Avebury
Prehistoric Avebury - Aubrey Burl
The standard work for the general reader on this famous megalithic complex
Second Edition, Paperback, Published by Yale Univ Pr , Publication date: May 2002The Secrets of the Avebury Stones
The Secrets of the Avebury Stones: Britains Greatest Megalithic Temple - Terence Meaden
Paperback - 224 pages (24 June, 1999)
Souvenir Press Ltd; ISBN: 0285635018As with his previous books the subject of sexual symbolism is an important theme. Male and female stones, earth mother and sky father, specially chosen stones with triangular and cleft shapes. He takes a theory touched upon by other authors and explores it in his well-researched and relatively level headed style...
�8.99+p&p (RRP �12.99 - a saving of over 30%)
Full review here
English Heritage Book of Avebury - Caroline Malone
Paperback - 144 pages ( 5 May, 1989), Batsford
Archaeology in the Avebury Area, Wiltshire
Andrew B. Powell, Michael J. Allen, I. Barnes Paperback - 99 pages (April 1996)
Trust for Wessex Archaeology Ltd
The Avebury cycle - Michael Dames
Visionary theory as to the function and use of ancient sites in the Avebury complex
Paperback, Published by Thames & Hudson, Publication date: June 1, 1996, Dimensions (in inches): 9.41 x 6.23 x .70
The harmony of symbols: the Windmill Hill Causewayed Enclosure, Wiltshire - Alasdair Whittle, Joshua Pollard & Caroline Grigson
UKP45.00, Oxbow Books, December 1999,
ISBN 1900188899Stonehenge
Stonehenge Landscapes
Stonehenge Landscapes -
Journeys through real-and-imagined worlds, by Sally Exon, Vince Gaffney, Ann Woodward, Ron Yorston"Stonehenge Landscapes" is the largest digital analysis of the archaeological landscape and monuments of Stonehenge ever attempted. The study uses data from more than 1200 monuments. The contents of the Stonehenge barrows are collated for the first time and presented in a series of appendices. The result of this endeavour is a major phenomenological study of the development of the Stonehenge landscape from the Mesolithic to the Early Bronze Age.
Read a review in Intenet Archaeology
�39+p&p Order Now
Stonehenge: Neolithic Man and The Cosmos
John NorthThis book combines meticulous attention to the latest archaeological surveys with a profound knowledge of the heavens as they were many millennia ago to establish the function of the stones on Salisbury Plain and what we can know of the religion that caused the to be erected.
Publisher: Harper Collins.
Paperback. 609pp. 16cm by 23cm. ISBN 0002558505.Only �5.99 each+p&p - Order Now
Original Price �12.99 - a saving of over 50%
Stonehenge - Robin Heath
Stonehenge - Robin Heath 64 pages. Softback. 125 x 155 mm. All Recycled. Wooden Books
Eclipses, sacred geometry, ancient culture and stunning engravings are packed into this beautifully produced, 100% recycled small volume. Robin Heath has a unique viewpoint on the subject - we saw him give a fascinating talk and demonstration to the Ley Hunter Moot. �2.99+p&p (RRP �4.99 - a saving of 40%)
Hengeworld - Mike Pitts
Hardcover - 386 pages (22 June, 2000)
From an archaeologist and co-author of Fairweather Eden (on the Boxgrove excavations), comes a book that takes us from hard facts to speculation on prehistoric minds. Mike Pitts' Hengeworld unites societies of different dates, places and pottery styles by the action of building "circular enclosed spaces", seeking to "confront real people" from that henge-building Neolithic world. Dealing principally, but far from exclusively, with Stonehenge and Avebury, Hengeworld asks the usual questions concerning how they were built, how they looked in their time and the extent to which astronomy and religion had a part in their purpose. Combining reports of his own digs and new research with a re-examination of evidence gathered in the past, Mike Pitts also makes some significant new discoveries and solves some intriguing mysteries from the recent history of archaeological excavation along the way. Probing beyond the material world, he suggests "new contexts" for Stonehenge which "envisage metaphor and symbol". Hengeworld is supported by clear diagrams and well-documented evidence: there are over 75 pages of appended radiocarbon date tables, notes and bibliographic information. But Mike Pitts also tells a good story, ably capturing the excitement of new discoveries with an almost chatty writing style and touches of humour and suspense. This is a book which amateurs and professionals alike should find valuable and evocative. - Karen Tiley
JANUARY 2000's BOOK OF THE MONTH
Stonehenge and Timber Circles - Alex Gibson
1998, 176pp 126illus. (16col.) Hardback
A pioneering work, introducing the reader to prehistoric timber circles and their influence on Stonehenge.
Read my review
Stonehenge, A Novel Of 2000 BC
Stonehenge, A Novel Of 2000 BC
Bernard CornwellHardback
An exciting novel by a famous author who has an extraordinary feel for the past. "A Circle of Chalk, A Ring of Stone And a House of Arches to Call the Far Gods Home"
Only �5.50+p&p Published price �15 - a saving of over 60%
Stonehenge - Robin Heath
The Making of Stonehenge - Rodney Castleden
'Beyond All Historical Recall', The First Stonehenge, Stonehenge Abandoned?, Stones from Afar: The Bluestone Enigma, Culmination: The Sarsen Monument, Stonehenge Completed: The Return of the Bluestones, The Meaning of Stonehenge, Stonehenge in Decline, The chronology of Stonehenge, The cost of building the Stonehenge complex, Radiocarbon dates, Large volcanic eruptions and Stonehenge: a possible connection?
Hardcover, 305 pages, Published by Routledge, Publication date: April 1, 1994, Dimensions (in inches): 9.47 x 6.40 x 1.01
Stonehenge Complete - Christopher Chippindale
'Beyond All Historical Recall', The First Stonehenge, Stonehenge Abandoned?, Stones from Afar: The Bluestone Enigma, Culmination: The Sarsen Monument, Stonehenge Completed: The Return of the Bluestones, The Meaning of Stonehenge, Stonehenge in Decline, The chronology of Stonehenge, The cost of building the Stonehenge complex, Radiocarbon dates, Large volcanic eruptions and Stonehenge: a possible connection?
Rev Edition, Paperback, 296 pages, Published by Thames & Hudson, Publication date: June 1, 1994, Dimensions (in inches): 10.07 x 7.63 x.84
Stonehenge Revealed - David Souden
Hardcover, 160 pages, Published by Facts on File, Publication date: November 1, 1997, Dimensions (in inches): 11.19 x 8.46 x .78The latest archaeological methods provide fascinating insights into the perplexing history of Stonehenge. Over 200 striking full-color photographs reveal the collection of stones from various perspectives, allowing readers to sense the mysterious aura that surrounds this place. Maps and charts.
Understanding Stonehenge The Stonehenge Landscape Stonehenge and Prehistory The Making of the Megaliths The People of Stonehenge Ritual and the Heavens The Legacy of Stonehenge
Stonehenge - RJC Atkinson
The standard text book by the man who dug it up.
Approach to Stonehenge, The Structure of Stonehenge, The Sequence of Construction, The Techniques of Construction, The Builders of Stonehenge, The Meaning of Stonehenge, Stonehenge and the History of Antiquarian Thought, : Recent Work on Stonehenge, The Chronology of Stonehenge and the Avenue
Reprint Edition, Paperback, Published by Penguin USA (Paper), Publication date: September 1, 1992, Dimensions (in inches): 7.72 x 5.06 x .59
Stonehenge: the Secret of the Solstice
Stonehenge: the Secret of the Solstice
Terence MeadenPublisher: Souvenir Press Ltd Paperback - (March 1997)
A volume which draws on the evidence of goddess worship and symbolism to present an explanation that reveals Stonehenge as a temple in honour of the goddess and her eternal fruitfulness, rather than an observatory or the product of complicated mathematics.
The author Terence Meaden writes:
The annual fertility celebration of the Marriage of the Gods. The ordering of the stones signify yoni and womb of the Earth Mother and allows her midsummer fertilisation by the Sun/ Sky Father to be witnessed by everyone inside and outside of the monument.�8.99+p&p (RRP �12.99 - a saving of over 30%)
Stonehenge : Making Space (Materializing Culture Series)
Hardcover (March 1998) Berg Pub Ltd; I
Paperback - 256 pages (March 1998)
Berg Publishers;
Stonehenge decoded - Gerald S Hawkins
The ground-breaking book that turned Stonehenge from a pile of old stones into a megalithic computerEngland
Books on Derbyshire, Cumbria and Yorkshire
Rock Around the Peak - Megalithic Monuments of the Peak District (Derbyshire) by Victoria and Paul Morgan Published June 2001, 150 pages. Published by Sigma Leisure. Walks in Ancient Lakeland
Walks in Ancient Lakeland by Robert Harris Published August 2001, 125 pages. Published by Sigma Leisure. West Yorkshire
Picture coming soon Circles, Standing Stones and Legendary Rocks of West Yorkshire
Paul BennettPaperback, 64pages Heart of Albion Press, 1994
Local stone surveys have been something of a geomantic speciality, and this book lives up to expectations, being the fruit of immensely detailed fieldwork combined with a sardonic awareness that the sites are fascinating but no-one quite knows why. (Extract from Research in Geomancy 1990-1994 by Jeremy Harte)�4.95+p&p - Order Now
Seahenge Book
Seahenge - a contemporary chronicle by Matthew Champion �10.99+p&p
Order NowBarber, Martyn et al - Neolithic flint mines in England
108pp, 46 ill, pbk, UKP25.00, RCHME, Nov 1999, ISBN 1 873592 41 8Blundell, Nigel - Ancient Ireland
144pp, pbk, UKP5.99, Parkgate Books, June 1999, ISBN 1 902616 23 5Palmer, Douglas - Atlas of the prehistoric world
224pp, UKP19.99, Marshall Publishing, Jan 2000, ISBN 1 84028 255 XCooney, Gabriel & Grogan, Eoin - Irish prehistory: a social perspective
276pp, new ed, Wordwell, pbk, 1999, ISBN 1 869857 28 3Exploring Prehistoric Europe (Places in Time) by Chris Scarre, Christopher Scarre
Hardcover - 240 pages (February 1999) Oxford Univ Pr (Trade); ISBN: 0195103238 ; Dimensions (in inches): 0.96 x 10.12 x 7.86British archaeologist Chris Scarre provides a literate and thoroughly enjoyable grand tour of Old World prehistory in this handsomely illustrated volume, the first in Oxford's "Places in Time" series. Treating 15 sites as case studies, Scarre grounds his readers in some of the thornier problems confronting archaeologists: establishing reliable chronologies (and Scarre, like many of his colleagues, proposes extending the arrival of humans to the European continent much farther back in time than late-20th-century orthodoxy permits), determining the ways of life of prehistoric peoples, and, most difficult of all, guessing at what they might have thought and believed about the world and their place in it. Scarre takes us to expected venues such as Stonehenge and Maiden Castle, and he conducts a chamber-by-chamber tour of Lascaux Cave, which the French government closed to the public years ago. He also ventures to a number of lesser-known sites that are in many ways more illuminating of European prehistory than are their more famous counterparts. Tarxien, a Maltese site, for instance, yields evidence of organized religion dating far back into the megalithic period; its peculiar temple architecture gives "an impression of dramatic ritual ceremonies in a setting carefully designed with an eye to effect." Scarre aims to educate the eye of the traveler to recognize signs of the prehistoric presence in a landscape since overlain by many other cultures. In this he is eminently successful. --Gregory McNamee
Synopsis Part travel guide, part survey of Europe's prehistory, "Exploring Prehistoric Europe" delves into 15 of the most famous, most important, and most exciting archaeological sites in Europe. 107 color photos.
Early Ireland : An Introduction to Irish Prehistory by Michael J. O'Kelly, Claire O'Kelly, Glyn Daniel (Designer)
Paperback (April 1989) Cambridge Univ Pr (Short); ISBN: 0521336872 ; Dimensions (in inches): 0.90 x 9.69 x 6.82The development of Irish society is traced from its origins as a postglacial culture of hunters and gatherers through the technological and artistic advances of its golden age in second millennium B.C.
The Oxford Illustrated Prehistory of Europe by Barry Cunliffe (Editor)
Hardcover - 532 pages (June 1994) Oxford Univ Press; ISBN: 0198143850 ; Dimensions (in inches): 1.56 x 9.94 x 7.69In comparison with the lavishly illustrated People of the Stone Age , Oxford's volume is less visually stunning but no less fascinating. Although confined to Europe (People embraced the world and ended with the agricultural revolution), its longer chronology, from the replacement of Neanderthals by, or their evolution into, modern humans 40,000 years ago to the fall of Rome, emcompasses the various ages, including the Paleolithic. To augment the scholarship, there are many glossy, informative illustrations. The writers, all affiliated with British universities, examine self-contained subjects with a degree of accessibility that should appeal to all archaeological tastes. Whether one gravitates to the fabled Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations or to the interaction between barbarian and Roman expansions, each of the 13chapters incorporates the gamut of the profession's tools, such as paleoclimatology concerning the retreat of the glaciers or analysis of artifact distribution (buildings, graves, statuettes, pottery, metals, etc.). The resulting text bespeaks long-term use. Gilbert Taylor
A comprehensive history, ranging from the Stone Age to the barbarian world at the fall of the Roman Empire, compiled by a team of experts, includes hundreds of spectacular photographs of artifacts and artwork and incorporates the latest archaeological findings.
Unravelling the landscape: an inquisitive approach to archaeology -
Mark Bowden (ed.)
in association with the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England, 240pp 122 illus. (22 col.) Paperback
This long overdue texbook dispels the myth that survey is too complex and difficult or that it is only a second best to excavation. Careful observation and measurement lead to new insights into the archaeological remains surrounding us in the countryside. The book shows how a range of surveying techniques can be applied to recording, analysis and research.
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The Early Barrow Diggers �
Barry M Marsden
176pp 100 illus. (25col.) Hardback
From the early eighteenth century squires and parsons indulged in the field sport of Barrow digging, plundering the graves of their prehistoric ancestors in search of decorative relics. But Barry Marsden also highlights the careers and methods of the more enlightened diggers, from William Stukeley in the 1720s to the painstaking work of Lt. General Pitt Rivers in the 1920s.
Read my review
In Search of Cheddar Man -
Larry Barham, Philip Priestly, Adrian Targett
February 1999, Tempus, 160pp 85 illus. Paperback
Establishing a DNA link etween Cheddar Man and Adrian Targett was one of the archaeological sensations of the century. This book places the discovery in a wider context and explains the detective work behind it.
Farmers in Prehistoric Britain - Francis Pryon
Published 1998, Tempus, 176pp 100 illus. (25col.) Hardback
A reconstruction of the life of prehistoric farmers, drawn from the author's practical as well as academic experience.
The Salisbury Hoard - I.M. Stead
A real-life story of archaelogical detection, tracing the history of the huge hoard of bronze artefacts unearthed in the mid-1980's near Salisbury.
Published 1998 Tempus, 176pp 36 illus. (23 col.) Hardback
208pp, 22 ill, 39 figs, pbk,
Routledge, March 1999,
The causewayed enclosures of the neolithic are the first monumental structures in the British Isles. But the uses to which these vast concentric rings of raised walkways were put remains confused. Archaeological evidence suggests that these sites had many different, and often contradictory functions, and there may have been other uses for which no evidence survives. How can archaeologists present an effective interpretation, with the consciousness that both their own subjectivitiy, and the variety of conflicing views will determine their approach. Because these sites have become a focus for so much controversy, the problem of presenting them to the public assumes a critical importance. The authors raise central issues which occur in all archaeological interpretation, especially in sites that have been put to a variety of uses over time. Mark Edmonds surveys the varied approaches which have been made to the sites.
A guide to Prehistoric England - Nicholas Thomas
Batsford, 1960
Still one of the most comprehensive gazetteers of England, although much has been discovered and re-interpreted since 1960.
Out of print
The Henges, Stone Circles and Ringcairns of the Peak District - John Barnatt
Paperback (December 1990) Sheffield Academic Press
The Stone Circles of Cumbria - John Waterhouse
Hardcover - 192 pages (14 June, 1985) Phillimore & Co Ltd; ISBN:
Discovering Prehistoric England - James Dyer
Paperback (24 June, 1993), Shire Publications Ltd;
Prehistoric London: Its Mounds and Circles - E.O. Gordon
Paperback (December 1985), Artisan;
Landscape, monuments and society : The prehistory of Cranborne Chase
Hardcover - 267 pages (March 1991), Cambridge UP;
Paperback - 150 pages (30 June, 1998), Gothic Image Publications;
Pathways to reality: Neolithic cursus - Alastair Barclay (ed)
pbk, UKP24.00, Oxbow Books, August 1999
Channel Islands
Jersey in Prehistory - M. Patton
Hardcover - 176 pages (December 1987) Aris & Phillips;
Wales
The Chambered Tombs of South-west Wales - Christopher Thompson Barker
Paperback - 96 pages (December 1991) Oxbow Books; ISBN:
118pp, Logaston Press, 1999, Monuments in the landscape series, vol 7, pbk
There must be more books on Wales! Do you know of any?
World Prehistory
Making places in the prehistoric world - Joanna Bruck & Melissa Goodmanm, (eds)
Paperback - 232 pages (April 1999) UCL Press
This work explores the culturally-constructed nature of prehistoric settlement in terms of place, process and practice. Posing critical questions, such as "how do we define and identify settlement units?", a team of contributors investigate issues such as the impact of gender and family constructs on the study of settlement in this period. Examining several areas of archaeological reserach, the contributors inter-link both people and landscape through the construction of biographies of place. Case studies include: Mississippian and pueblo North America; neolithic and bronze age Britain; contemporary Southern Africa; and Joman Japan.
The Picts and Their Symbols - W. A. Cummins
Hardcover - 224 pages (August, 1999) Sutton Publishing
Ancient Hill Figures of Britain - Rodney Castleden
Paperback - 112 pages ( August, 1999) SB Publications
Kilmartin - Rachel Butter, David Lyons (Illustrator)
Paperback (July 1999) Kilmartin House Trust;
Landscapes of Neolithic Ireland - Gabriel Cooney
Hardcover - 296 pages (21 October, 1999) Routledge, an imprint of Taylor & Francis Books Ltd
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