Cemetery and landscape studies have been hallmarks of North African archaeology for more than one hundred years. Mortuary Landscapes of North Africa is the first book to combine these two fields by considering North African cemeteries within the context of their wider landscapes. This unique perspective allows for new interpretations of notions of identity, community, imperial influence, and sacred space. Based on a wealth of material research from current fieldwork, this collection of essays investigates how North African funerary monuments acted as regional boundaries, markers of identity and status, and barometers of cultural change. The essays cover a broad range in terms of space and time – from southern Libya to eastern Algeria, and from the seventh century BCE to the seventh century CE. A comprehensive introduction explains the importance of the 'landscape perspective' that these studies bring to North African funerary monuments, while individual case-studies address such topics as the African way of death among the Garamantes, the ritual reasons for the location of certain Early Christian tombs, Punic burials, Roman cupula tombs, and the effects of rapid state formation and imperial incorporation on tomb builders. Unique in both scope and perspective, this volume will prove invaluable to a cross-section of archaeological scholars.

Cultural identity in the classical world is explored from a variety of angles.

Explore a one-of-a-kind and authoritative resource on Ancient North Africa A Companion to North Africa in Antiquity, edited by a recognized leader in the field, is the first reference work of its kind in English. It provides a comprehensive introduction to all aspects of North Africa's rich history from the Protohistoric period through Late Antiquity (1000 BCE to the 800 CE). Comprised of twenty-four thematic and topical essays by established and emerging scholars covering the area between ancient Tripolitania and the Atlantic Ocean, including the Sahara, the volume introduces readers to Ancient North Africa's environment, peoples, institutions, literature, art, economy and more, taking into account the significant body of new research and fieldwork that has been produced over the last fifty years. A Companion to North Africa in Antiquity is an essential resource for anyone interested in this important region of the Ancient World.

Conference proceedings

"This book examines the complex transition of North Africa from the Late Roman period to the Arab conquest, focusing on three provinces: Zeugitana, Byzacena and Tripolitana. In particular, it considers the continuity and transformation of towns, as a result of economic, political and social changes. The period sees the wide diffusion of Christianity, the imposition of Vandal rule and Arianism, the presence of a new Empire and the Arab/Muslim takeover. It is also a period of archaeological and material transition: physically towns changed and classical structures, in particular, decayed and were reused. The evidence considered here encompasses a wide range of material, including publications from 1800 (Italian and French colonial excavations) to modern times. These data form the basis for a detailed review of archaeological evidence in this geographical area and for the analysis of the processes of evolution that characterised North African cities"--

Burial and Memorial explores funerary and commemorative archaeology, A.D. 284–650, across the late antique world. This first volume includes an overview of research, and papers exploring bioarchaeology, mortuary rituals, mausolea, and funerary landscapes. It considers the sacralisation of tombs, the movements of relics, and the political significance of cemeteries. The nature and fate of statue monuments is explored, as memorials to individuals. Authors also compare the destruction or preservation of tombs in relation to other buildings. Finally, the city itself is considered as a place of collective memory, where meanings were long maintained, via a study of spoliation.

Although the Hellenistic period has become increasingly popular in research and teaching in recent years, the western Mediterranean is rarely considered part of the 'Hellenistic world'; instead the cities, peoples and kingdoms of the West are usually only discussed insofar as they relate to Rome. This book contends that the rift between the 'Greek East' and the 'Roman West' is more a product of the traditional separation of Roman and Greek history than a reflection of the Hellenistic-period Mediterranean, which was a strongly interconnected cultural and economic zone, with the rising Roman republic just one among many powers in the region, east and west. The contributors argue for a dynamic reading of the economy, politics and history of the central and western Mediterranean beyond Rome, and in doing so problematise the concepts of 'East', 'West' and 'Hellenistic' itself.