This book is the first of a series (the RES series) planning to publish all the work conducted by Chieti University, which has been working in Cyrenaica (eastern Libya) since 1997. It is stated at the outset that this first volume provides an overview of all the projects carried out in Cyrene and Cyrenaica.
Most of the work conducted by the team in Libya focuses on the UNESCO World Heritage site of Cyrene (https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/190/), an important Greek, Roman and Byzantine city characterised by the presence of an impressive monumental necropolis surrounding the city (Cherstich Reference Cherstich2015). The volume also contains the results of surveys in the territory of Cyrenaica.
The book is organised into three sections. The first provides some general information on two important activities carried out by the team: the reorganisation and display of the statue of the site of Cyrene; and the survey that has been conducted in the necropolis of Cyrene, the Sanctuaries and the territory of the city. An important outcome of this work has been the creation of the Geographic Information System (GIS) of Cyrene and its territory, which is an essential and invaluable tool for the management and the preservation of the site.
The second part of the volume features different excavations and surveys conducted in 2006, 2007 and 2008. In 2006 the excavation focused on the 2nd c. AD tomb C, although a summary of the excavation of the tomb A is also provided. The second monument excavated is the Ammon's shrine also called the Ammon's cave. The area (the southern and western slope of Ain Hofra) has been surveyed since 2001 with the recording of caves there and of the Greek votive inscriptions. The Ammon's shrine in particular is characterised by a hypogeum that was excavated. The last chapter of this section focuses on the survey of Ain Hofra and offers the results conducted using the GIS, such as the ancient agrarian subdivision. The survey results and the excavations for the 2007 and 2008 seasons are also presented. The last chapter of this section focuses on archaeometry.
The last section of the volume contains the appendices with detailed contributions in different languages, some of which are in English and some in Italian. The first appendix focuses on the survey of the necropoleis of Cyrene (Wadi Bu Trucia, western and eastern nercopoleis).
The second appendix contains a miscellanea of various works carried out in the area of Ain Hofra. The articles in second appendix focus on different aspects, notably the plan and structure of the tomb C and its conservation. The remaining contributions in the second appendix include the study of the lid of a sarcophagus, the analysis of human remains and archaeo-zoological analysis.
The third appendix contains a summary of various surveys recording the forts of the region, the late antique and the medieval periods at Lamluda, some archaeometric analysis and the results of the coastal survey of Apollonia. The last appendix includes four essays on inscriptions and coins from the region.
Overall the book contains an impressive quantity of new data and interpretations. The author clearly outlines the objective of this series being to disseminate and make available to the scientific community as much data as possible. It is a commendable aim and this volume is a strong opening to what will hopefully be a very rich series. The quantity of data ranging from art history, GIS, human remains, inscriptions, scientific analysis and conservation show the incredible and varied amount of work that the Chieti team has conducted since 1997 and their strong commitment to the protection and study of the important site of Cyrene in collaboration with the Department of Antiquities of Libya. This site has been, after the revolution, subject to destruction and looting (Belzic Reference Belzic2017; Menozzi et al. Reference Menozzi, Di Valerio, Tamburrino, Sheriff, d'Ercole and Di Antonio2017) and the work conducted by the Chieti team offers unique and essential data invaluable for the preservation of the site and its territory.
The volume is enriched by a large number of good quality colour images and each section of the volume also includes the Arabic translation to guarantee the distribution and accessibility of the results to a wider audience. This is an important volume for anyone working in North Africa and Libya, but also on Greek and Roman architecture, landscape studies, funerary practices, art history, late antiquity and the early Islamic period, inscriptions, and numismatic.
