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)
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