Barrow, pyramid and tomb. Ancient burial customs in Egypt, the Mediterranean and the British Isles

LESLIE V. GRINSELL, Barrow, pyramid and tomb. Ancient burial customs in Egypt, the Mediterranean and the British Isles, London, Thames & Hudson, 1975, 8vo, pp. 240, illus., £5.75. The disposal of the dead, although a grisly topic, is one of the most interesting of man's activities, reflecting as it does many basic beliefs of the inhumators and cremators. Mr. Grinsell, who was Curator of archaeology and history at the City Museum and Art Galley, Bristol, has produced an excellent, scholarly work on burial customs which brings together a remarkable amount of information. In the first part he discusses general topics, such as treatment of the body, dress and personal adornment, grave goods, funerary rituals, and the later history of the tombs including grave robbery. In the second he deals with specific regions, including Egypt, Mycenaean tombs, Etruscan cemeteries, and the British Isles, based on personal visits between 1958 and 1973. An appendix gives useful information for those wishing to visit these sites. The main criticism of the book is that more could have been said about the underlying ideas and cultures that determined a community's funeral customs, for to the historian of medicine this is an important aspect. Nevertheless, the book provides an authoritative, well-documented and richly illustrated account, and it can be strongly recommended.