New Publication: Catastrophes in Context
Last week, Brepols published "Catastrophes in Context: Disaster and Response in the Roman and Early Byzantine World", edited by Rubina Raja and Andrew Wilson. This collection moves beyond viewing ancient disasters as isolated incidents, instead framing them as transformative moments that reshaped communities across the Mediterranean and beyond.
Spanning from the first to the sixth century CE, the chapters discuss the occurance of and recovery from crisis. Geographically, the scope is equally expansive, traversing the breadth of the Roman Empire and its frontiers. Readers journey from the reconstructed streets of Londinium following the Boudican Revolt to the volcanic aftermath of Vesuvius in Pompeii; from the plague-ridden cities of Cyrenaica to the resilient trade hubs of Palmyra and the submerged landscapes of Thonis-Heracleion in Egypt. By integrating archaeological data, textual analysis, and scientific evidence, the contributors reveal how societies, from the British Isles to the Levant and North Africa, adapted to earthquakes, fires, plagues, eruptions, and wars. Resilience and recovery are hereby topics that connect the chapters.
Find out more here.
Citation:
Raja, R. and Wilson, A. (eds) 2026. Catastrophes in Context. Disaster and Response in the Roman and Early Byzantine World (Turnhout: Brepols).
Contriutions by unit members:
Bobou, O. and Raja, R. 2026. ‘Catastrophes and Resilience: The Archaeology of Crises at Palmyra, 150–272’, in Catastrophes in Context. Disaster and Response in the Roman and Early Byzantine World, edited by R. Raja and A. Wilson (Turnhout: Brepols), pp. 131-152.
Raja, R. and Wilson, A. 2026. ‘Catastrophe and Response in the Ancient World’, in Catastrophes in Context. Disaster and Response in the Roman and Early Byzantine World, edited by R. Raja and A. Wilson (Turnhout: Brepols), pp. 1-22.