One of the most important aspects of scholarship in every academic field must be the presentation and discussion of new ideas, approaches, and methodologies, often best expressed through the work of early‐career researchers. This is even more important in fields like maritime archaeology, because of new discoveries and the continual advances of methodologies and techniques. This book is an ideal example of such scholarship. It gathers a series of papers presented at the Maritime Archaeology Graduate Symposium held in Oxford 2018 (an Honor Frost Foundation initiative that has become an annual event, with subsequent meetings published online: https://honorfrostfoundation.org/publications/short-reports/mags-2019/). The Introduction explains that the subject of this first symposium was purposely rather broad, not limited in terms of geography (although a predominance of Mediterranean studies is evident), topics, or temporal periods, thus allowing for the participation of a variety of young scholars from different countries, specializations and backgrounds.
Twelve papers are included, covering nearly all main aspects of maritime archaeology: ancient shipwrecks and ship‐iconography (Tzovaras on the Early Bronze Age ships of the Aegean, Cabrera Tejedor on the Mazarrón ships, and Polakowski on the warships of the Carthaginian Wars), along with ancient and medieval harbours and harbour systems (Amundson on Roman Menorca, Raad on ancient Beirut, Del Mastro Ochoa on medieval Almeria, and Karampas on Roman Crete). More specialized topics include the trade of olives in antiquity (Briggs), movement‐patterns of hominids across the Aegean Palaeolithic dry land (Tsakanikou and MacNabb), as well as historical or more theoretical and general subjects, such as Hellenistic piracy (Pacheco), the Pacific armada of the Peruvian viceroyalty (Agudo Rey), uses and abuses of maritime Phoenician culture (Sassine), and an account of recent developments in the maritime archaeology of the Biscay region (Matés Luque).
This diversity of subjects, periods, and approaches is probably the book's main attraction. Through this series of different papers, the reader acquires an inclusive and exciting image of the vibrant activity of new research in maritime archaeology, presented by those who are actively undertaking it and who share original and often innovative approaches, ideas, and results. Their enthusiasm and passion for their topics is evident. The inclusion of varied geographical areas and subjects in the contributions allows for a broader perspective on the progress of maritime archaeology and history inside and outside the Mediterranean, and offers an insight into fields and regions many scholars often know little about. In terms of presentation and quality, the volume follows the high standards of recent BAR publications, well printed and thoroughly organized, with black‐and‐white and colour illustrations and charts supplementing the text. In general, the publication works equally well for someone who wants to read the whole book as a collection of papers highlighting some of the latest developments in maritime archaeology, or to locate and study specific subjects within the volume (via the Table of Contents—there is no index).
Nevertheless, the multiplicity of topics and authors also constitutes this volume's main disadvantage, as is often the case with such collections of papers. Covering such a wide range of topics, it lacks any focus on a specific subject, period, or approach. There is also an imbalance in content and quality. Several contributions are extended summaries of postgraduate theses, failing to filter the studies’ results from their already known background and becoming too tedious to read. Another issue is the lack of thorough editing in several papers in which typos and mistakes are to be found, and in one case (Matés Luque) the quality of the English text leaves a lot to be desired, something that should have been taken care of by the editors. One last editing issue concerns the quality and number of illustrations. Some are of low quality, including some maps or satellite photographs. On some occasions, the illustrations, although essential for the comprehension of the dense text, remain too few and too obscure to be helpful (e.g. Raad).
Despite these shortcomings, however, which are mainly editorial, the book fulfils its aims. It offers an insight into the most recent research and promising scholarship of maritime archaeology and history and includes several very interesting papers. It highlights the latest progress in various fields of study, while also emphasizing the future potential development and impact of new ideas and methods, not only as the result of these varied studies, but also as stepping‐stones for further fruitful discussions and interpretations.