Mithraeum at Caesarea Maritima

Robert Jehu Bull was the emeritus director of the Drew University's Institute for Archaeological Research, later the Joint Expeditions to Caesarea Maritima, where he excavated from 1971 to 1996, exposing major parts of the city's street plan, warehouse complex, a residential quarter, and parts of the hippodrome. Before excavating at Caesarea, he excavated and led excavations at Shechem, Balatah, Ai, Pella, Tell er-Ras, and Khirbet Shema'.Andrew H. Bobeck His book "Techniques for Improving Digital Photographs" by OutSkirts Press covers in depth the graphics technique he used to recover the faded colours of the Caesarea fresco.Jane DeRose Evans is a Professor of Art History and is affiliated with the Department of Greek and Latin Classics at Temple University. She has excavated in Greece, Italy, England, Israel, and France. Currently, she is the specialist numismatist for the Archaeological Exploration of Sardis (Harvard and Cornell universities) and Bir Madkhour (George Washington University).Robert S. Fritzius has published the Introduction and First Part of an English translation of Walter Ritz's "Recherches critiques sur l'Électrodynamique Générale", and served as staff artist for the excavations at Elusa, Israel.  He is a member of the American Astronomical Society, the Committee on Space Research, and the Venus Exploration and Analysis Group.Alexandra L. Ratzlaff is a Fellow at the Albright Institute of Archaeological Research in Jerusalem and a University Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Maritime Civilizations at the University of Haifa. She recently completed a two-year Fulbright Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Haifa. Her research and publication projects focus on the Roman army, Roman and Byzantine ceramics, the Late Antique maritime economy and trade networks of the Mediterranean world.

• List of IllustrationsList of TablesPrefaceAcknowledgementsAbbreviations Chapter 1 - Introduction and BackgroundA. The Site: Physical Setting and Early HistoryB. The Backstory: Early Challenges for the Harvard ExpeditionC. The Harvard Expedition: Excavation Strategy, Methods, and Ensuing Challenges1. 1908 Fieldwork2. 1909 Fieldwork3. 1910 FieldworkD. Summary Chapter 2 - Horizontal Axis: The Ostraca Building's Original Footprint and Surrounding AreaA. The Ostraca House1. Wall A: Ahab's "Main Wall"2. The Ostraca House: Entrance Halls, Storerooms, and Eastern Corridors (Long-Rooms)3. Reconstructions4. Later Additions (?)B. The Osorkon HouseC. Problems North and East of the Ostraca and Osorkon HousesD. Summary Chapter 3 - Vertical Axis: The Ostraca Building's Complex Depositional HistoryA. Stratigraphic Analysis: Summary of Sections Published by the Harvard ExpeditionB. Stratigraphic Analysis: Discussion of Sections Relevant to the Ostraca House1. Principal Longitudinal Section CD2. Principal Lateral Section GH3. Subsidiary Lateral Section ABC. Summary Chapter 4 - Ceramic ConsiderationsA. The Harvard Excavations and the Joint Expedition: Collating the DataB. Reisner's Presentation of Pottery: A Meager RepertoireC. The 1910 Ostraca: Spatial DistributionD. The 1910 Ostraca: Typological NotesE. The 1910 Ostraca-related Pottery: Typological NotesF. The 1910 Ostraca and Ostraca-related Pottery: Comparative Ceramic Analysis1. Epigraphic Pottery2. Bowl Types Representing Parallels for Ostraca Pottery Forms3. Non-epigraphic Pottery from the Same Findspots as the Ostraca4. Comments on Some Jar Types Associated with Ostraca Pottery FormsG. Summary Chapter 5 - The Samaria Ostraca and Modern Scholarship Chapter 6 - Back to the Backstory: The Characters and Concerns behind the Harvard Expedition to Samaria Appendix A - Ostraca: Provenance Data and Vessel DescriptionsAppendix B - Ostraca: Sequence of DiscoveryAppendix C - Non-epigraphic Pottery with Provenance Data Matching those of the OstracaAppendix D - D. G. Lyon's Report to the President of Harvard University for the Academic Year 1898-1899, Showing the Financial Generosity of Jakob Heinrich SchiffAppendix E - Reisner's Field Drawings of Selected Ostraca PlatesBibliographyIndicesBiblical ReferencesAuthor IndexSubject Index

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