This book sets out with the admirable aim of demonstrating that there is more to the Iron Age of Europe than an examination of Celts and the archaeology of Hallstatt and La Tène culture. It provides a detailed description of the archaeological record of the western fringe of Britain and France, the Atlantic Zone, in the first millennium bc. The archaeology of western Spain is also discussed in relation to the earlier part of the period, but only in a cursory fashion, and the Iron Age of this region is excluded as it is felt to be relatively unconnected to the areas to the north. The principal thesis of the book is that these areas are connected by the sea and that this enables a relatively homogeneous culture to develop, which is unexpected, given the long distances that separate the different parts of the region.

The bulk of the book is taken up by descriptions of the settlement sequences in the principal sub-regions of the Atlantic Zone: the Scottish Isles, western Ireland, Cornwall, west Wales and Brittany. The focus on the settlement record in these regions is understandable, as it is the dominant feature of the archaeological record, and the book provides an important statement of the richness and quality of material that is either ignored or dealt with in isolation. The author is trying to demonstrate that an emphasis on settlement and houses is a defining feature of the Atlantic Zone in the Iron Age. The creation of a monumental stone architecture is a feature that not only contrasts with the Bronze Age emphasis on elaborate metalwork but documents the contact between the different regions of the wider Atlantic Zone.

This emphasis on the settlement evidence reflects the relative lack of Iron Age material culture from the region. However, it is important to note that, where the material culture is relatively rich, such as in Scotland, Brittany and south-west England, there is very limited evidence for the movement of objects or raw materials, and some areas have quite different material assemblages that would suggest local development. However, the discussion of this material culture is more limited than that of the settlement record and significant and important material has been ignored. For example, the large collection of metalwork from northern Ireland is not discussed, despite the fact that this includes elaborately decorated objects that provide clear evidence for, at least, indirect links between Ireland, Yorkshire and the continent. The discussion of Ireland also excludes a detailed consideration of the major centres at Navan and Dun Ailinne, though aspects of these sites are mentioned. It is difficult not to interpret the exclusion of this material as an attempt to ignore evidence that does not fit the argument. The metalwork suggests contacts with continental Europe that cut across the Atlantic route, and the archaeological record from these major centres indicates an idiosyncratic indigenous development that is completely at odds with the view of a homogeneous Atlantic Iron Age.

It could be argued that these phenomena represent relatively late developments irrelevant to the main prehistoric sequence, but dating is also one of the major problems of the settlement record. The dating of most of the settlement evidence discussed in this book is problematic and in certain areas, notably Ireland, it is almost impossible to identify any Iron Age settlements. The author argues that the accepted view of the settlement record is wrong: that many settlements are inaccurately dated to the first millennium ad and must belong to the first millennium bc. Their inaccurate dating is due to the paucity of Iron Age material culture and the regular and thorough cleaning of settlement sites during their lives. Henderson believes that the stone architecture of the region encourages the frequent reuse of settlements that would otherwise be abandoned in areas where timber was the dominant material. The argument for absence of evidence and cleaning is difficult to refute as it is not based on evidence. The author believes that Irish ringforts and cashels include a significant number of prehistoric structures because they are essentially similar to Scottish brochs and duns. However, the evidence presented is not in any way convincing. Ringforts and cashels are significantly larger than Scottish brochs and duns and there is very little evidence for complex gallery-walled structures that are the norm in Scotland. The most sophisticated stone structures of the west of Ireland exhibit architectural features, such as terraces, which are quite different to the features present in Scotland. In contrast to the author I am perfectly willing to accept a problematic Irish Iron Age which consists of undefined open settlement, which is unparalleled in the rest of the Atlantic Iron Age.

The presence of an atypical Irish Iron Age also provides a major block between the two main areas of Atlantic Europe, Scotland and Wales/Cornwall/Brittany. This again is not difficult to accept, as there appear to be major differences between the two regions. The settlement record in the north consists of the monumentalization of individual houses, whereas the settlement record in the south consists of the monumentalization of larger settlements containing several houses. The author does not make much of this distinction, but it is important to note that the small enclosures with massive boundaries present in the south have more in common with the small hillforts of northern England and the Scottish borders than with the brochs and duns of the Atlantic region. The former areas are excluded from discussion, as is most of the mainland of Britain, not because it has been demonstrated that they have different settlement records but simply because they are not close to the sea. There are many aspects of the settlement record in the Atlantic regions which have good parallels in eastern Britain, but Henderson obviously believes these connections are not as important.

The main problem with the book is that it seldom addresses the meaning of the archaeological phenomena discussed, while the lack of any explicit theory undermines its argument. Though there is some attempt to interpret unusual settlement types, the principal themes that are central to the book – monumentality, household, contact and exchange – are never examined in detail. It is very unclear how one can understand the nature of the contacts between people on the basis of the exchange of artefacts or the copying of architectural traits. Why are certain architectural elements monumentalized (settlement boundaries in the south, houses in the north) and not others? The underlying theme of the book is that the presence of the sea is crucial. However, my experience of working in the Atlantic islands of Scotland is that the presence of the sea does not lead to homogeneity. It is a commonly expressed view that the inhabitants of Shetland are fishermen who farm, whereas the inhabitants of Orkney are farmers who fish, and this accurately conveys a long-lived difference between these two island societies. Henderson succeeds in presenting the archaeology of a region which is often peripheralized, but the underlying assumption of cultural homogeneity remains to be proven.