This well-illustrated monograph is the first in a promised trilogy that will synthesise the results of the excavation and survey work undertaken by a (predominantly) University of Southampton archaeological team on the Caribbean Leeward island of Nevis between 1999 and 2009. This first monograph of the Studies in the Historical Archaeology of the Eastern Caribbean series details the results of the fieldwork undertaken at the seventeenth-century plantation sites of Fenton Hill and Upper Rawlins in Gingerland parish in the south-eastern corner of the island. Subsequent volumes will consider the urban settlement of Nevis with a focus on Charlestown and Jamestown, and finally the archaeology of later phases of plantation and enslaved domestic life at Mountravers.

Within the wider context of historical archaeological work in the Caribbean (ie post-contact/colonial periods), a great deal of the archaeological attention has been upon the Anglophone islands such as Jamaica, Antigua, Barbados and, surprisingly, given its size, Montserrat. The other Leeward islands, and the Windward island chain, remain comparatively understudied, and it is only recently that archaeologists working on the French and Dutch islands have focused upon the study of the cultural, social and economic interplay between planter, colonist, enslaved and indigenous peoples in the insular Caribbean region from c 1500 to c 1900 ad. Much of the work undertaken on ‘colonial’ Caribbean sites is therefore very much situated within the archaeological Anglosphere, and an American rather than British one at that. This has implications for the approach to excavation of extensive habitation sites, for example, where in American practice the shovel pitting approach contrasts with the British open area/single context planning method. This work thus fills an important geographical and methodological gap.

Nevis is not quite virgin archaeological territory. The American scholar Marco Meniketti has undertaken extensive work on the island, drawing attention to the environmental impact in a small island setting of the sugar industry. Another American scholar, Michelle Terrell, has undertaken valuable work on the archaeologies of religious identity on Nevis, in particular the role played by the mercantile Jewish community that (alongside those of Jamaica, Barbados, Curacao and St Eustatius) played such an important role in the internationalisation of the Caribbean colonial sugar economies. The monographs in this series will take an archaeological cross section of life on colonial Nevis, a period perceived in the wider public awareness as perhaps a golden age of wealth, industry and internationalisation, but in reality (as any practitioner of Caribbean historical archaeology has to admit) a capitalist system built on exploitation and misery of enslaved African peoples.

This monograph is structured into four chapters, and details the work undertaken at these two sites in 2007 and 2009. The first chapter provides an overview of the historical context of the study, taking a broad overview of the topography of the island, the demographic history of the island, the shift towards sugar monoculture in the late seventeenth century, the industrial characterisation of the sugar plantations and the associated development of infrastructure such as roads, water storage facilities and settlements. It is noteworthy that this project makes excellent use of historical cartographic sources, deeds, archives and other legal documentation to augment the archaeological picture. This is what historical archaeology should be, and we are fortunate that, unlike some other Caribbean islands, such documentation exists and is also easily available. The authors seek to take a snapshot of seventeenth-century life on Nevis during the earliest phases of the sugar plantation economy, and to capture not just the interplay of varied European strategic interests, but also the nature of the diverse mercantile, planter and labour class on the island. One important comparison study that could have been mentioned (which also focuses on the use of early cartographic material to capture the archaeology of formative sugar economies in the region) is Doug Armstrong’s work at Trent’s Plantation, Holetown, Barbados. As a whole a wider contextual pan-Caribbean discussion is rather lacking here and in the conclusion. I would also take exception to the use of the ethnonym ‘Carib’ used in this first section (p 3) to describe the indigenous inhabitants of the island. The term Kalinago is more widely accepted.

Two core chapters deal with the archaeological excavations at Fenton Hill and Upper Rawlins. These chapters start with outline survey and archival information, and in turn discuss the archaeology of the key structures, chronological overview and in the case of Upper Rawlins limited evidence of faunal remains. The discussion of the finds is detailed and well-illustrated. Pottery is naturally the largest category of material and represents imports from Europe (including German Westerwald stoneware) and also Chinese porcelain. A single pre-contact (post-Saladoid) sherd was found at Fenton Hill, and at both sites extensive quantities of low-fired coarse earthenwares represent the material culture of the enslaved African-Caribbean population. Other finds include (unsurprisingly) sugar cone moulds, clay pipes (many with distinctive and identifiable makers’ marks), glass, military equipment, metalwork and diverse elements of structural material and domestic equipment.

The final chapter synthesises the key findings of the excavations and steps out from the Caribbean to consider the evidence for specific links to the UK homes ports such as Bristol, London and Liverpool. Importantly, too, it is through archaeology alone rather than sparse historical accounts that we hear the voices of the enslaved Africans who underpinned this whole exploitative enterprise: a cowrie shell used as a means of exchange, or in a wider Caribbean context used as grave goods; low-fired earthenwares preserving some semblance of west African creativity; and glass beads. Studies such as this are important and significant in the context of the long-overdue reassessment of the European colonial exploitation of the Caribbean. This is an excellent and detailed archaeological monograph, but it would be useful to understand how the wider project fitted into local heritage and educational discourse, and above all how it sought to directly engage the descendants of those plantation workers. Given recent events, this is an important consideration for archaeologists working in the Caribbean. That said, this is a significant and impressive work, representing a real team effort and setting the standard for the two monographs to come.