The Mosaics of Roman Crete Art, Archaeology and Social Change

This book examines the rich corpus of mosaics created in Crete during the Roman and Late Antique eras. It provides essential information on the style, iconography and chronology of the material, as well as discussion of the craftspeople who created them and the technologies they used. The contextualized mosaic evidence also reveals a new understanding of Roman and Late Antique Crete. It helps shed light on the processes by which Crete became part of the Roman Empire, its subsequent Christianization and the pivotal role the island played in the Mediterranean network of societies during these periods. This book provides an original approach to the study of mosaics and an innovative method of presenting a diachronic view of provincial Cretan society.

1. Introduction; 2. The archaeology of Crete; 3. Iconography of Cretan mosaics; 4. Date and distribution; 5. Urban and architectural contexts; 6. Mosaics of Crete: craftspeople, technology, and workshops; 7. The provincial view, globalization, and Christianization.

Rebecca J. Sweetman is a Senior Lecturer in Ancient History and Archaeology at the School of Classics, University of St Andrews. She has published widely on Roman and Late Antique Greece, including articles in the American Journal of Archaeology, the Annual of the British School at Athens and the Journal of Late Antiquity and is the editor of Roman Colonies in the First Century of Their Foundation (2011). Her excavations and research have received funding from the British Academy, the British School at Athens, the Carnegie Foundation and the Arts and Humanities Research Council.