This substantial volume presents a range of ceramic material from the site of Abu Mina, close to Alexandria in the Egyptian Delta. Excavations were carried out during the latter part of the last century, and the study of the ceramics from the site took place more or less concurrently. Inevitably, therefore, the book reflects the strategies of the time at which the work was undertaken. The author himself observes that the importance of the ceramics for the site's excavators was considered to lie in their contribution to the wider historical understanding of Abu Mina rather than as a ceramic corpus in its own right. Readers expecting to find clear statements of methodology or a presentation of detailed statistical data that allows independent evaluation of the ceramics (e.g. as assemblages rather than typologies) will be disappointed. Nonetheless, the sheer quantity of ceramics included, and especially the little-known material of the eighth to ninth centuries AD, makes this an immensely useful volume.

Abu Mina was occupied, although not continuously, from the late Hellenistic period into the early ninth century AD. Its heyday was in the fifth to sixth centuries when it was a prosperous pilgrimage centre for visitors to the shrine of St Menas; it was destroyed by the Persians in the early seventh century, and a far smaller settlement was re-established later in that century over the ruins. The various phases are dated on the basis of pottery types (particularly imports and finewares) and, importantly, the coin evidence.

The book opens with an overview of the site in the light of the dating evidence provided by the ceramics. As no contextual information is given in the extensive catalogues that make up the bulk of the volume, however, it is not possible to reconstruct groups of associated types (except for one cistern fill dated to AD 480, suggesting that vessels assigned this date in the catalogue can be assumed to be from this particular deposit), or to make any conclusions about the distribution of types.

The catalogues are arranged chronologically and organised into two main sections: the Late Hellenistic and Early Roman period and the Late Antique and Early Arab period. The former section, which is relatively short, presents catalogues of imported wares, handle stamps, Nile-clay vessels and faience; the latter section is divided into nine catalogues, including the imported fine wares and Egyptian products (both based on Hayes's (Reference Hayes1972, Reference Hayes1980) classification), as well as local products, glazed wares, imported amphorae and lamps. Within each catalogue, the vessels are ordered by form. The catalogue entries give only the briefest of information: the context date, a summary of the form characteristics, colour and size, and form parallels. Artefact drawings are presented at a variety of scales within the same plate; the glazed wares are illustrated with colour photographs. The rationale for the selection of the pieces for inclusion in the catalogues is unclear.

The largest and most interesting of the individual catalogues (H) deals with local production at Abu Mina, starting in the fifth century AD and continuing into the eighth/ninth centuries. The results of scientific analysis of the clay are quoted (indeed, references to analyses are also provided for a few other wares elsewhere in the book), but the actual report from which this information derives is not supplied. The local products demonstrate a wide range of shapes including transport wares, closed and open forms, ampullae with relief decoration for the pilgrim market and figurines. This local output is assessed in the context of broader pottery supply to the site over time, from both the rest of Egypt and farther afield. Thus, Engemann notes that a decline in imported vessels (which include Nile Valley productions) during the latest occupation phase correlates with an increase in the local production of transport vessels. He concludes that these and other changes, both aesthetic and technical, indicate falling standards, which he links to a general decline in prosperity at Abu Mina in the eighth to ninth centuries. In this context, however, there is a striking absence in this volume: although kilns and workshops are mentioned in the text, no further details are given, making it difficult to evaluate changes in ceramic production.

The catalogue of glazed wares is also of importance, given the scarcity of published comparative assemblages containing such material from elsewhere in Egypt. Engemann dates the introduction of these wares to the eighth century AD, slightly earlier than the date suggested in a recent publication of similar material from Istabl ‘Antar (Gayraud & Vallauri Reference Gayraud and Vallauri2017: 368).

In summary, this volume is a product of the time at which the original ceramic study was undertaken. Notwithstanding, it presents an extensive and useful corpus, including material from periods currently not well represented in the scholarly literature on Egypt, and it provides further evidence of the long duration of Late Antique traditions into the early Islamic period. One hopes that the full range of data, including quantification—which was clearly undertaken—will be made available in the future, in a manner that makes it possible to raise, and answer, alternative questions.