The Southern Necropolis of Cyrene

This book analyzes ancient tombs in Eastern Libya, from the Archaic phase to Late Roman times. Despite plundering, these ornate structures reveal funerary competition, spatial organization, and lost rituals. The book reconstructs the social history of ancient Cyreneans through their ostentatious funerary culture.

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This book presents an in‑depth analysis of the Southern Necropolis of Cyrene. Numerous tombs surround this ancient Greek city located in Eastern Libya. Many of these monumental structures feature elaborate ornamental patterns and complex architectural elements. Yet, most graves have been plundered in the past, hence they appear as beautifully decorated, but empty spaces that seem to provide little information to archaeologists. This volume aims at overcoming this problem. While the book provides an exploration of the architecture of Cyrenean tombs, it avoids a purely descriptive, art‑historical approach. Instead, the analysis focuses on issues of funerary competition, display strategies, spatial organization, and the possible role of lost, unknown rituals in shaping the material record over a period of more than a thousand years, from the Archaic phase to Late Roman times. In so doing, it reconstructs the social history of ancient Cyreneans through the evolution of their ostentatious funerary culture.