This volume has its origins in Dr Lyne's PhD research, conducted at the University of Reading between 1989 and 1994. The work has subsequently been updated with the results of more recent excavations, the pottery from many of which was written up by L. himself. The result is a far more substantial account of late Roman grog-tempered pottery than has been provided in the past. This is important, as the majority of synthetic work dealing with this kind of pottery was undertaken several decades ago (e.g. C. Green, ‘Handmade pottery and society in late Iron Age and Roman East Sussex’, Sussex Archaeological Collections 118 (1980), 69–86; R.J. Pollard, The Roman Pottery of Kent (1988)), while the advent of modern commercial archaeology has increased the corpus of available finds massively. What is more, there is great potential for an in-depth study of such a prominent ceramic tradition to contribute substantially to discussions of late and sub-Roman society and industry.

The bulk of the volume concerns itself with the systematic characterisation of four ‘Industrial Groups’ — East Sussex Wares; Hampshire Grog-Tempered Wares; East Kent Grog-Tempered Wares; and West Kent Grog- and Grit-Tempered Wares — best considered as localised variants within the larger tradition of late Roman grog-tempered coarsewares. These groups are defined by fabric and form repertoires, isolated using geographical distributions and in the case of a very few examples, such as the East Sussex group's Bardown Ware (Industry 5A), precise production locations. Each group is provided with a chapter that presents a literature review, structured typologies of fabrics and forms, brief discussions of technology and raw materials, and detailed breakdowns of chronology and distribution. A chapter is also presented on the late Iron Age and early Roman background (ch. 1), and there are two concluding discussion chapters (chs 6 and 7). Detailed appendices present the particulars of quantified assemblages and a wealth of illustrations and transect diagrams are presented throughout the text. Unfortunately, many of the 22 distribution maps lack details such as keys to symbols, or do not show crucial landmarks such as major towns, forts or roads.

The methodology of the study, then, is unashamedly traditional. The emphasis here is on characterisation — of wares, chronologies, and distributions — and there is little in the way of specialist scientific analysis such as thin-section petrography; all observations appear to have been made from hand-specimens using little more than a hand lens. Nevertheless, the author is clearly in his element, his wealth of experience as a commercial pottery specialist evident in his presentation of detailed and thorough accounts of the industries being described. The work is at its most thought provoking in its use of scale and the system used to structure the industrial groupings. The grog-tempered ware tradition at the highest level covers much of south-eastern England, below which are the Industrial Groups, which are themselves each made up of a number of groups proposed — and in some cases demonstrated — to be the products of discrete producers using their own fabrics and forms. This provides a complete picture of the tradition from the smallest perceptible scale right up to the level of a super-regional community of practice, and contributes greatly to the potential future utility of the work.

The two discussion chapters deal respectively with the nature and development of the late Roman grog-tempered ware tradition (ch. 6), and the end of Roman pottery production in Britain (ch. 7). Much is covered in these 18 pages. Ch. 6.1 considers the scale of industry in the various regions, concluding that the majority of production was undertaken at household level, with some evidence for workshop-level production and possible itinerance in western Kent. Following this (ch. 6.2) is a discussion of the reasons for a revival of what is essentially Iron Age technology in the late Roman period. This is structured around three chronological phases, beginning with the period to a.d. 270. Attention is focused on the survival of Iron Age potting in East Sussex and the effective expansion of the East Sussex tradition into other areas owing to economic upheaval in the third and fourth centuries. These economic themes carry over into ch. 7, which covers the fortunes of pottery industries in general during the fourth and fifth centuries. This is done on a region-by-region basis that is largely divorced from the localised structure used to discuss the grog-tempered ware industries. Intriguingly, little mention is made of the pink grog-tempered wares of the southern Midlands, which one would have thought were worth, at the very least, a passing mention in a work on this subject.

To conclude: despite its inelegant title and some issues with editing and presentation, this volume is a well-executed study of a very interesting late Roman industry and an update that has been a long time coming. It is important to remember that a work such as this is not the end-point for research into a particular kind of artefact, but is now best used as a handbook for further research into late Roman industry and technology. Pottery specialists will welcome it for its emphasis on characterisation and for its synthetic value, but it will also be of broader interest to those concerned with the late Roman period in general and, in particular, with the complex interactions surrounding the dismantling of Romano-British pottery production in the fourth and fifth centuries.