The book is the last of a series of volumes presenting the results of fieldwork in Cyrene carried out jointly by the Michigan Kelsey Museum of Ancient and Medieval Archaeology, succeeded in 1973 by the University of Pennsylvania's Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, and the Libyan Department of Antiquities (p. 1). Due mainly to political reasons the project had a long hiatus period, from 1981 to 2004, after which the mission was finally able to return to the site. A new project began, the Cyrenaica Archaeological Project (CAP), sponsored jointly by the Pennsylvania Museum and Oberlin College, directed by W. and S. Kane. In 2006 the project expanded to include a survey by Birmingham University.

The excavation here published was completed in 1979, and therefore the methodologies used are not what would be considered innovative, as is pointed out by W.; rather, it was carried out as a traditional excavation project. Nobody from the excavation team had the opportunity to see the material for about three decades. The first volume concerning the project was published in 1984 and six further volumes followed between 1985 and 1999. In the introduction (p. 2) W. indicates that work on some materials still remains unpublished, including that on sculptures, lamps, terracotta figurines and coarse wares.

What is left to be published on the excavation is contained in the present volume: detail on the phases of transformation of the Sanctuary from the Early Roman Imperial period (31 b.c.) up to the end of the occupation, and the use of the pagan religious complex (second half of the fourth century). There follows a final discussion on possible early Christian iconoclasm at the site (including a wider geographical consideration of this phenomenon in other Sanctuaries mainly in the East). The volume contains an appendix by R. on inscriptions. The work does not include a plan for locating the various trenches, but refers readers to the earlier publications (in particular W. 1984). The volume presents Sanctuary plans by phase (scale 1:500) in which the transformations for each period are highlighted.

The volume contains a short background section (information about digging conditions, a contextualisation of Sanctuary activities from the wider perspective of Cyrene, a summary of the major transformations recorded in the religious complex), followed by a detailed stratigraphic description of each wall, building and architectural fragment (architectural frusta – fragments – are catalogued individually and photographed).

The excavators have identified three major phases: 31 b.c.–a.d. 115; 115–262; 262–365. The first phase focusses on the Augustan reign up to the Jewish rebellion that occurred during the reign of Trajan (a.d. 115–117) in the Eastern Empire, and began in Cyrene. This period appears to have been characterised by intense building activity, and the city was enriched by the construction of a number of new complexes (Gymnasium-Caesareum, the Augusteum in the Agora, the Trajanic baths, the rededication of the portico B5). The Sanctuary also saw a similar trend with the lifting of the south slope of the Wadi Bel Gadir. The additions occurred at the three different levels of the Sanctuary (Lower, Middle and Upper). Two major features are identified as being substantially renovated: the Sacred House (S6a) and a newly constructed Sacred House (S8), both in the Middle Sanctuary.

The Second phase of the complex (a.d. 115–262) starts from the Jewish revolt and ends with the earthquake of a.d. 262. One important aspect stressed by the excavators is the lack of evidence related to the revolt. Since the riot developed from an order given to the Jewish community to destroy some Pagan temples, excavators were expecting to identify traces of destruction, which does not seem to have occurred. Another important aspect is the clear diminishing presence of votive objects after the beginning of the third century as the sanctuary entered into a phase of decline; some of the restorations and new buildings that occurred in this phase appear to have already fallen into decay 30 years or more before the earthquake. It is perhaps useful to note A. Cameron's The Last Pagans of Rome (2011), in which Cameron suggests that Pagan religious practices died out progressively in Late Antiquity. A second important piece of evidence is the presence of intense demolition in the Upper Sanctuary just prior to the earthquake; the excavators suggest that stone robbers were active in the Upper Sanctuary at this time (discussed in part, pp. 125–8). This idea is interesting, as modern studies indicate that the dismantling of large monuments often occurred in Late Antiquity, not carried out by robbers but often by the municipality itself (see for instance the discussion on North Africa in A. Leone, The End of the Pagan City. Religion, Economy and Urbanism in Late Antique North Africa [2013]).

The last phase of construction, from after the earthquake of a.d. 262 to the earthquake in a.d. 365 (which was followed by the abandonment of the Sanctuary), records a mound that included headless statues; two other similar statues have also been noted within the foundation of a ring wall. The excavators discuss the possibility that such activity, especially the creation of the mound, can be related to the deliberate actions of a Christian community (p. 140). The evidence, however, is too scant to be able to link such remains to early iconoclasm. Since the upper part of the Sanctuary had already been dismantled, it is very likely that statues were also removed and stored to be reused. Heads were often detached, because they could be easily recycled or re-carved in addition to becoming parts of private collections (for discussion on statuary collection in Late Antiquity see L. Stirling, The Learned Collector: Mythological Statuettes and Classical Taste in Late Antique Gaul [2005] and F. Alto Bauer, C. Witschel [edd.], Statuen in der Spätantike [2007]).

The last chapter is dedicated to iconoclasm in the Sanctuary and contains a catalogue of statue heads for which intentional damage is thought to be a likely factor. Unfortunately few of the heads are reproduced in the book and this makes it particularly difficult to evaluate the data. This is followed by a short discussion on similar activities outside the region. The analysis of the hammering/defacing of statues has been the subject of a number of recent studies (T.M. Kristensen, ‘Miraculous Bodies: Christian Viewers and the Transformation of “Pagan” Sculpture in Late Antiquity’, in S. Birk and B. Poulsen [edd.], Patrons and Viewers in Late Antiquity [2011]; I. Jacobs, ‘Production to Destruction? Pagan and Mythological Statuary in Asia Minor’, American Journal of Archaeology 114.2 [2010], 267–303) and the evidence here may provoke further debate.

The book is particularly important for the data it contains, contributing archaeological material to the theme of the conflict between Pagans and Christians, which is often limited to a reliance on textual evidence. It also emerges clearly how difficult it is to identify the traces of such conflicts, for which we have numerous accounts from sources but often very scarce or difficult to read physical evidence.