The appearance of volume iii of the Corpus inscriptionum Iudaeae/Palaestinae is much to be welcomed. Volumes i and ii dealt with Jerusalem, and Caesarea and the Middle Coast respectively. The volume under discussion, volume iii, takes on the south coast, running from Tel Aviv in the north to Raphia in the south. The inscriptions gathered together in this collection date from the fourth century bce to the eighth century ce (the latest inscription dating from 732 ce), with the majority coming from the fifth to the seventh century ce. They concern themselves with issues ranging from the dedication of synagogues and churches to lead weights to anchors and amulets. Languages represented are Hebrew, Aramaic, Samaritan, Phoenician, Latin and Greek, with some in two languages (a mixture of Greek and Hebrew being quite common). While many have been published before, a good deal has not (not least those with magical content). Inscriptions are ordered geographically according to city, town or village. Each inscription is discussed in appropriately varying detail and a helpful bibliography is attached to each. Photographs or sketches of the inscription are nearly always provided. Where the location has brought forth a good deal of epigraphic material, the editors have provided a substantive introduction delineating the history of the city concerned, showing where the inscriptions in the collection elucidate the written record insofar as it exists. In this context there are especially full and learned discussions of Joppa, Ascalon and Gaza. In many of the areas represented, Jews and Christians, often from the fifth century but sometimes earlier, lived in relatively close proximity to each other and that can sometimes make discerning what is a Christian site or object and what is a Jewish one difficult (see, for instance, the discussions of inscriptions 2437 and 2467), though by and large the editors are clear on this matter, especially in distinguishing between inscriptions which might belong to a synagogue or a church. Among the many interesting inscriptions is one from a marble column from Ascalon (2326), which acclaims the one God (‘heis theos' – a number of inscriptions concern this Jewish and Christian phrase) and calls upon the Emperor Julian to be victorious, not least because it is unclear, as Walter Ameling's learned discussion indicates, who is responsible for it and whether it is related to the anti-Christian uprising in Ascalon in 361. Also of interest are a synagogue floor mosaic, dating from the early sixth century (2461), in which King David is represented as Orpheus and the Hebrew words of his name are written on it; a lead weight from Joppa, dating from the reign of Trajan (2259), which seems to give evidence of a Jew holding the position of an ‘agoranomos' around 105 ce, not long after the first Jewish revolt; and a series of amulets including one with a figure with a human body and the head of a chicken, labelled IAŌ and with the inexact, in this case, magical palindrome ABLANATHANAALBA (2354) inscribed on it. Finally mention should be made of what Clermont-Ganneau described as a genuine Christian phylactery, namely a Greek inscribed cross with the words ‘Lord, avert the evil from your maidservant, whose name you know’ (2356).

Much more of interest emerges from this magnificently edited collection, at which my brief remarks above can only hint. I understand that volume iv, which covers Judaea/Idumaea, is in the process of being finished, and that volumes v and vi, containing inscriptions from Galilee and the Negev, will follow. On the basis of this volume and those that have preceded it we can only look forward to their appearance.