This book stems from the PhD thesis of the author, Maja Gori. It focuses on the ceramic material from two sites, Sovjan in southeastern Albania and Sveta Nedela in the south of the Republic of Macedonia, and discusses in twelve chapters that material's relation to the cultural networks that developed in the southwestern Balkans during the late Early Bronze Age and the beginning of the Middle Bronze Age (i.e. late third and early second millennia bc). The finds from Sovjan and Sveta Nedela are presented in no fewer than 110 tables.

After providing a brief introduction to the subject—the exploration of the Balkan Bronze Age and its position in relation to the Aegean world on the one hand and the Danube-Carpathian region on the other (Ch. 1)—Gori focuses on the site of Sovjan (Chs 2‒6). The site is a 1.5 hectare pile dwelling that lies 800 metres from the modern town of Sovjan and was originally situated on the western shores of Lake Maliq before it was drained. It comprises fourteen layers, which date to the Bronze Age and the Iron Age (Ch. 2). Due to fortunate preservation conditions numerous wooden structures could be documented, while the timbers (especially oak) could be used for dendrochronological dating. Radiocarbon measurements were also obtained for individual layers, and the sporadic occurrence of Mycenaean pottery provides additional dating clues (Ch. 5). Individual construction and expansion phases could thus be traced, particularly for layer eight, which is subdivided into four sub-phases. It is noteworthy that Sovjan is the only site in the southwestern Balkans that provides a significant number of radiocarbon and dendrochronological dates for the Early Bronze Age (Ch. 5), although, as the author points out, the analysis of the latter has yet to be completed. Nevertheless, the temporal sequence of the individual layers can be traced very well: layers thirteen and eleven date to the Neolithic (eighth to sixth millennia bc); layers nine to seven to the Early Bronze Age and the beginning of the Middle Bronze Age (mid-third millennium bc to the beginning of the second millennium bc); and layers six to four to the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age.

A detailed study of the pottery found in layers nine to seven, which are related to Early Helladic II‒III and Middle Helladic I, is presented in Chapters 3‒4 and 6. In Chapter 3 Gori provides an overview of the methodological approach, the recording and documentation of the pottery, the definition of different fabrics, and the basic definition of the various types of vessels. An overview of the percentage of different fabrics in the individual layers is also included. At this point, even acknowledging the issue of cost, a colour figure of the ceramic fabrics would have been helpful. Vessel typology (bowls, jugs, cups, kantharoi, pots, pyranoi, smoking vessels, and individual forms) is discussed in the following chapter (Ch. 4). The characteristic features of each type are described in detail and the assignment of individual finds to specific types is presented in tables, enabling a clear overview. Certain types and variants of vessels are discussed directly with respect to their distribution in the southwest Balkans, and presented in distribution maps. An analysis of the distribution of the various vessel types and special features, such as decorations, within the individual layers is offered in Chapter 6. The spectrum of vessel types from Sovjan is represented graphically in Figure 51, arranged according to the individual layers. Unfortunately, the drawings of the vessels and their respective type names are too small to allow the reader to visually capture the relevant characteristics and information. A foldable double-side, which would have made possible a larger presentation of the picture, would have been a better option here.

The second site studied by Gori is Sveta Nedela (Ch. 7), whose ceramic finds derive from an apsidal building with a stone foundation that was excavated in marshy terrain on the northeast bank of Great Prespa Lake, near the village of Asamati. Despite the lack of stratigraphic contexts, the finds from Sveta Nedela are important because there are only a few sites that have brought to light material from the Middle Bronze Age in Macedonia. The pottery finds from Sveta Nedela are described by Gori by vessel type and are placed within a relative and absolute chronological framework via typological comparisons with material from neighboring regions, especially Toumba Olynth-Agios Mamas in northern Greece (Macedonia region). Chronologically this covers the entire second millennium bc, from the beginning of Middle Helladic I until the end of Late Helladic IIIC.

Both sites, although primarily Sovjan, are discussed in detail in Chapters 8‒11 with regard to their position within the broader cultural network including neighbouring regions (Albania, Greece, Macedonia, Croatia, Bosnia, and Serbia) . Attention is paid, on the one hand, to certain typological comparisons within the ceramic spectrum and, on the other hand, to their chronological position.

A synthesis of the detailed work presented in the previous chapters is offered in the final chapter (Ch. 12, ‘Distribution Patterns and Interaction Networks’). On the basis of the previous comparisons with various neighbouring and distant regions, the author draws connections between the sites of Sovjan and Sveta Nedela and different ‘networks’: the Macedonian micro- and macro-regional networks; the ‘Adriatic and Ionian’ network; and the ‘Aegean’ network. The relations with the transregional network between the Carpathian area and the Aegean Sea deserve special attention (p. 248). These are seen by Gori as an important indicator that the sites Sovjan and Sveta Nedela (Prespa-Ohrid lakes region) are not located within a peripheral zone as traditionally assumed. Rather, she argues, this area was at the center of a network that ran throughout the southwest Balkans and connected the Carpathian region and the Aegean Sea (p. 250). The author follows this relationship via a particular form of single-handled tankard (jug) with a cylindrical neck and a rounded base: the jug of the type C.a.2 variant a (pp. 88‒89, fig. 32).

A total of five tankards of this type, in different states of preservation, are documented in Sovjan within layers eight and seven (plates XIV.229; XXXVII.520; XLIX.675; L.696; LXI.1074). Parallels can be found in the immediate vicinity of the site, for example in Maliq (fig. 32, distribution map). Gori also refers to the presence of tankards with a cylindrical neck and a rounded body in the Pevkakia Magoula of Thessaly (Greece), where they occur in both Late Bronze Age and Middle Bronze Age contexts (p. 88). Small tankards with a cylindrical neck are also leading forms of other Early Bronze Age cultural groups such as the Belotić-Bela Crkva group in the Drina region of Bosnia-Herzegovina or the Somogyvár-Vinkovci group in Transdanubia. Gori is aware that the tankards both of the Belotić-Bela Crkva Group (figs. 81.3, 81.4, 81.6, 82) and of the Somogyvár-Vinkovci group are particular in terms of the proportions and design of the body and the handle. I agree that the use of very similar tankards/drinking vessels should be regarded as the result of cultural exchange, possibly linked to common (drinking) customs. It is noteworthy that small drinking vessels with a cylindrical or slightly funnel-shaped neck and a double-conical body in a version with a single or a double handle can be found in the North Adriatic region (Buršić-Matijašić, Reference Buršić-Matijašić1998: plate 37.530).

A continuation of this form is displayed in the first half of the second millennium bc, the end of the Early Bronze Age and the beginning of the Middle Bronze Age according to the chronological scheme of Reinecke for Central Europe. For variant b of the tankard type C.a.2, characterized by a wider neck in relation to the body and represented by two specimens with different handle variants (plates XXV.365; LIX.868), the author names as a contact zone the Cetina culture in Dalmatia (Croatia) (p. 88, fig. 32.244). Small tankards with a cylindrical neck and ellipsoidal body were mentioned in the early 1980s as characteristic of the first two phases of the Cetina culture (Marović & Čović, Reference Marović and Čović1983: 199, fig. 15.1). However, other characteristic elements of the Cetina culture are not found in Sovjan or in the Korçë basin in general (p. 89). Nonetheless, Gori refers to two vessel wall fragments with incised triangular and zigzag decoration from layer seven in Sovjan (p. 135, plates LXXXIII.1055, LXXXV.1104), which are comparable to others found in the nearby site of Maliq, as well as in the cave of Škarin Samograd in Dalmatia. In general, linkages between the Cetina culture in Dalmatia and Albania and southern Greece are well known (Della Casa, Reference Della Casa1996: 132ff., fig. 155), and cultural relations can be traced via Cetina to the northern Adriatic as well. Finds of Cetina pottery are also known from caves in the Trieste Karst in southwest Slovenia and northeastern Italy (Govedarica, Reference Govedarica2006: 30, map 1), as well as in fortified settlements in Istria (Mihovilić, Reference Mihovilić2007‒2008: 42ff., 79, 73, plate 12). The fact that connections to the north went via the sea route along the eastern Adriatic coast is illustrated also by a certain shape of handle, which is found in Sovjan. A supplementary remark can be made in this context for the bowl type A.a.iv.3 (‘Bowls with double or single lugs’, p. 60, fig. 24). The most prominent feature of this type are the double handles placed on both the outer and inner sides of the vessel (plates XI. SV189; XII.SV215; XXXVIII.SV547). The author mentions as parallels bowls with double handles from Maliq, as well as from Shkodrës-Skadar in northern Albania. In addition to the Albanian specimens, a new find from the Gradina of Monkodonia in Istria (Hellmuth Kramberger, Reference Hellmuth Kramberger2017: plate 102.3), dating to the Early Bronze Age and the beginning of the Middle Bronze Age, as well as several old finds from northern Dalmatia (Batović, Reference Batović1970: fig. 22; Reference Batović1973: plates 74.3, 86.4) can be named. These comparisons provide further evidence of interconnections within the cultural networks that linked the hinterland regions of the southwestern Balkans with the Adriatic coast.

Overall, this work by Maja Gori can be described as a valuable contribution to the study of the late Early Bronze Age and the beginning of the Middle Bronze Age in the southwestern Balkans. Not only does it present a large amount of ceramic material from two sites, but it also focuses on the region's nodal position within the complex cultural networks that connected the Balkan hinterland, the Aegean, and the Carpathian region. The completion of the evaluation of all scientific data will surely provide further relevant insights into the absolute chronology of the region.