This volume is presented as the third in a series originally published as part of the Anchor Bible Commentary and Reference Library (the previous volumes, written by Amihai Mazar and Ephraim Stern respectively, cover the period from 10,000 bce to 332 bce). Its two authors have published widely and extensively on the subject matter with which they concern themselves (the period from Alexander to Constantine), and their areas of expertise complement each other, thus bringing about this collaborative volume. There is no prefatory comment on who has contributed what, though guesses can be made.

The volume comes with a cornucopia of endorsements from various luminaries, and on this occasion one can safely say that the praise is not just publisher's puff. The authors cover a vast amount of material from the pre-Alexandrian age (here covering some of the same ground as Stern's volume) to the time of Constantine, bringing their readers information about the most recent discoveries, even those, as with the first-century ce Magdala synagogue, which at the time of writing had not yet been the subject of any formal publications. Their engagement with the material that they choose to highlight is always balanced and thoughtful (in this respect particular attention should be drawn to their superb discussion of the controversy surrounding the relationship of the scrolls discovered at the Dead Sea to the archaeological site itself, as well as their discussion of the date of the theatre at Sepphoris a subject upon which Meyers, in particular, is an expert, but many other discussions could be mentioned), and their mastery of the secondary discussion is striking and its exposition clear.

A volume of this kind is not meant to be a sustained argument but certain themes run through the work. By and large the authors favour the view that the record as it stands supports the idea that it would be wrong to see the relationship between the Jews and the surrounding Graeco-Roman culture as one marked by strong tensions. Such a culture, they maintain, became more of a vehicle through which Jewish culture could express itself. Complementary to this view is their broad endorsement of E. P. Sanders's idea of a common Judaism, marked by a set of shared beliefs and practices, which they see as supported by ‘the increasing similarity in the material culture of Jewish sites throughout Palestine from the late Hasmonean period’, material which includes more than just ritual baths, though they are keen to argue for some variety especially in the ways practice was actualised, and so they tentatively suggest revising Sanders's concept to ‘complex common Judaism’. Although at the beginning of their volume they make a point of noting that they will concentrate on Judaism and Christianity (something they feel is justified by the series out of which the volume emerged), the lion's share of the discussion is taken up with Jewish matters, because, as the authors make plain, clear and unambiguous archaeological evidence for Christian life in ‘the land of the Bible’ is not evidenced until quite late (the earliest evidence in this regard is from the third century, near Tel Meggido, here in the remains of an army camp belonging to the VI Ferrata legion where there seems to be evidence of a room devoted to Christian worship), rejecting, as they do, the Testa-Bagatti thesis of evidence for very early Jewish-Christian remains, and showing caution with regard to Peter's house at Capernaum. Perhaps, most interestingly, and in contradistinction to some recent discussions, they posit a broad continuity between pre- and post-70 ce Jewish life in Palestine. They are clear, of course, that there was rupture after 70, and that after Bar Cochba, non-Jewish presence in the newly-named province of Syria Palaestina was much more extensive than had been the case. But they are clear also that traditional forms of Jewish life continued, both in the synagogue, which moved to the centre of Jewish life (unlike some they hold to the view that synagogal life continued much as before, even if the synagogue took on new architectural features, and became a holier place and one which more consciously than before replaced the temple. They also accept that there is a gap in the archaeological record at this point [roughly between 70 ce and the beginning of the fourth century]) but attribute less importance to this than some). The landscape was certainly a more Romanised one than before but Jews felt broadly at home in it (note should in this context be taken of the authors' interpretation of the so-called House of Dionysos in Sepphoris – tentatively they argue for its occupation by Judah the Prince, and mimimise the implications of the pagan decorations on the famous mosaic after which the building is named), and in spite of the two revolts ‘made peace with Roma and themselves’, reacting in ways similar to those who faced exile in Babylon in the sixth century bce and beyond. Here their interpretation of the material remains accords more with that of Nicole Belayche who, like them, attributes a good deal of influence to the Rabbis and the fact of the production of the Mishnah, than with that of Seth Schwartz. Some might think that that they could have spent more time taking account of some of Schwartz's arguments to which they refer, but not in detail (here one thinks in particular of his arguments about the predominantly pagan iconography of coins in cities which could be thought, from the rabbinic material, to have been places of apparently Jewish habitation).

But this is a minor criticism of a beautifully produced, eminently balanced and hugely informative volume.