Ruth Whitehouse and Sue Hamilton's book is the outcome of a long-running research project addressing the social organisation of Early Neolithic (EN) ditched villages communities of south Italy, and as such it has already become a must-read for the EN archaeology of the Central Mediterranean. The book comprises two volumes, part of the series of Accordia Specialist Studies on Italy from the Accordia Research Institute - University of London. The first volume presents the background, methods, and results of the ‘Tavoliere-Gargano Project’; the second volume, edited by Mike Seager Thomas, is the collection of the Bradford aerial photographs and survey records corresponding to each site discussed in Volume 1.

The project aims to investigate the social and sensory world of the first farming communities of south Italy following a combined approach of aerial and field surveys, and phenomenological and sensory approaches to sites and landscapes. Considering the regional scale, archaeological complexity, and the multidisciplinary approach involved, the first four chapters of the volume are entirely dedicated to contextualising the archaeology, the environment, and the methodological approach to the study of EN ditched villages (villaggi trincerati) of Apulia-southern Italy. Far from merely setting the scene for their work, these chapters provide an extensive discussion of the ditch-enclosed villages whose construction spanned the sixth to the fifth millennium BCE, and the methodological and theoretical framework at the base of the research. The scale of detail, clear illustrations, and the rigour of the recording methods, immediately emphasize the potential and reproducibility of the methodological framework presented here by the authors. The readership for these first four chapters can thus encompass both amateurs with a curiosity about the earliest farming communities in Italy and archaeology students. Moreover, advanced researchers will find the comprehensive collection of archaeological data, along with the list of published radiocarbon dates for the EN of the Tavoliere, to be invaluable resources. The detailed review of the phenomenological and sensory approach further enhances the utility of this work for scholars seeking a nuanced understanding of the subject.

The results and the conclusion reached are presented in the next five chapters, which illustrate the multi-scalar approach, moving from the territory beyond the village to the sensory experience inside the individual house. Starting with Chapter 5, which presents the first GIS study of all the georeferenced EN sites of the Tavoliere and nearby areas (774 in total; 570 catalogued in Volume 2 and the remaining 204 catalogued in an appendix to this chapter). Following a well-structured description of the environmental and phenomenological data included in the analyses, we find the first regional scale characterisation of the spatial patterns, the collective, and the individual perceptions related to the EN ditched villages. After briefly presenting the Bradford aerial photograph archive that forms the basis of Volume 2, from which the EN ditched villages were first mapped, Chapter 6 then moves to illustrate the results of the field Mass Survey carried out on 174 of a total of 774 sites. This consists of probably the largest ground-truthing work of GIS-based analyses aimed at investigating human behaviour in Mediterranean prehistory. While the application of GIS techniques to deduce site function and ‘social scapes’ by analysing sensory aspects, such as visibility, is a common practice in archaeology, the inferences made are often lacking validation through field survey techniques. Moreover, the incorporation of phenomenological approaches is even less frequent. Consequently, the discussion presented here on ground-truthed GIS models not only unveils significant social aspects of the southern Italian EN but also establishes robust interpretative structures for phenomenological and environmental variables commonly addressed in GIS studies, such as visibility and access to water resources.

The next chapter (Ch. 7) explores the results of the Phenomenological Site Catchment Analysis (PSCA) that combines economic and land use observations with phenomenological approaches to site/landscape surveys. The rigour of the survey methods allows the authors to expand previous work on the site catchment of the Neolithic sites of the Tavoliere, highlighting discrepancies and refining established concepts regarding the extent of the buffer zone in which the site activities would have taken place and the social factors involved. Following the PSCA, the sensory world of EN ditched villages (Ch. 8) is presented, based on the data collected in the field. The concepts of sensed scapes created by the authors for the Tavoliere Neolithic are meticulously compared with the work done in the same region (Morter and Robb, Reference Morter, Robb and Whitehouse1998) and with ethnographic research carried out in different socio-environmental settings across the world. The conclusions represent the freshest archaeological theories on the village area, domesticated vs rural spaces, and the function and social meaning of the ditches enclosing the Neolithic sites of the Tavoliere.

In the second part of the book, comprising the final two chapters, the research outcomes conducted alongside the objectives of the ‘Tavoliere-Gargano Project’ are detailed. This includes findings on the use and back-filling of the ditches and the ritual use of the Grotta Scaloria Cave. In Chapter 10 valuable information on the function of the ditches and the formation processes of their filling are drawn from geomorphological and micromorphological analyses of exposed sections of ditch fills, backed by chronometric dating of the different units. Adding to early geoarchaeological research in the Tavoliere (see Boschian, Reference Boschian1996), the results presented here contribute significantly to the understanding of the formation and use of the EN ditches of south Italy. The micromorphology of lower fills of the Cava Petrilli main ditch shows that they are entirely composed of anthropogenic sediments originating from burning and dumping ashes that derive from cereal processing or burnt animal dung disposed into the ditch. Moreover, Chapter 11 presents the authors’ sensory and phenomenological approach to, and interpretation of, the Scaloria Cave site, known to have been used as a ritual site by the late sixth millennium Neolithic communities of the Tavoliere. Building upon earlier studies (Whitehouse, Reference Whitehouse1992) and more recent research (Robb et al., Reference Robb, Elster, Isetti, Knüsel, Tafuri and Traverso2015; Tafuri et al., Reference Tafuri, Fullagar, O'Connell, Belcastro, Iacumin, Conati Barbaro, Sanseverino and Robb2016), the authors intriguingly propose that Scaloria Cave played a focal role in pilgrimage journeys as part of rituals conducted by the communities of the Tavoliere.

The most immediate accomplishment of the book, creating a valuable resource for future research, is the largest collection of georeferenced aerial and survey data of the EN ditched villages in the Tavoliere, illustrated in Volume 2 (570 sites) and also catalogued in the appendix of Chapter 5 in Volume 1 (204 sites). Volume 2 stands as the first English-language assessment of the ditched villages since Barri Jones's Apulia volume (Reference Jones1987), expanding the original seminal review of the Bradford archive, making the aerial photographs available at high-resolution and with georeferenced information, and including the data recorded during the ground-truthing survey work. It is important to note, however, that the organisation of coordinates in Volume 2 is somewhat misleading. Grouping the x and y coordinates (e.g., 52453460069) in the table at the end of each chapter makes it challenging to read and reuse them. A clearer presentation would involve separate columns for each coordinate. Additionally, it is crucial to correct the grid reference in both Volume 1 and Volume 2 to European Datum 50/UTM 33.

In an otherwise excellent book, a minor point worth noting is the absence of a more extended discussion on EN ditched villages in the southern Italian region. Rather than confining it to a brief mention, a more extensive discussion on EN ditched villages in the southern Italian region, considering works by Bernabò Brea et al. (Reference Bernabo Brea, Mannoni, Mallegni and Sorrentino1984), Guilaine and Cremonesi (Reference Guilaine, Cremonesi and Tinè1996), and Tiné (Reference Tiné1976), would have underscored, particularly for readers unfamiliar with the topic, the striking parallel between the Tavoliere ditched-villages and those of the Basilicata's Materan region, in terms of both architectural characteristics and site density. While earlier authors (Tiné, Reference Tiné1976; Radi et al., Reference Radi, Guilaine, Cremonesi, Coularou, Pessina and Muscio2000) sought to trace the parallel evolution of the Tavoliere and Materan First Neolithic villages through the analysis of pottery styles, a more robust case for temporal affinity emerges when considering recent radiocarbon-based chronologies (Binder et al., Reference Binder, Lanos, Angeli, Gomart, Guilaine, Manen, Maggi, Muntoni, Panelli and Radi2017) for the EN ditched villages in both regions. Thus, looking at recent research on the Materan ditched villages would have provided more insight into the archaeological context of the Neolithic of southern Italy. Recent provenance and technological studies of lithic materials at the ditched village of Trasanello have clarified that the primary source of raw lithic materials aligns with the local resources, found within a 5-km radius around the ditch perimeter (Conforti and Parisi, Reference Conforti and Parisi2018). Incorporating these elements would have contributed to a more comprehensive discussion of EN ditched villages in south-east Italy.

The study of the Early Neolithic (EN) ditched villages in the Tavoliere has faced challenges due to the scarcity of archaeological architectural remains and the apparent non-utilisation of much of the space enclosed by the ditches for housing (Robb, Reference Robb2007). This issue has been exacerbated by the fact that a significant portion of the archaeological record is derived from the filling of these ditches (Boschian, personal communication). Hamilton and Whitehouse's innovative integration of sensory and phenomenological survey approaches effectively addresses these challenges, providing a significant contribution to our understanding of human spatial behaviour within EN communities in the Tavoliere.

Their multi-scalar conclusions, ranging from the ‘home territory’—a 1 km buffer area delineated through sensory surveys around the outer perimeter of sites where daily tasks were performed—to the public spaces within ditches and the private spaces marked by single C-ditches for individual houses, open exciting new research directions. These trajectories invite further investigation using alternative methodologies to explore the intricate world of Neolithic space in southern Italy. Additionally, the integrated approach of phenomenological and sensory survey methods, coupled with GIS techniques, marks a significant advancement in understanding the EN ditched villages of the Tavoliere. The novel methodology and results presented in various chapters offer an essential resource for students and researchers interested in the EN of southern Italy. Furthermore, they provide valuable insights for those employing survey and GIS methods to explore social and environmental factors.