The settlement in Komini, the village near Pljevlja in the north of modern Montenegro, is an important regional archaeological site from Roman times, with finds dated between the first to fourth centuries a.d. The most significant corpus of material evidence consists of Latin inscriptions – this book catalogues 94 inscriptions in Komini and 7 in surrounding areas. There are also two large cemeteries, dated from the end of the first century b.c. to the fourth century a.d., and scattered settlement remains, which were never systematically explored. The locality, commonly known in scholarship as Municipium S., belongs to a cluster of settlements in the eastern part of the Roman province of Dalmatia, focussed on the upper course of the river Drina, and the valleys of Ćehotina, Tara and Lim (R. Zotović, Population and Economy of the Eastern Part of the Roman Province of Dalmatia [2002]).

The purpose of the book is to collect, comment on and republish all the inscriptions (p. iv). In the first chapter M. describes early traveller reports about the site and archaeological excavations up to the last campaign of Cermanović-Kuzmanović, which ended in 1977. The next chapter discusses the local population and identity of the indigenous population and immigrants. The third chapter presents and discusses the inscriptions which were connected with municipal administration and population. The fourth chapter covers mortuary inscriptions from the two cemeteries, and the last chapter deals with peculiarities of the nomenclature and kinship system.

The title is somewhat misleading, as it implies a more comprehensive approach to this settlement, rather than just a focus on its epigraphy. Overall, it is a very old-fashioned publication focussed on cataloguing the inscriptions from Komini. The main strength is that all inscriptions are collected in one place and are now more accessible to a general scholarly audience through English-language publication. The inscriptions are up to date, including the very interesting recent find of the inscription of one Sex. Aurelius Lupianus from 2000 (AE 2002, 1115; AE 2005, 1183), which mentions peregrini incolae, and the father of the dedicant, who was princeps, the local official of indigenous origins (pp. 41–4).

It is disappointing that M. chooses to ignore the other sources of material evidence, such as the two Roman-era cemeteries – discussed only in so far as the inscriptions are concerned. Because of this approach the conclusions are based on a very selective choice of sources and are often inadequate. A good example is the fact that the epigraphic evidence confirms the existence of only two and exceptionally three generations in Cemetery II, which has a more abundant quantity of inscriptions. However, the archaeological record shows that the Roman settlement lasted for at least three centuries (pp. 62, 65), which is much longer than three generations.

The interpretation of the inscriptions follows outdated views on the process of romanisation and the identity of the indigenous population in Roman and pre-Roman Dalmatia. M.'s culture-history approach unfortunately does not enlighten our understanding of indigenous Iron Age communities (pp. 9–22). It shows ignorance of recent methodological approaches, such as the works on the identity of Early Iron Age communities of the central Balkan peninsula by S. Babić. The literature referenced by M. is restricted to publications relating to Komini and the region around it, and M. lacks a comparative perspective or awareness of current debates related to the process of ‘becoming Roman’ in the Roman provinces (e.g. G. Woolf, Becoming Roman [1998]). The discussion of the Roman conquest of Illyricum (pp. 10–11) does not mention the recent monograph of M. Šašel Kos (Appian and Illyricum [2005]). Some older important literature is omitted, such as the works of I. Kajanto on the Latin names (The Latin Cognomina [1965]; Supernomina: a Study in Latin Epigraphy [1967]). Illustrations throughout the book are good and the English is correct, though with occasional awkward expression or misspelling such as Halstadt instead of Hallstatt (pp. 15, 17). Referencing is somewhat confusing with some authorities referenced in full in the footnotes, and others referenced using the author–date system with full references provided in the bibliography.

The monograph is useful for those who want access to the raw epigraphic material. It also provides a partial and very basic insight into the life of communities from the eastern part of the Roman province of Dalmatia, which is very sparsely covered within publications in languages other than South Slavic. Yet on all other levels this monograph fails to be part of contemporary discourse on the history and archaeology of Roman provincial societies.