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* Neolithic * Prehistoric * Roman * * Other archaeology titles* |
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Celtic Coinage in Britain £5.99 Philip de Jersey 978 0 7478 0325 6 (Shire Archaeology 72) 56 pp, 88 ills. In the space of little more than a hundred years, from the Roman conquest of Gaul in the mid first century BC to the defeat of Boudicca in AD61, Britain saw the final and arguably the most impressive phase in the development of Celtic coinage. This book analyses how and why the coins were made and explains how the images they carry can reveal information on the political, economic and social life of the Celts. It is fully illustrated with some of the best examples of Celtic coinage. Since 1992 Philip de Jersey has been employed at the Institute of Archaeology in Oxford to maintain and computerise the Celtic coin index, a detailed record of more than 20,000 British Celtic coins.
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Early Celtic Art in Britain and Ireland £5.99 Ruth and Vincent Megaw 978 0 7478 0613 4 (Shire Archaeology 38) 80 pp, colour and b/w ills. This widely praised introduction, now extensively revised and enlarged, examines the predominantly warrior and aristocratic art of the Iron Age inhabitants of Britain and Ireland from the fourth century BC until the Roman conquest. Since these communities, conventionally referred to as Celts, were peoples with an oral tradition, medieval Irish and Welsh texts embodying these traditions are a very uncertain guide to the life and culture of peoples of upwards of a millennium earlier. Celtic art is thus one of the rare, if obscured, windows into the minds and souls of the early Celts. This book looks at Celtic art made by communities who lived in Britain and Ireland a thousand years and more before the creation of the Book of Kells or the Ardagh Chalice, the art which is more popularly known as ‘Celtic’. |
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Later Celtic Art in Britain and Ireland £5.99 Lloyd Laing 978 0 85263 874 3 (Shire Archaeology 48) 56 pp, 44 ills. During the fifth and sixth centuries AD a magnificent art flowered in Britain and Ireland. Arguably it was the most accomplished ever to emerge out of barbarian Europe. The art is astonishing, exuberant yet based on careful geometric layout. First developed in Britain, it reached its greatest heights in Ireland from the seventh century onwards and was revitalised by the Vikings, to survive in both Ireland and Britain until the Normans. This book, which was the first to deal exclusively with the art of the period in both Britain and Ireland, discusses both metalwork and manuscripts, and sets them in the wider perspective of the artistic traditions of the time. Lloyd Laing is Senior Lecturer in Archaeology at Nottingham University. He has researched many aspects of art and archaeology; his main concern has been the early Christian Celts. |
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Medieval Bridges £5.99 Martin Cook 978 0 7478 0384 3 (Shire Archaeology 77) 64 pp, 37 ills. This book examines the Roman, Saxon and Norman origins of the medieval bridge, including its broader national and international context, and considers the engineering techniques and social background that led to its development during the twelfth, thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. A final chapter considers the survival of medieval bridges into the twentieth century. Martin Cook works for the Archaeological Services of Worcestershire County Council. |
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Medieval Castles £5.99 Oliver Creighton and Robert Higham 978 0 7478 0546 5 (Shire Archaeology 83) 72 pp, 30 colour and 28 b/w ills. Castles were among the most dramatic features of the medieval landscapes of Europe and are still often dominant elements of our surroundings. This book offers an accessible and portable guide to the archaeology and architecture of castles in England and Wales, an area whose castles had some common developments in the medieval period and which now provides numerous and rich sites for both study and visit. In this book the authors explore many recent and exciting developments in the field of castle studies. Dr Oliver Creighton is a Lecturer in Archaeology at the University of Exeter, working in both the Departments of Lifelong Learning and of Archaeology. Dr Robert Higham is Senior Lecturer in Medieval Archaeology at the University of Exeter. He was a founder member and the first Secretary of the Castle Studies Group. |
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Medieval Town Plans £5.99 Paul Hindle 978 0 7478 0065 1 (Shire Archaeology 62) 64 pp, 37 ills. Most English and Welsh towns were founded or grew rapidly in the later medieval period, in particular between the mid twelfth and early fourteenth centuries. This book begins by giving a brief outline of the great growth in the number and size of towns and outlines the archaeological, documentary and cartographic evidence that is available. It then goes on to relate that evidence to surviving and lost features in the townscape, with the aim of providing enough background material for the reader to be able to see why, when, where and how any medieval town grew. Particular topics covered include town sites, their overall layout, street patterns, defences (castles, walls and gates), markets, trades, churches, chapels, monasteries, suburbs, property boundaries and houses. Above all, this is a practical guide to the study of medieval town plans. Dr Paul Hindle took early retirement in 2000; he was previously a Senior Lecturer in Geography. He is Honorary Secretary of Manchester Geographical Society. He has written widely on roads, maps and the Lake District. |
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Megalithic Tombs and Long Barrows in Britain £5.99 Frances Lynch 978 0 7478 0341 6 (Shire Archaeology 73) 72 pp, 35 ills. This book covers all the great tombs of the first farmers in Britain, both the earthen mounds and the huge stone chambers. The dramatic stone monuments of Scotland, Wales, Cornwall and the Cotswolds and the less awe-inspiring earth and timber megalithic tombs and long barrows of southern and north-eastern England are described and illustrated with plans and photographs. The various regional groups are defined and described in a series of short, well-illustrated sections and the book ends with a list of sites to visit covering monuments of each type in all parts of Britain. Frances Lynch is a lecturer in archaeology at the University of Wales, Bangor, and has written several books for the general public on the archaeology of North Wales.
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Elizabeth Shee Twohig 978 0 7478 0598 4 (Shire Archaeology 63) 72 pp, 11 colour and 31 b/w ills. The practice of building large stone tombs developed in western Europe over six thousand years ago, beginning in Ireland soon after 4000 BC. Around 1600 such ‘megalithic’ tombs are recorded in Ireland. Many are well known and much visited, such as Newgrange, but other, smaller sites are also of considerable interest for what they tell us about the early occupants of the island. This book provides a concise and easily accessible summary of archaeological research on megalithic monuments. Four main types of tombs are known, and excavation and radiocarbon dating show that most of them were built during the fourth millennium BC. It is clear that these sites were not built solely for burial, but that they were of considerable significance for the societies who built them. This book discusses the various types of tomb, and drawings and photographs illustrate their main features. A short history of the topic is included, together with a glossary of the terms used, a list of sites to visit, and references for further reading. |
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Neolithic Britain £5.99 Joshua Pollard 978 0 7478 0353 9 (Shire Archaeology 75) 64 pp, 38 ills. Around six thousand years ago major changes occurred in the human occupation of the British Isles, marking the beginning of one of the most fascinating periods in prehistory. Previous lifestyles dependent upon hunting, fishing and gathering were replaced by ones reliant to some degree on horticulture and the keeping of domestic livestock. The sudden appearance of agriculture is only one part of the neolithic story. It was also a time when novel ways of living in and understanding the world developed. The period also marks the advent of new technologies (such as the production of pottery) and new ideologies, seen in the construction of major ceremonial monuments to the living and the ancestral dead. Drawing upon recent discoveries and research, this book provides an introductory outline of the British neolithic (covering the period c.4000–2500 BC). Aspects of social life and belief are described, along with discussion of the material culture of neolithic communities, and the spectacular evidence of the ceremonial monuments they constructed. |
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Prehistoric Astronomy and Ritual £5.99 Aubrey Burl 978 0 7478 0614 1 (Shire Archaeology 32) 72 pp, colour and b/w ills. Stonehenge was not an observatory used by druidical astronomer-priests. It was, instead, a monument in which the moon and the sun and the dead were joined together. In this book the author, a well-known archaeologist, explains how people in the British Isles, four thousand or more years ago, identified life and death with the cycle of midwinter and midsummer and with the risings and settings of the sun and moon. The book describes how astronomical customs developed in the British Isles. Unlike other works about ‘megalithic astronomy’, technical explanations about azimuths and declinations are kept to their simplest. The emphasis here is upon people rather than perturbations and eclipses. Prehistoric Stone Circles (see below) Prehistoric Henges (currently out of print) |
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Discovering Prehistoric England £9.99 James Dyer 978 0 7478 0507 6 (Db Handbook 283) about 120 pp, 50 ills. This handbook is a comprehensive guide to almost 700 of the best-preserved, most interesting and accessible prehistoric monuments considered worth visiting in England. It spans some 350,000 years and the sites range from caves occupied in the palaeolithic period to the oppida built immediately before the Roman conquest. The sites are arranged by counties in alphabetical order, and instructions for finding them with National Grid references are given throughout. Location maps and some site plans, together with many photographs, complete a detailed guide to the wealth of prehistoric field monuments in England. James Dyer, Series Editor of the Shire Archaeology books, has updated the text for this second edition and provided many new entries. During more than fifty years of involvement in archaeology, he has visited every site in the guide, often on more than one occasion. Other titles for Shire by this author are: Discovering Archaeology in England and Wales Discovering Hillforts of England and Wales (currently out of print)
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Prehistoric Stone Circles £5.99 Aubrey Burl 978 0 7478 0609 7 (Shire Archaeology 9) about 72 pp, colour and b/w ills. Archaeologists, astronomers and anthropologists have been arguing about the purpose of prehistoric stone circles for over 300 years. This book describes these abandoned rings, including Stonehenge, and explains the history and facts known about them. It shows how we are gradually coming to an understanding of the significance these gaunt, grey circles had to their builders. Aubrey Burl, a well-known archaeologist, has always been interested in the early societies of prehistoric Britain, and his Stone Circles of the British Isles is recognised as the standard work on the subject. Other titles for Shire by this author are: Prehistoric Astronomy and Ritual (see above) Prehistoric Henges (currently out of print) |
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Architecture in Roman Britain £5.99 Guy de la Bédoyère 978 0 7478 0530 4 (Archaeology 81) approx 64 pp, many b/w ills. The Roman period was Britain’s first great architectural age, though this is sometimes difficult to appreciate from the ruinous state of the sites that survive. This book looks at how in a few years Britain witnessed the design and erection of an astonishing range of buildings, from mundane and functional houses through to exotic temples and ambitious civil engineering projects. Some of Britain’s Roman architects turn out to have been innovators. Reconstruction drawings and paintings by the author bring these vanished buildings back to life and recreate a lost world of forts, basilicas, theatres, baths, arches, classical temples, villas and lighthouses. |
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The Boudican Revolt against Rome £5.99 Paul Sealey 978 0 7478 0618 9 (Shire Archaeology 74) 64 pp, 31 ills.
In AD 60, only seventeen years after the Roman invasion of Britain, the Iceni and Trinovantes of East Anglia and Essex joined forces in revolt against the harsh and oppressive Roman administration of the province. Their leader was Queen Boudica of the Iceni. With most of the Roman army away on campaign in Wales, the Roman cities of Colchester, London and Verulamium were sacked before Boudica and her warriors were defeated in the Midlands. This book tells the story of how the Romans coped with the most serious threat to their hold on Britain and explains the important contribution archaeology has made towards understanding the revolt.
Dr Paul R. Sealey works in the archaeology department of Colchester Museum. He has served on the council of the Essex Society for Archaeology and History and he was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in 1995.
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The Gods of Roman Britain £5.99 Miranda J. Green 978 0 85263 634 3 (Shire Archaeology 34) 76 pp, 71 ills. This book looks at the religious beliefs of the people of the Roman province of Britain and at the gods they worshipped. Little literary evidence survives and it is therefore necessary to rely almost wholly on epigraphic and iconographical representations. The book first examines the pre-Roman Celtic background to Romano-British religion from about 500 BC. The chapters following analyse the nature of the evidence; the introduction of Roman religion to the province; oriental cults including Christianity; the integration of Roman with pre-existing British and other Celtic cults, and the resulting composite religion which thus emerged. The final chapter examines stylised Celtic representations of anonymous divinities. Miranda Green is currently Professor of Archaeology at University of Wales College, Newport, where she is also Director of the SCARAB Research Centre.
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Medicine and Health Care Roman Britain £6.99 Dr Nicholas Summerton 978 0 7478 0664 6 (Archaeology 87) 56 pp, b/w and colour ills. The people of Roman Britain almost certainly suffered from many of the illnesses that are still encountered by general practitioners today. However, in considering medicine in Roman Britain it is crucial not to be blinkered by modern views and values. Illnesses that are nowadays thought to warrant being treated by a doctor may in different times have been very effectively dealt with by other healers. Viewed from a twenty-first-century perspective, it is easy to dismiss or denigrate some aspects of Roman medicine and yet to overstate others. How can we be confident that a bronze instrument was actually a surgical tool? Are aqueducts, drains and bath-houses really a reflection of Roman concern for the public health? Should we so easily dismiss dream therapy and other apparently bizarre treatments as being ineffective in the context of Roman Britain? In this book Dr Nicholas Summerton has assembled and critically examines the archaeological, epigraphic and literary evidence for health care in Roman Britain, set in the context of the Roman Empire. The book covers individual medical care, public health and the relationship between religion and medicine. Nicholas Summerton is a part-time general practitioner and consultant clinical and public health adviser to the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE). He is also an established writer and has a long-standing interest in the Roman world. |
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Discovering Roman Britain £9.99 David E. Johnston 978 0 7478 0452 9 (Discovering handbook 272) approx 176 pp, many b/w ills. This book is a comprehensive visitors’ guide to Roman sites in England, Scotland, Wales and the Channel Islands. David E. Johnston, Staff Tutor in Archaeology in the Department of Adult Education, Southampton University, has written an introductory section including a historical outline of Roman Britain and a description of the various types of site included, thus setting the scene for the gazetteer of sites which follows. |
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Pottery in Roman Britain £5.99 Guy de la Bédoyère 978 0 7478 0469 7 (Shire Archaeology 79) 72 pp, 52 ills. Roman sites in Britain produce huge quantities of pottery, often overwhelming the archaeologist. Despite the problems involved in processing it, pottery can provide a vast amount of information about technology, trade, communications, wealth, industry and lifestyle. This book looks at how pottery was made and circulated and how pottery can be useful to archaeologists. It goes on to look at the different types of wares that existed in the four centuries of Roman Britain. The wide range of illustrations makes the book invaluable to students and to archaeologists. Guy de la Bédoyère has degrees in archaeology and history from Durham University, the University of London and the Institute of Archaeology. He has presented a series on Roman Britain for BBC Radio 4, and also one for BBC2, as well as making a number of appearances on Channel 4’s popular archaeology series Time Team. Other titles for Shire by this author are: |
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Roman Artillery £5.99 Alan Wilkins 978 0 7478 0575 5 (Shire Archaeology 86) 64 pp, 56 ills. After examining the Greek origins of torsion-powered catapults, this book describes the machines used from the time of Caesar onwards, their dominance in the warfare of the western world for over a thousand years, and their importance in the history of technology. There is extensive written evidence of artillery in action. This is supplemented by relief carvings and archaeological discoveries of actual parts. This book includes updated reconstructions of the two designs of bolt-shooters used by the Roman army, and the first publication of the author’s version of the stone-throwing ballista, based on a radical reassessment of the manuscript evidence. There are descriptions of the deployment of artillery in battle and sieges, and the range and impact of the missiles. Alan Wilkins has excavated on Roman military and civilian sites in Britain and was a field assistant to Sir Ian Richmond. He has published and field-tested updated reconstructions of the Roman army’s catapults based on his revised versions of the Greek and Latin artillery texts and the latest archaeological finds of catapult parts. |
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Roman Baths in Britain £5.99 Tony Rook 978 0 7478 0157 3 (Shire Archaeology 69) 64 pp, 73 ills. Almost every Roman site in Britain seemed to have had its baths. They needed to be strongly built and to a large extent were constructed below contemporary ground level. As a result the remains of Roman baths have resisted demolition and subsequent damage by the plough. The purpose of this book is to explain how Roman baths came to be built, how they were constructed, how they were used and how they worked. Tony Rook is a building technologist and an Extramural Tutor in Archaeology. His many reports include that on Dicket Mead, the Roman villa whose baths he sucessfully preserved in a vault under the A1(M) motorway at Welwyn, Hertfordshire.
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Roman Dress Accessories £5.99 Ellen Swift 978 0 7478 0567 0 (Shire Archaeology 85) 56 pp, 14 colour and 32 b/w ills. This book provides an introduction to Roman dress accessories – defined here as what would today be called costume jewellery (non-precious metal jewellery). Items such as bracelets and pins are widely found in the Roman period in copper alloy, bone, glass, jet, shale and other materials. Completely new objects were introduced by the Romans, spread rapidly in each area of the Empire and were adopted by local populations. Using new evidence from finds, production areas, distribution patterns and the locations of workshops are examined. The interpretation of dress accessories is introduced, with reference to the depiction of objects in Roman art. Brooches, bracelets, beads, necklaces, rings, earrings, pins and belt sets are explained in detail, and the most popular types are described and illustrated, enabling the reader to identify common objects that might be found on an archaeological site or in a museum. Ellen Swift studied archaeology at the Institute of Archaeology, University College London, and her PhD was awarded in 1999. She is currently Lecturer in Archaeology at the University of Kent. |
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Roman Forts in Britain £5.99 David J. Breeze 978 0 7478 0533 5 (Shire Archaeology 37) approx 64 pp, many b/w ills. This book examines Roman forts in Britain from the first to the fourth century. It describes the layout of a fort and traces how forts developed from the marching camps thrown up each night by the army on campaign to the almost impregnable strongholds of the Saxon Shore. Forts, fortresses, fortlets, watch-towers and signal stations are in turn examined, and the defences and individual buildings of the fort and its annex analysed. Other chapters deal with how the Roman soldiers built the fort and the life of the men stationed there. A gazetteer of forts worth visiting is included and there is also a select bibliography. The book is illustrated with both line drawings and photographs, all closely related to the text, and there are several reconstruction drawings. After graduating in modern history, David J. Breeze carried out research on the junior officers of the Roman army, being awarded his doctorate in 1970. He is now Chief Inspector of Ancient Monuments in Scotland and is a past President of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. |
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David Johnston 978 0 7478 0600 4 (Shire Archaeology 11) 72 pp, many colour and b/w ills. To many people villas symbolise the life of luxury in the countryside of Roman Britain: mosaics and wall paintings, dining rooms and sumptuous baths. This book shows that they were indeed the country houses of prosperous Britons who had learned the ways of Rome. Current research, however, is discovering another aspect: the villa as a farm, the most efficient means of producing goods for market in the new towns, and revenue for the tax collector. The book describes the villa estate and how it was managed, its fields, equipment and outbuildings. It looks at the interdependence of villas and towns and examines the fate of the villas and their estates when the Roman rule ended. Throughout the book examples are chosen from sites that can be seen today, where the visitor can glimpse the richness and variety of life in the countryside of Roman Britain. |
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Romano-British Coin Hoards £5.99 Richard Abdy 978 0 7478 0532 8 (Shire Archaeology 82) 72 pp, 50 b/w ills. Britain’s visible Roman remains are lacking in impressive monuments such as the temples, arches and amphitheatres found in France and Italy. Yet the best testament to Britain’s participation in Graeco-Roman civilisation is its ‘hidden’ monuments: spectacular hoards of household valuables such as jewellery, precious-metal table utensils or decorations and also – the concern of this book – rich hoards of gold, silver and bronze coins. Many such hoards are hidden no longer, as visits to numerous museums will quickly show. This book provides an introduction to Romano-British coin hoards and places major discoveries, new and old, in the story of the Roman monetary system in Britannia. Richard Abdy graduated from the University of Glasgow and now curates the later Roman and early Byzantine coins at the British Museum. His duties include participating in the recording and publishing of Romano-British coin hoards as part of the treasure process. This enables museums to judge whether they are worth acquiring or at least saves the information for posterity before their dispersal. |
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Romano-British Mosaics £5.99 Peter Johnson 978 0 85263 891 0 (Shire Archaeology 25) 72 pp, 51 b/w ills. This book is a concise introduction to the floor mosaics of Roman Britain. It first chronicles the history of mosaic discovery in Britain and discusses the changing attitudes towards mosaics, no longer considered merely art objects but social documents. It deals with the different periods of mosaic laying from the first-century pavements at Fishbourne, of Italian craftsmanship, to the Hadrianic and Antonine periods, when mosaic was first established in the towns. It traces the apparent collapse of the craft in the third century and the remarkable fourth-century revival, when many villas were decorated with sophisticated mosaics, and it examines the probable techniques of the Roman mosaicist by reference to both literary and archaeological evidence. A chapter deals with the recording, conservation and research of mosaics, and a list of sites where mosaics can be seen includes comments on items of outstanding interest. Mosaics are illustrated by photographs and distribution maps show the fourth-century schools of mosaic. There is a glossary of technical terms. |
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Towns in Roman Britain £5.99 Julian Bennett 978 0 7478 0473 4 (Shire Archaeology 13) 80 pp, 39 ills. Many of Britain’s towns and cities originated in the Roman period, established as part of a systematic programme to urbanise the island. Why imperial Rome initiated this programme is the first of many topics examined in the third edition of this popular introduction to the towns of Roman Britain. Written for the interested amateur and undergraduate student, this book assumes no specialist knowledge of the subject: instead, it explains the terminology and concepts to be found in other more detailed works, especially those concerned with how Roman towns were organised and administered. The principal purpose of the book, however, is to explain how the towns of Roman Britain appeared and functioned, and what happened to them during the four centuries of Roman rule. After many years as a field archaeologist in England and north Germany, Julian Bennett took a BA in Archaeology at the University of Durham, and then his PhD at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne for research on the Hadrianic Frontier of Britain. Following a spell as a Field Archaeologist with English Heritage, he embarked on a second career as an archaeological guide, and then in 1995 was appointed to his current position as Instructor in Roman Archaeology at Bilkent University, Ankara. |
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Villages in Roman Britain £5.99 Robin Hanley 978 0 7478 0411 6 (Shire Archaeology 49) 64 pp, about 30 ills. This book discusses the variety of settlements in Roman Britain which can be grouped together under the necessarily broad title of 'village' and aims to reduce some of the confusion in terminology which exists in Roman rural studies. The existence of the village as a recognisable Romano-Terminology is reviewed and other aspects referred to include settlement origins, development, affluence and economic activity, as well as their possible administrative and military roles, using evidence from a wide range of sites. Robin Hanley is a graduate of Nottingham University, obtaining a degree in archaeology in 1985. He obtained a doctorate at the same university, where the subject of his research was the villages and small towns of Avon, Somerset and Gloucestershire.
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Seán McGrail 978 0 7478 0645 5 (Archaeology 31) 72 pp, 21 colour and 33 b/w ills. After an introduction to the topic of maritime archaeology and an account of the way maritime archaeologists work, Seán McGrail describes the building and use of rafts, boats and ships in north-west Europe up to about 1500. The evidence for early sea voyages and for navigation without instruments is surveyed and there follows a summary of present knowledge about early water transport in the Mediterranean, Arabia, India, south-east Asia, China, Australia, the south Pacific and the Americas. There is a glossary of technical terms, a list of places to visit and guidance on further reading. This volume is a revised and expanded version of Ancient Boats, first published in the Shire Archaeology series in 1983. Seán McGrail served in the Royal Navy from 1946 to 1968, the last sixteen years as a pilot in the Fleet Air Arm, and qualified as a Master Mariner. Since 1993 he has been Visiting Professor at the Centre for Maritime Archaeology, University of Southampton. |
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The Archaeology of Rabbit Warrens £5.99 Tom Williamson 978 0 7478 0616 5 (Archaeology 88) 72 pp, 12 colour and 35 b/w ills. Rabbit farming was an important part of the rural economy from medieval times through to the early twentieth century, and the archaeological remains of rabbit warrens still litter the countryside. They are worthy of study in their own right, not least because the industry is poorly recorded in documentary sources. In addition, some of the characteristic features of warrens have caused confusion to archaeologists and have been misinterpreted as buildings or ‘ritual structures’ of Roman or prehistoric date. This book describes the main archaeological features of warrens and discusses their date and function, the banks and walls used to contain the rabbits, the traps used to catch both them and their vermin predators, the lodges in which the warreners lived and kept their equipment, and, above all, the ‘buries’ or pillow mounds in which the rabbits were encouraged to reside. Dr Tom Williamson is Reader in Landscape Archaeology at the University of East Anglia, Norwich. He has written widely on landscape archaeology, agricultural history and the history of landscape design. |
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Discovering Archaeology in England and Wales £5.99 James Dyer 978 0 7478 0333 1 (Db 46) 128 pp, 78 ills. This book outlines the history of man in England and Wales from earliest times to the Norman Conquest and explains the basic terminology of archaeology, the methods used by archaeologists and the ways in which one can take part in excavations. For many, visiting the tombs and hillforts of prehistoric times, the villas of the Romans and the churches of the Saxons brings history to life and brings one face to face with the past. James Dyer is a freelance archaeologist and writer. He taught archaeology for a great many years and was a principal lecturer in archaeology at a college of education. He is general editor of the Shire Archaeology series, Other titles for Shire by this author are: Discovering Prehistoric England Discovering Hillforts of England and Wales
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Aviation Archaeology in Britain £5.99 Guy de la Bédoyère 978 0 7478 0490 1 (Shire Archaeology 80) 64 pp, 54 ills. During the Second World War an average of five aircraft crashed every day in the British Isles. Many others that took off from British airfields crashed on operational duties abroad. Their remains provide a fascinating opportunity for archaeological and historical study. This book, with numerous illustrations, is a wide-ranging introduction to the aircraft, the airfields, the documentary record and the memorials to the men and women who gave their lives in the air war. Guy de la Bédoyère has degrees in Archaeology and Modern History from Durham University, the University of London and the Institute of Archaeology. His main field of study is the history and archaeology of Roman Britain, on which he has written ten books. He has presented a series on Roman Britain for BBC Radio 4 and BBC2. He has also made a number of appearances on Channel 4’s popular archaeology series Time Team, two of which involved the excavation of Second World War aircraft. Other titles for Shire by this author are: Architecture in Roman Britain
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Cave Art £5.99 Andrew J. Lawson 0 7478 0120 7 (Shire Archaeology 64) 64 pp, 47 ills. When the painted cave at Altamira in norther Spain was discovered in the late nineteenth century few believed that the decoration was the work of stone age man. As further discoveries were made in France and Spain and archaeologists proved the antiquity of the remarkable art, modern man realised the great skill and artistic ability of his forebears during the extreme cold at the end of the ice age. This book is written as an introduction to a complex and fascinating subject which is seldom presented and explained in an uncomplicated fashion. Andrew Lawson has visited many of the caves in France and Spain and as former Meetings Secretary of the Prehistoric Society organised study tours and conferences on the subject. |
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Hillforts of England and Wales £5.99 James Dyer 978 0 7478 0180 1 (Shire Archaeology 16) 64 pp, 38 ills. Amongst the most common of all British ancient monuments are those known rather misleadingly as hillforts. Whilst more than a thousand can be recognised in southern Britain, not all of them are on hill tops nor can they be identified as forts. The author considers these points in particular when he tries to assess the function and situation of hillforts, asking the questions ‘When were they built?’, ‘By whom?’ and ‘Why?’ The book considers the nature of the defences, the design of their entrances and thoughts on the internal design of these monuments, some of which are most spectacularly sited in many parts of western Britain. The book concludes with a brief examination of two typical hillforts excavated by the author. |
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Human Bones in Archaeology £5.99 Ann Stirland 978 0 7478 0412 3 (Shire Archaeology 46) 64 pp, 37 ills. Environmental archaeology is is the study of the physical environment in which people lived and includes the study of soils, food sources and animal bones. It also includes the study of the people themselves, from their skeletal remains. This is known as physical anthropology and, like any other aspect of environmental archaeology, is very specialised. This book describes in simple terms the various procedures used by the specialist. The effects of different burial conditions and rituals on the bones are explained, and ways of excavation and treatment are suggested. The human skeleton is described, as are methods of recording and analysis. The effects of accident and disease on the skeleton are included, and examples from various groups of skeletons are discussed. The numerous illustrations show the reader what to look for, and a comprehensive reading list is included. Dr Ann Stirland is a freelance consultant anthropologist and palaeopathologist who lectures to a wide range of audiences about her work and has studied many groups of skeletons. |
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Post-Medieval Pottery 1650-1800 £5.99 Jo Draper 978 0 85263 681 7 (Shire Archaeology 40) 64 pp, 44 ills. The period from 1650 to 1800 is the most interesting and complex time in the development of English ceramics, with new types of pottery being developed all through that period, and with porcelain being made in Britain for the first time. Wares ranged from the simple, everyday earthenwares of the local potters up to the sophisticated products of Staffordshire and the porcelain factories. This book combines the art-historical or collector’s approach with archaeologically excavated material. Methods of production and decoration are explained, and contemporary imports discussed. Over a hundred pots are illustrated, and a further reading list is included. Jo Draper was born in Hampshire. She has published many archaeological reports, and an even larger number of pottery reports. Archaeologically excavated pottery led her to an interest in all ceramics, especially those of the post-medieval period. Her work includes archaeology, museums, creating exhibitions and writing.
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Siege Mines and Underground Warfare £5.99 Kenneth Wiggins 978 0 7478 0547 2 (Shire Archaeology 84) 56 pp, 40 ills. The siege became established as a perennial mode of human conflict ever since the first urbanised populations constructed walls to protect themselves and their property from attack. In the annals of siege warfare, few individuals commanded more fear and respect than the miner, who with his pick, shovel and crowbar was a serious threat to the security of the strongest foundations. This book traces the development of undermining techniques from the earliest evidence of ancient and medieval siege warfare. The advent of gunpowder revolutionised the mine in the sixteenth century and sustained mining as an integral part of the sophisticated fortress warfare of the eighteenth century. Beneath the trenches in Flanders during the First World War mining and countermining reached new levels of intensity and destructive capability, before the remarkably long history of tunnelling as an offensive strategy came to an end. Kenneth Wiggins BA, MPhil, MIAI, is a consultant archaeologist. His academic interests include the study of medieval and post-medieval urban settlement and the archaeology of fortifications and military sites. |
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Textiles in Archaeology £5.99 John Peter Wild 978 0 85263 931 3 (Shire Archaeology 56) 72 pp, 47 ills. Growing enthusiasm for handspinning and weaving as studio crafts and increasing awareness on the part of archaeologists of the value of organic materials for reconstructing economic history have led to much wider interest in archaeological textiles. Although textiles are not common finds, textile implements are, and this book shows how both contribute to our appreciation of a skilled and universal ancient craft. Geographically this book is concerned with Britain and Europe and in time ranges from the neolithic to the medieval period. The processes of spinning and weaving are explained and illustrated and the reader is taken step by step through early textile manufacture. Unusual textile terms are explained and illustrated in a glossary. Attention is drawn to good collections of archaeological textiles and early textile apparatus and there is a reading list. John Peter Wild is an Honorary Research Fellow in Archaeology in the Department of Archaeology of the university and has written widely on many aspects of ancient textiles. |
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