an exhaustive study of the medallion and the fragmentary wall paintings depicting Mithraic iconography. The Caesarea Mithraeum is only one of two excavated from the eastern half of the Empire, and Ratzlaff places the decoration and finds from the Mithraeum in the context of the practices of Mithraism in the ancient world. Bull and Robert Fritzius discuss their reconstruction of the ceiling splay and their interpretation in terms of astrological symbolism important to Mithraism. Andrew Bobeck explains the technical processes used to recover information about the frescoes. Two appendices by Evans catalog the small finds from the vault and explain the phasing of the probes in a diagram. The Joint Expeditions to Caesarea Maritima: Volume 2. The Mithraeum Vault will be the final publication of this “legacy excavation” directed by Robert J. Bull describing the structure and the material culture found.
List of Illustrations List of Tables Preface Abbreviations Chapter 1 Discovery and Excavation of the Vault (Robert J. Bull and Jane DeRose Evans) Chapter 2 Stratigraphic Analysis of the Vault (Robert J. Bull and Jane DeRose Evans) Chapter 3 The Frescoes and Medallion (Alexandra L. Ratzlaff) Chapter 4 The Ceiling Splay (Robert J. Bull and Robert S. Fritzius) Chapter 5 The Caesarea Mithraeum in Context (Alexandra L. Ratzlaff) Appendix 1 Coaxing Color out of a Badly Faded Fresco (Andrew H. Bobeck) Appendix 2 Small Finds inside of Vault (Jane DeRose Evans) Appendix 3 Phasing for Probes in Vault 1, with a constructed Profile (Jane DeRose Evans) References Contributors Index
- By (author) Andrew H. Bobeck
- By (author) Robert Jehu Bull
- By (author) Jane DeRose Evans
- By (author) Robert S. Fritzius
- By (author) Alexandra L. Ratzlaff
"The authors are to be highly commended for assembling this volume under challenging circumstances. The book, most appropriate for a specialized audience, makes an important contribution to the study of the cult of Mithras in the eastern empire and serves as an appropriate tribute to Robert Bull's many years dedicated to study of the remains of Caesarea Maritima." --Caroline Downing, American Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 122, No. 3 (July 2018)
—
Other Titles in this Series
The Roman Aqaba Project Final Report, Volume 1
The Regional Environment and the Regional Survey
Volume 19
Cyprus and the Balance of Empires
Art and Archaeology from Justinian I to the Coeur de Lion
Volume 20
University of Michigan and University of Minnesota Excavations at Tel Kedesh I
The Hellenistic Archive and its Sealings
Volume 30
Caesarea Maritima Excavations in the Old City 1989-2003 Conducted by the University of Maryland and the University of Haifa, Final Reports
Volume 1: The Temple Platform (Area TP), Neighboring Quarters (Area TPS and Z), and the Inner Harbor Quays (Area I): Hellenistic Evidence, King Herods Harbor Temple, Intermediate Occupation, and the Octagonal Harbor Church
Volume 27
The Roman Marble Sculptures from the Sanctuary of Pan at Caesarea Philippi/Panias (Israel)
Volume 17
All Things Cypriot
Studies on Ancient Environment, Technology, and Society in Honor of Stuart Swiny
Volume 28
The Archaeological Survey of the Desert Roads between Berenike and the Nile Valley
Expeditions by the University of Michigan and the University of Delaware to the Eastern Desert of Egypt, 1987-2015
Volume 26
Similar Books
Caesar’s Visions and Impact on the Roman Empire
Revisiting the Archaeological and Historical Record of the 40s BC
Volume 2
Etruscan and Roman Hellenistic Anatomical ex votos
Reassessing Popular Religious Expressions in Central Italy
Volume 8
Ḫattušaš utnē išḫameški
Hittite and Other Ancient Near Eastern Studies Presented to Piotr Taracha on the Occasion of His 65th Birthday
Invisible Labour in Antiquity
Visualizing Obscure Work in the Ancient Mediterannean and West Asia
Volume 1
Punning in Odd or Elegant Constructions in Jeremiah
The Convergence of Linguistics, Rhetoric, and Textuality in the Hebrew Text of Jeremiah
Shame in the Worlds of the Hebrew Bible and Akkadian Texts
A Linguistic Study and Its Implications
Volume 33
Telling Contexts
Archaeological and Textual Studies in Honor of Elizabeth Bloch-Smith and Mark S. Smith
Die Entwicklung erdbebensicherer Bautechniken in der Frühen und Mittleren Eisenzeit in Ostanatolien
Volume 11
Kultur – Kontakt – Kultur
Beiträge anlässlich der 66. Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale in Frankfurt/Main und Mainz, 25.–29. Juli 2022
Volume 35
Sprachwissenschaftliche und kulturhistorische Reflexionen
Festschrift zu Ehren von Jörg Klinger
Volume 31
A Dramatic Event in Late Roman Florence
The Anomalous Burial Site Discovered beneath the Uffizi Gallery
A Numismatic History of Barikot
Catalogue and Analysis of the Coin Finds from the Excavations at Bir-koṭ-ghwaṇḍai (Barikot), Swat, Pakistan (1984-2022) Pakistan (1984-2022). With a contribution by Luca M. Olivieri
Volume 69
Alexander the Great and the Campaign of Gaugamela
New Research on Topography and Chronology. IAMNI 1 (Italian Archaeological Mission to Northern Iraq)
Volume 53
Archaeology of Eastern Anatolia II: From Prehistoric Times to the End of the Iron Ages
Proceedings of the 2nd Archaeology of Eastern Anatolia Colloquium, 23-25 April 2021, Online (Arkeolojihaber Youtube Channel)
Volume 43
Ash-sharq: Bulletin of the Ancient Near East No 9 1-2 2025
Archaeological, Historical and Societal Studies
Assyria and the West
A Fresh Look at the Unshakeable Pillars of Late Bronze and Iron Age Chronology in the Eastern Mediterranean World
Autocratic Rule in Antiquity
Proceedings of the 14th Melammu Workshop, Krakow, 46 October 2021
Volume 12
Bogazkoy Tablets in the Museum of Anatolian Civilisations (Bo 95-Bo 3993)
Anadolu Medeniyetleri Muzesinde Bulunan Bogazkoy Tabletleri (Bo 95-Bo 3993)
Volume 3
