This study reports on one of the largest and best dated assemblages of clay pipes recovered from the site of Port Royal in Jamaica. Many of the pipes came from Bristol and date to the 17th century AD. Recovered during excavations at Port Royal between 1981 and 1990, many of the pipes came from sealed contexts and their distribution could be mapped in detail. Georgia Fox's study discusses her methodology and the excavations, and includes a large catalogue and typology and raises questions and issues which are of relevance on a much wider scale for the study of clay pipes in Northwest Europe in general.

The excavations in the centre of Birmingham uncovered evidence of habitation from prehistoric and Roman times, but the 12th to 19th centuries presented by far the most evidence, from artefacts, environmental samples and structural remains. The medieval industrial past was of particular interest, with tanning and the manufacture of hemp and linen all playing a large role in the city's prosperity. Metal working reached its peak in the seventeenth century, with brass founding becoming important from the eighteenth century onwards. Most of the artefactual evidence attests to Birmingham's industrial past, indeed the evidence for domestic life is comparatively scant, with an anomalous burial of two people at Park Street presenting something of a mystery. This volume presents insights into the early industrial past of this important city and is an invaluable record covering eight hundred years of occupation.