This long-awaited volume presents the Highgate Wood pottery industry from results of the programme of excavation carried out by volunteers in the 1960s and 70s. The volume is divided into four sections, detailing the excavation (Part I), a synopsis of the site from its earliest occupation evidence to the present day (Part II), the pottery (local and non-local) (Part III), and the other finds from the site including ecofacts (Part IV).

The narrative of the excavation (Part I) focuses on the development of the site, with its chronology successfully mapped across a large number of small trenches. These were the result of trees and pathways preventing the excavation of a large open area; they also prevented some features from being fully excavated. Dating is largely based on the occurrence of Highgate Wood fabrics and forms in dated domestic contexts at sites in London, along with dates derived from the non-local pottery types. It includes highly detailed descriptions of features and their relationships. An opportunity could have been taken here to simplify the plans and sections by removing some of the labelling as it is sometimes hard to identify features referred to in the text. This is a minor point as too much detail is surely better than not enough. The distribution maps of wares across the whole site, however, are very clear and highly effective.

Part II then sets the scene for the rest of the report, by describing activity on the site before and after the pottery production phase, setting the production of Highgate Wood pottery in context with the prehistoric and more recent woodland exploitation. The Roman use of the site is considered in terms of the composition of the early woodland, the demand for fuel and ways of managing fuel supply. It is suggested that coppicing was used to manage the fuel supply during some, but not all, of the pottery production phases. The chronology of the site shows that kilns went in and out of use across the site, and that each phase consisted of a kiln, water storage ditch and clay preparation pits. This movement across the site over time has been interpreted as a response to market demands for more Romanised pottery, technological developments in kiln structures and modifications in water-holding techniques.

The section on the pottery is very successful. It brings together previous published and unpublished reports and looks to consolidate them into a single corpus of the products of the pottery industry and refine the chronology of the production of different forms and fabrics. It begins with a history of the study of Highgate wares and concisely summarises the non-local wares. There then follows a very thorough description of the pottery following the chronology of the site established in Part I, and recorded by weight and EVE. The pottery production spanned about 150 years starting with coarse wares, moving on to a suite of fine wares including barbotine decorated beakers. The detailed pottery descriptions are further enhanced by the excellent chapters on thin-section petrography (P. Quinn) and Inductively-coupled Plasma Mass-spectrometry (ICPMS) (M. Hughes). Both test the macroscopic fabric groupings and look to identify potential raw material resources. The ICPMS results also provide a reference signature for the identification of Highgate Wood products at other sites.

Specialist, non-local forms are dealt with separately with clear distribution maps and comprehensive accounts, including how they fit with known examples from Roman Britain. Among these are a Hercules medallion and carinated strainer bowls, including an interesting discussion of their skeuomorphism and development from bronze vessels. The reports on baked-clay items, including fire-bars and kiln furniture, are particularly interesting. The latter includes a description of kiln-arch supports, which gives a valuable insight into how the Roman potters overcame issues with collapsing kiln arches — a problem that was encountered by the team during the experimental pottery production that formed part of the project. The non-ceramic finds reports are all of high quality and benefit from the same clear distribution maps enabling easy comparison of the different find types across the site.

The pottery section of the monograph is supported by an excellent online resource illustrating the Highgate Wood products type series, along with detailed form descriptions, the distribution of forms across phases of the site, and the incidence of forms and fabrics. It is a very useful resource and an example of how to provide online access to a type series. It is hoped that more pottery kiln site type series can be made accessible in this way.

Both the monograph and the online type series provide an excellent source of reference for pottery specialists and those interested in pottery supply into London. It provides an excellent resource for the identification of Highgate Wood products and their wider distribution, potentially beyond London.