The volume Mediterranean resilience aims to present the full range of research on how Mediterranean societies adapted to various environmental pressures and crises. The editors of the volume readily admit that the content might seem eclectic, but state that the selection of the 13 chapters is due to the diverse processes and phenomena that are discussed and fall within the scope of this research. The first chapter, the Introduction, is devoted to setting the scene and describes the criteria used to define how the term ‘collapse’ is used in the rest of the volume, as well as a brief overview of the upcoming chapters.

The next two chapters are methodological in nature, with the first providing an excellent explanation of micro-geoarchaeology and its methods, which feature prominently in the following chapters and case studies. Ruth Shahak-Gross explains how micro-geoarchaeology can be used to provide information and data on resource management at settlement sites, the materials used, their sources and whether resources were over-utilised. This is accompanied by an overview of the types of micro-remains which are, and can be, analysed. This is wonderfully picked up in several case studies, emphasising the importance of this field of study for people who are less familiar with this topic. Chapter 3, penned by Gilad Shtienberg and Michael Lazar, provides an outline of their project designed to study human-environment interaction in coastal sites. They do this by describing the different methods used, their suitability for the project workflow and how to create a time-constrained model for the coastal zone.

The next 10 chapters explore the adaptation and resilience of coastal societies in the eastern Mediterranean chronologically, with special attention given to changes in sea level and climate. The first of these chapters, written by Chelsea Wiseman, discusses the connections of coastal Neolithic settlements with the sea and their marine adaptation. This chapter is a brilliant summary of the available information, although it would have benefited from a table describing the chronological terms used because, due to the scope of the volume, many readers will be unfamiliar with the dates of the periods described in the chapter. The fifth chapter is a numerical and spatial analysis of changes in settlement patterns from the Chalcolithic to the Early Bronze Age IB, and successfully argues for the continuation of settlements despite the collapse of the Chalcolithic. Roey Nickelsberg, Ruth Shahack-Gross and Assaf Yasur-Landau effectively supplement the chapter with numerous maps, figures and tables, ensuring that the reader is not lost among the locations and can readily utilise the data collated in their database. The following chapter by Brigid Clark, stays in the Bronze Age and reviews the research on the changes in Cypriot imports to the southern Levant, and how this indicates adaptive trade networks despite various crises in the Middle and Late Bronze Ages. While the chronological synchronisation between the southern Levant and Cyprus is excellent (table 6.2), it would have been greatly enhanced if the dates of the periods were also provided. In the following chapter, Philipp Stockhammer views the collapse of the Mycenean palaces in light of evidence showing that major transformations had already occurred before the said collapse. The author effectively argues that the palatial system broke down over a period of 50 years due to various sociopolitical changes.

The eighth chapter by Ehud Galili and colleagues presents the recent finds from Neve Yam Bay in a multilevel study of finds from human activity dating to the Late Bronze Age to Iron Age transition. They describe all the excavated finds while discussing their dating and use, including an interesting in-depth analysis of the microstructure and chemical composition of the copper ingots. Through this, they convincingly conclude that the finds originated from a single ship dating to the famous transition period—the ‘crisis years’ (twelfth century BC)—and discuss the implications for this. Especially noteworthy is an excellent figure displaying the chronology of the bay and the assemblage, alongside the different dating methods employed (fig. 8.3). The ninth chapter also looks at the infamous ‘crisis years’, where Eric Cline provides an overview of the research on cultural collapse during the Late Bronze Age, including its various theories. Although the topic of this chapter has been extensively researched, the bibliography seems lacking and could have benefitted from more sources, especially for such a much-discussed topic.

The tenth chapter, authored by Katrina Cantu and colleagues, moves forward to the Hellenistic period to discuss erosion events in the Mediterranean according to near-shore marine sediment cores in Antikyra bay in the Gulf of Corinth. The methods, results and historical and climatic contexts are well described, which is wonderful for people unfamiliar with the use of marine sediment cores, the region and period. In the following chapter, Eleonora Bedin concentrates on the cultural adaptation of coastal societies in the southern Levant in response to crises during the Hellenistic period. It is split into two phases, the Ptolemaic and Seleucid periods. Unfortunately, the spelling of the places is not in accordance elsewhere in the book (e.g. Ake, Dora, Joppa), which is confusing because these places feature prominently in the other chapters (e.g. Acre, Dor, Jaffa). It seems that the author intended to use the Hellenistic spellings, so they should have been stated alongside the modern spelling to avoid confusion for the reader and errors in the index.

The penultimate chapter by Gil Gambash focuses on the prosperity of the Negev desert region in Israel in Late Antique and the importance of its connectivity to the Mediterranean networks that influenced this desert economy, with a special emphasis on the viticulture industry. The latter is problematic, as the author does not acknowledge articles that conflict with the theory that the Negev area contributed extensively to the Gaza wine industry (e.g. Seligman Reference Seligman2020). Similarly, the methodology upon which this theory rests is dependent upon the prevalence of Gaza jars, which were manufactured in the coastal region, and so it seems unlikely that empty amphorae were sent to the Negev to package the local wine, instead of using locally produced amphorae (Olshanetsky & Cosijns Reference Olshanetsky and Cosijns2024). The last chapter delivers a spatial outlying topic and uses the Mayan collapse to illustrate Barta's laws of collapse (Bárta Reference Bárta, Bárta and Kovář2019: 25–26). Geoffrey Braswell uses this example to demonstrate how the Mayan collapse is relevant to the modern world. Although an interesting and well-written chapter, the author rightly notes the unexpected inclusion of this chapter in this volume—publishing it elsewhere would have made it more accessible for people searching for research on the Mayan world, and this volume more cohesive.

This book is a largely useful volume encompassing many different periods while remaining focused on the effects of crises on various societies, yet not necessarily only coastal ones. Furthermore, the book is well balanced between investigative chapters presenting new information and chapters reviewing the available literature. The quality of research in most of the chapters is generally high. All in all, this volume is a worthy addition to the corpus on coastal societies’ adaptation to crises, and sadly the volume is not published in OpenAccess as it would have enlarged its circle of reception.