Andrew Wilson and Miko Flohr's edited collection, Urban Craftsmen and Traders in the Roman World, is one of the most recent additions to the Oxford Studies on the Roman Economy. It focuses on four central themes, and is divided into corresponding sections made up of sixteen chapters each with their own bibliography. The introduction emphatically sets out its aim to add to the development of the ‘“normalization” of crafts and trades’ (2) in the Roman world.

The first section, ‘Approaches’, begins with W. and F. examining the scholarship from Germany, the UK and the USA. In considering these traditions, they aim to provide ‘a core historical framework’ (23) and present several salient points: there is a ‘gross oversimplification’ in the understanding of the historiography of the ancient economy (43); there were three key phases of economic history; and the debates that supported them were driven not only by developments in the available evidence but also by theoretical discussions between ‘generalists outside or in the margins of classical studies’ (44). Next Carla Salvaterra and Alessandro Cristofori focus on craftsmen, traders and professional organizations in twentieth-century Italian scholarship and highlight the most significant methodologies of Italian scholars and institutions. Considered too are the evidenced-based approaches and the separate theme of professional associations in view of the political régime of the 1930s and its fostering of modern corporations. Finally Jean-Pierre Brun examines French scholarship and presents several aspects of a current research project, which aims to advance our understanding of economic activities that are difficult to identify, while providing criteria for the interpretation of poorly preserved remains.

The second section, ‘Strategies’, begins with Candace Rice's examination of the mechanisms and transactions of Roman maritime trade, as well as the networks and infrastructure that existed in port cities. Focusing on the archaeological and epigraphic evidence, the discussion considers the agents, trade, the trading process and the social status of those involved. Rice concludes that the extant evidence suggests a scale and sophistication throughout the trading process and the communities in which trade took place. Kai Ruffing considers the issue of specialization, market competition and increases in production in terms of both quality and quantity. He argues that the market and competition therein were the central factors behind specialization which, in turn, led to increased productivity in certain sectors of the Roman economy. Carol van Driel-Murray surveys shoe production in the north-western provinces of the Roman Empire, contending that while regional differences persisted, shoemakers were ‘able to participate in an empire-wide dialogue’ (132). Using consumer theory, she concludes that production was driven by popular demand and that ‘quite ordinary people’ developed a penchant for items that ‘made them recognizably part of the wider world’ (149). Finally, Nicolas Monteix examines bakeries in Pompeii and discusses various stages of the process, economic investment and technology. Monteix suggests the bread-making process had three separate stages which can be identified in the extant evidence. Moreover, although spatial organization was a compromise between investment and technical needs, rationalization increased as Pompeian bakeries increased in size.

The third section, ‘People’, begins with Christel Freu's analysis of the benefits of apprenticeship. Drawing on evidence mostly from the eastern part of the Roman Empire, Freu considers the rôle that apprenticeship played in society, noting that it provided not only skilled training, but also access to existing socio-economic networks and, in some cases, social advancement. Lena Larsson Lovén examines the involvement of women in trade and production in the urban centres of Roman Italy, discusses how women's professional identities and occupations were depicted in funerary epigraphy and considers what this says about gender structures and the economic rôles of women. Lovén concludes that, although involved in specific occupational areas (including some specialized professions), the rôle of the traditional housewife remained the paradigm; the extant evidence then is ‘a result of social conventions and Roman gender ideologies’ (218). Next Wim Broekaert considers the rôle of freedmen in Roman business. Beginning with the rôle of dependency and status in Roman trade, Broekaert examines the relationship between freedmen as agents and considers how agency by freedmen was structured. Broekaert supposes that while their patrons were alive and investing, dependent freedmen were likely far more numerous than those working independently; furthermore Broekaert proposes that the agency relationship had a potential benefit in the form of sustained co-operation. The final two chapters in this section consider the rôle of professional associations, the evidence for which — in both cases — comes mainly from the funerary context. Nicolas Tran focuses on the social organization of trade at Arles, and concludes that the members who appear in the extant evidence were part of a well-integrated ‘“plebeian” elite’ (268). Ilias Arnaoutoglou examines professional associations in Hierapolis. Having provided succinct discussions concerning Hierapolis' history, the members of these groups and their social positioning, Arnaoutoglou likewise concludes that some members were socially prominent as were the associations due to the importance of their trade within local economies.

‘Space’, the final section, deals with the evidence for industry in urban centres. Using archaeology and a comparative approach, Penelope Goodman posits that some trades formed identifiable clusters in Pompeii, Timgad and Silchester. Given the weak case for legislation and control of space by Roman authorities, Goodman concludes that while the urban élite could have driven this phenomenon through economic and social motivations, there was not necessarily a conscious aim to create these clusters (325–7). Next Kerstin Droß-Krüpe deals with the issue of clusters of textile workers in Roman Egypt from the papyrological evidence. Droß-Krüpe argues that although toponyms of communities were named after craft and trading activities, concentrations of textile workshops are almost impossible to identify; there were no state-controlled regulations that would have led to organized settlements of crafts and trades within defined areas of a community. Orsolya Láng deals with trade and commerce at Aquincum and considers the issues in identifying workshops therein. Although identification of these premises is difficult, Láng notes that their location depended generally on the position of the most important roads (362), and suggests that while the north-western part of the civilian settlement was one of the main industrial sectors, far more research is necessary to understand Aquincum's economic landscape. The final chapter by Jeroen Poblome concerns pottery production at Sagalossos. Through the long history of pottery production and the market in the area, Poblome examines the Potters' Quarter of the city, the social status of these craftsmen and the archaeological record for them. Ultimately Poblome posits that ‘gradual yet steady growth’ (396) underpinned the Roman Imperial Quarter there and that the workshops in the area were small, varying in character and style; this is reflected in the extant evidence (397).

As one would expect, the text is largely clean and replete with illustrations and photographs. This is a well-organized and impressive volume, representing an important contribution to the study of craftsmen and traders in the Roman Empire and the ancient economy generally.