This volume represents the publication of a PhD thesis, one of several such geo-archaeological studies to emerge from the University of Reading over the past decade. This particular work comprises a geological provenance study of Middle Jurassic limestones from England and northern France (e.g. ‘Bath Stone’, among many others), with an archaeological focus on quarrying in early Roman Britain. The use of these freestones for building and sculpture in Roman and later periods is very well known, but surprisingly they have not been studied in any detail. Descriptions of the many different lithologies from the Middle Jurassic outcrop can be found in geological memoirs and building manuals, but these are mainly based on hand-specimen examination. Similarly, archaeological finds of these rocks have been assigned a provenance based solely on their visual characteristics — often incorrectly.

The study's greatest strength lies in its petrographic analysis, which is presented in chs 1–2 and backed up by extensive data in the appendices. Based on widespread sampling from outcrop and geological archives, a reference collection was assembled that represented all of the major freestone outcrops of southern England and northern France. These have been characterised through visual analysis, and through a variety of petrographic methods. The resulting ability to differentiate freestones from the entire length of the Jurassic outcrop (based on transparent, testable conclusions) represents an important step forward.

The archaeological focus of the book is on the use of Middle Jurassic limestones in Roman Britain during the first and early second centuries. It considers the provenance of freestones used for tombstones and high-status buildings, and also attempts to demonstrate how this ‘industry’ developed during the early years of Britannia. The first of these subjects is addressed successfully, showing regional variations in stone supply. Much was procured from accessible, local, sources. Tombstones found at Lincoln, for example, were made from stone procured at a nearby outcrop, whilst St Albans utilised stone from the closest part of the Middle Jurassic outcrop to the town. The picture was not always so straightforward, however. Colchester was particularly unusual, in that it drew freestone from several widely-separated sources: Somerset, Gloucestershire, Lincolnshire, and north-eastern France. This is one more strand of evidence for the precocious character of Colchester within the new British province. Sites on the Kent coast (Richborough, Lympne and Canterbury) also utilised stone from France, emphasising the role of water transport, most probably through the agency of the classis Britannica. Conclusions about individual pieces of sculpture are also of great interest, for example the discovery that the tombstone of Marcus Favonius Facilis was not carved from British material, but from stone from Lorraine.

It is clear that much (though not all) of the Middle Jurassic escarpment was being exploited from a comparatively early date. This finding leads the author to suggest that the Romans were familiar with southern English geology even before the Claudian invasion. It is perhaps more plausible, however, that rapid survey followed in the wake of the invading Roman forces. In either case, the army would have played a central role in prospecting for, and exploiting, stone within the new province.

The conclusions relating to the chronological development of the industry are perhaps less secure. The archaeological sample-set assembled for this study is small, and many of the tombstones and most of the fine architectural fragments cannot be precisely dated. The author shows awareness of this problem, but while his discussion of freestone quarrying in the formative years of the province has logic (early, somewhat ad hoc procurement, followed by greater organisation/centralisation), it nevertheless places considerable weight on very limited evidence.

Overall the book is thorough, well-argued and visually well-presented. And, while the limited dataset qualifies some of the archaeological/historical arguments, it certainly does not undermine the study's value. This book represents a necessary first stage of research, and in his conclusions the author outlines a number of questions and agendas that might be pursued. It is to be hoped that he or others will find an opportunity to build further on this work.