Especially noteworthy is the indigenous metalwork found in colonial graves in Syracuse, Megara Hyblaia, and Naxos, which suggests that some of the 7th c. burials were not Greek but native, and probably native women. One of the book's strengths is its long view. Readers who start with the later chapters will be drawn into the earlier ones to better understand the earliest history of the island and its people. Some drawings and their labels are reduced so much in reproduction that they become unintelligible. The many photographs are of mostly good quality, and reproductions of drawings from old excavations are very convenient, as are the several maps and charts.
Hardbound copies are available from both publishers.
Its date indicates the continued existence of Sikels living in wattle and daub longhouses long after the 8th c. 5.