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BOIN, D., Ostia in Late Antiquity. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (...), 2013. XIX,287p. ills.(B&W photographs and line drawings). Hard bound. 'When the second edition of Russell Meiggs’ Roman Ostia appeared in 1973, The World of Late Antiquity by Peter Brown had been out for just two years. It is thus unsurprising that the post-Severan phases of Ostia did not command as much attention from Meiggs as did the republican and early imperial remains of the city. It is equally understandable that Meiggs’ study was not shaped by that cluster of interests centering on identity formation (especially Christian identity formation) that has marked the study of Late Antiquity. The appearance, forty years after Meiggs’ magisterial work, of Douglas Boin’s 'Ostia in Late Antiquity' is thus a very welcome development and begins to fill an important gap in the study of ancient Ostia. Boin skillfully weaves together material and textual evidence to show theories that Ostia experienced 'decline' or rapid Christianization in the third and fourth centuries are generally unfounded. (...) 'Ostia in Late Antiquity' will certainly be valuable to students and scholars for its wide-ranging collection of data and up-to-date bibliography. The book’s arguments about Christian identity and the persistence of traditional Roman beliefs and practices, while not always convincing to this reader, provide stimulating food for thought. (...) While Boin does not aim to provide a comprehensive treatment of every monument of late antique Ostia or every aspect of life in the post-classical city, the book nonetheless serves as a good snapshot, bringing together a wide range of evidence and presenting this material with considerable methodological and theoretical sophistication.' (BRENT NONGBRI in Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2014.01.06). € 89.50 (New) ISBN: 9781107024014