The 13 essays are not a tribute to Hillers, who devoted his final 15 years studying the people and culture in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra, but a research tool such as he would have wanted to produce himself. They explore various aspects of archaeological research, history and social history, art, and philology to illustrate the complex and multi-faceted culture of the city and its surround. Among the topics are Greek and Latin words in Palmyrene inscriptions, the role of women, the city of the dead, lexicographical and grammatical notes on the Aramaic texts, burial practices as revealed by funerary goods, questions about the iconography and epigraphy of a new tessera, and Palmyra in the third century on the eve of its destruction by the Romans. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)