This volume will be of considerable interest to historians of the Roman economy, the Imperial army, ancient agriculture and foodways. Zooarchaeologist G. focuses on the Dutch River Area, home to Batavians and probably some Eburones, in the period 12 b.c.e. to 350 c.e. The Batavians, newcomers to the region, were initially favoured subjects, required to provide men for the Roman army but paying no other taxes. G. suggests that about 5,000 Batavians were in service at any given time. The purpose of her study is to ‘trace developments in animal husbandry from the Late Iron Age to the Late Roman period, investigate whether these developments can be related to market demands, and gain an understanding of the impact of the Roman occupation on the agrarian economy’ (p. 1). G.’s main body of evidence consists of 72 assemblages, i.e. groups of animal bones from excavated sites in the region. The sites, described in Chapter 2, include farmhouses, small villages, army camps and watchtowers, as well as canabae legionis (the various structures that clustered around legionary fortresses). The region was predominantly rural with only one significant urban area: Batavodurum and, following its destruction, the new Ulpia Noviomagus (both within modern Nijmegen). There are no Roman-style villas and, for various reasons, G. decided against making use of bone evidence from cemeteries in the region. She categorises the sites as either agricultural producers or consumers (though acknowledging that rural production sites would also have been consumers). The animal bones were evaluated in terms of species proportions, age at time of slaughter and sex, presence or absence of particular ‘skeletal elements’ (e.g. horncones and footbones whose concentrations may indicate the presence of a tannery) on particular sites, butchery marks and biometrics (especially withers height). Although her focus is on cattle, sheep, goats, horses and pigs, G. is careful to note evidence for other domesticated animals (e.g. chickens) as well as seafood, fish and game (including deer, boar, elk, aurochs etc.).

In Chapter 3 G. discusses zooarchaeological methodology, explaining what sorts of conclusions can be drawn from the evidence. ‘Slaughter patterns’, for example, can indicate the purpose of animal husbandry since ‘animals raised for meat will generally be killed at a younger age than those used for wool, milk or traction’ (p. 57). Chapter 4 continues the methodological discussion with the focus now on the approaches specifically adopted by G. She creates a taphonomical index as well as one for the representativeness of samples. She also justifies many of her choices in dealing with the evidence, explaining, for example, why chicken bones are not a major element in her study. Even though the emphasis is on animal husbandry, G. acknowledges the importance of arable farming and devotes time to detailing the archaeobotanical evidence. Chapter 5 examines the rural sites in light of the bone assemblages, considering their nature and how they changed over three periods: Early Roman (12 b.c.e. – 70 c.e.), Middle Roman (70–270 c.e.) and Late Roman (270–350 c.e.). G. asks how military demand affected agriculture as well as how returning veterans may have brought about change in agricultural practice. Noting that the ‘relatively high proportions of horse in the Middle Roman period indicate that this species played an important role in the agrarian economy’ (p. 131), she argues in favour of the hypothesis that horses were being bred for the army. While there is some evidence for the consumption of horse meat on rural sites, there is very little indication of this practice at urban and military sites. Probably, she suggests, young horses were slaughtered on rural sites when deemed unfit for sale to the military and then consumed to recoup some of the investment. G. also observes changes in butchery methods in the Middle Roman period when cleavers begin to turn up and ‘new elements appear in butchery’ (p. 138), probably introduced by returning veterans. Chapter 6 considers in turn the urban, military and temple sites. One finding is that different kinds of military sites seem to have had different food supplies. Although pigs predominated at the Augustan military camp, cattle came to be the main source of meat for the army, with mutton playing a relatively prominent role at the watchtowers. Urban and military sites imported a number of foodstuffs not produced in the region including bread wheat, olives, grapes and figs. Chapter 7, finally, considers the ‘interaction between producers and consumers’ (p. 191). G. suggests, among other things, that a larger breed of cattle was imported into the area in the early Roman period, contributing to the gradual size increase indicated by her biometrical analysis. Horses increased in size as well. She estimates that the civitas Batavorum supplied the Roman army with around 400 horses each year. G. further suggests the ‘increase in slaughter ages of cattle’ in the second century c.e. and the increase in cattle size may reflect a greater demand for these animals in arable farming and so more intensive cultivation (p. 216).

The book is clearly written and copiously illustrated with graphs, diagrams, photographs of animal bones and tools, site plans, reconstructions, and even a few whimsical drawings such as one depicting an ancient butcher reading a book about animal anatomy. Sensitive to the limitations of her data, such as how the fragmentation of their skulls can lead one to overestimate the prevalence of cattle or how excavations that sieve samples are more likely to find fish remains than ones that do not, G. is suitably cautious in her conclusions. While I am sceptical of her assertion that the people of the Dutch River Area were self-sufficient in the Late Iron Age, she makes a persuasive argument for a considerable increase in their degree of economic integration under Roman rule.