Archaeological research into the later African past has increased enormously over the last half century but its focus has often been particularistic and specialist. However, amongst those who have contributed significantly to this work has been David Phillipson, the author of the book here reviewed, who has also accepted the necessity for archaeological syntheses that can reach a broad scholarly and public readership. In addition, he has stressed that archaeology's ‘full potential for illuminating the past can only be achieved in conjunction with all other available sources of information relating to the period and situation under discussion’ (p. 2). It is in this context that his latest book should be considered, following his long and distinguished career of both specialist and generalised publication on African archaeology. The result is an impressive piece of work, valuable not only as a statement on current archaeological research in Ethiopia and related areas but also because it incorporates evidence from historical documentation, linguistics, and other sources.

Until the 1960s, there was little archaeological attention given to the last three millennia of Ethiopia's past and subsequent political instability halted field research until the 1990s. However, during the last twenty years or so, there has been a resurgence of activity of which this book provides a valuable summary. As such it is a useful source for specialists, a valuable text for Ethiopian university students, and a good introduction for general readers. It is explicitly concerned with the Kingdom of Aksum, its antecedents and successors, demonstrating the existence of a unique but neglected civilisation during Late Antiquity. One suspects that the use of the Eurocentric word ‘civilisation’ is intended to be provocative, in a context where publishers still pour out glossy books about civilisations that usually ignore Africa except for Pharaonic Egypt.

The book has a general introduction and sections on Aksumite origins and eventual decline and transformation but most of the text is arranged thematically, examining the topics of: languages and literacy, written sources, the emergence and expansion of the Aksumite state, kingship and politics, religion, cultivation and herding, food and drink, urbanism, architecture and non-funerary monuments, burials, technology and material culture, coinage, and foreign contacts. There is a useful discussion of the famous stelae, including the re-erection of Stela 2 after its return from Italy in 2005, and the alarming destabilisation of the still-standing Stela 3 that re-erection has caused (p. 143). There are 94 carefully chosen black-and-white illustrations, generally well produced, to which there are in-text references. Thirty-four pages of bibliographic references are provided, as well as copious footnotes, and there is an index of 11 pages.

Two aspects of the book merit special attention. First is the author's analysis of epigraphic data from Aksumite and other inscriptions, and his handling of linguistic evidence generally. Taken in conjunction with his use of written sources, oral tradition, and numismatics, here is a reminder of the extent to which Africanist archaeologists often need to range far beyond the confines of their own discipline. This requires not only knowledge of a wide range of relevant literature but also the courage to tackle sources concerning the interpretation of which even specialists can disagree. The second aspect is the author's willingness to cast off the shackles of previous scholarship, for example reducing the role of Arabian influences in Ethiopia during the first millennium BC, abandoning the idea of a distinct ‘Pre-Aksumite’ period, and revising the chronology of Ethiopian churches. In short, a considerable effort is made to look afresh at the evidence, particularly in the light of the rapidly increasing amount of new data that is now becoming available.

Nevertheless, some parts of the book might have benefitted from greater attention. For instance, because of the size and composition of the ‘Aksumite capital’, the author doubts that it can be considered to have been a ‘city’, preferring to call it a ‘metropolis’, while noting that: ‘There is no contradiction in terming the culture of the Aksumite kingdom a “civilisation”, while denying its capital designation as a “city”’. (pp. 120–1). Elsewhere in the book, he accepts the existence of an Aksumite ‘state’ and this reviewer is left wondering whether this reluctance to call Aksum a ‘city’ is not merely a return to former semantic disputes about the character of cities. In the African context, this raises some fundamental questions.

Generally well-produced, although a larger format with a larger typeface could have improved its appearance and readability, this is a book that should be added to the shelves not only of those interested in the Ethiopian past but also of those with wider interests in later African archaeology and history. It makes a major contribution to Ethiopian studies but also raises issues of continent-wide relevance. We should be grateful to the author for a remarkable achievement.