Sepphoris: a mosaic of cultures

"Sepphoris, referred to as 'the ornament of all Galilee' by Flavius Josephus, is included among the important Classical sites in the State of Israel whose remains have been gradually and continuously exposed since 1985 by several expeditions from Israel and abroad. The excavations have revealed monumental public buildings, private dwellings, small finds, and over seventy mosaics dating from the second to sixth centuries CE. The finds from Sepphoris comprise an important component in understanding the material-culture world of the city's population, from the Hellenistic period with the founding of the settlement on the hilltop, in the heyday of the city's flourish in the Roman and Byzantine periods, up to the Early Islamic era when the settlement dwindled to a small village. They have enabled our appreciation of the human, religious, social, and cultural mosaic of the place while, at the same time, provide a sense of the changes that transpired in the Galilean city in is transition from one era to the next. Basic questions concerning the nature of the Jewish city, which have been discussed only in the last decade or two, have now given way to an in-depth study on a range of subjects relating on only to the physical appearance of Sepphoris and he lifestyle of its inhabitants, but also to urbanism, art, and architecture in ancient Palestine. A tour of the ancient remains of Sepphoris offers an opportunity to touch he past and treat questions of culture and identity, which also have implications for modern times. This volume covers the thousand-year history of this Galilean city and, for the first time, provides a comprehensive and updated picture of its urban plan, buildings, and inhabitants in a period of transition and change. The historical, cultural, and societal discussions contained therein examine the city in light of is archaeological finds, inscriptions, and literary sources. The book incorporates an abundance of illustrations and photographs, plans and reconstructions elucidating the glorious past of Sepphoris - a large and prosperous city, a mosaic of cultures." --