RARE comprehensive archaeological and social history of the Judean desert monasteries and their monks in the Byzantine period by Yizhar Hirschfeld (1950-2006), an Israeli archaeologist specializing in Greco-Roman and Byzantine archaeology, an associate professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and director of excavations at a number of sites around Israel, including Ramat Hanadiv, Tiberias, and Khirbet ed-Deir. 260x180mm. XX+305 pages. Beige cloth Hardcover with illustrated dust-jacket. Jacket taped with transparent tape and slightly dirty. Jacket rear side upper corner/spine upper edge partly missing and taped. Spine edges bumped. Spine upper edge worn. Small sticket on front endpaper. [SUMMARY]: This extremely rare book, of interest to any serious student of early Christianity, archaeology in the Holy Land and Byzantium, is in good condition.