The Necropolis of Cyrene

The Necropolis of Cyrene: Two Hundred Years of Exploration by James Copland Thorn offers an exhaustive, two-volume documentation and critical re-evaluation of one of the Mediterranean's most extensive ancient Greek and Roman burial sites. Driven by the urgent necessity to record monuments facing imminent destruction from modern urban expansion, tomb-robbing, and weathering, this monumental work synthesizes two centuries of antiquarian, diplomatic, and archaeological field research. Central to the study is a complete reconstruction and critical re-examination of Alan Rowe's controversial 1950s British excavations. By integrating newly recovered archive records, field notebooks, and museum collections, the study establishes a rigorous typological classification of rock-cut and built tomb morphology, sarcophagi, and funerary furnishings. Broadening its scope to cross-Mediterranean comparative analyses, the volume contextualizes Cyrenaica's funerary architecture and burial practices, providing an indispensable reference for North African classical archaeology.