Briefly Noted

The Necropolis of Hesban: A Typology of Tombs

S. Douglas Waterhouse (Berrian Springs, MI: Andrews University Press, 1998) 205 pp., $45.99

This is the tenth installment in a series of reports on excavations conducted a quarter century ago at Tell Hesban, 15 miles southwest of Amman, Jordan. Douglas Waterhouse gives a tomb-by-tomb analysis of Roman and Byzantine cemeteries uncovered near Hesban, while other contributors analyze the tombs’ skeletal remains. Some surprises: Hesban locals seem to have been somewhat protected from infection by ingesting a natural form of tetracycline. Unfortunately, however, they had no access to fluoridated water, and many of the skeletons in the cemeteries were found toothless.

The Chora of Metaponto: The Necropoleis