Book excerpt: Spanning the life of the ancient city almost from 331 BCE through its transformation into a Christian metropolis, Alexandria's monumental tombs provide the single richest source of information about the ancient city. They attest to the diversity and the cohesion of the community, its population's wealth and love of luxury, sense of theatricality and pomp, and cosmopolitan attitude. Alexandria's monumental tombs confirm the changing ethos of the city's populace, as the tombs provide the stage on which the city's continuity and shifting concerns are played out.