 The Archaeology of Ritual and Magic was reviewed by John Hutchings for the Folklore journal , the published arm of The Folklore Society . He highlighted how the work would be of benefit to folklorists , by putting various charms then in museum exhibits – such as dead cats , buried shoes and witch bottles – into the wider context of ritual activity . He opined that it was " a little disappointing " that the examples were almost all from London and the Home Counties , but described the book as " <unk> written , carefully argued , and well illustrated . " 
