Henge Monuments of the British Isles

Henge Monuments of the British Isles PDF Author: Jan Harding
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 140

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Book Description
The later Neolithic henges are a distinctive yet enigmatic class of monument. Taken as indicative of the emerging social complexity of the third millennium BC, they are often seen as the culmination of cultural achievement during this period. Yet little is actually known about these monuments -- their origins, the meanings behind their distinctive layout, the activities undertaken within their perimeters, or indeed their significance to later Neolithic society. Drawing on the full range of data available across the British Isles and on anthropological parallels, the author addresses these questions in a book that will be of interest to anyone wishing to understand Neolithic society.

Henge Monuments of the British Isles

Henge Monuments of the British Isles PDF Author: Jan Harding
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 140

Get Book Here

Book Description
The later Neolithic henges are a distinctive yet enigmatic class of monument. Taken as indicative of the emerging social complexity of the third millennium BC, they are often seen as the culmination of cultural achievement during this period. Yet little is actually known about these monuments -- their origins, the meanings behind their distinctive layout, the activities undertaken within their perimeters, or indeed their significance to later Neolithic society. Drawing on the full range of data available across the British Isles and on anthropological parallels, the author addresses these questions in a book that will be of interest to anyone wishing to understand Neolithic society.

Stonehenge

Stonehenge PDF Author: Mike Parker Pearson
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 0857207334
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 563

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Book Description
Our knowledge about Stonehenge has changed dramatically as a result of the Stonehenge Riverside Project (2003-2009), led by Mike Parker Pearson, and included not only Stonehenge itself but also the nearby great henge enclosure of Durrington Walls. This book is about the people who built Stonehenge and its relationship to the surrounding landscape. The book explores the theory that the people of Durrington Walls built both Stonehenge and Durrington Walls, and that the choice of stone for constructing Stonehenge has a significance so far undiscovered, namely, that stone was used for monuments to the dead. Through years of thorough and extensive work at the site, Parker Pearson and his team unearthed evidence of the Neolithic inhabitants and builders which connected the settlement at Durrington Walls with the henge, and contextualised Stonehenge within the larger site complex, linked by the River Avon, as well as in terms of its relationship with the rest of the British Isles. Parker Pearson's book changes the way that we think about Stonehenge; correcting previously erroneous chronology and dating; filling in gaps in our knowledge about its people and how they lived; identifying a previously unknown type of Neolithic building; discovering Bluestonehenge, a circle of 25 blue stones from western Wales; and confirming what started as a hypothesis - that Stonehenge was a place of the dead - through more than 64 cremation burials unearthed there, which span the monument's use during the third millennium BC. In lively and engaging prose, Parker Pearson brings to life the imposing ancient monument that continues to hold a fascination for everyone.

Prehistoric Britain

Prehistoric Britain PDF Author: Joshua Pollard
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1405125462
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 386

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Book Description
Informed by the latest research and in-depth analysis, Prehistoric Britain provides students and scholars alike with a fascinating overview of the development of human societies in Britain from the Upper Paleolithic to the end of the Iron Age. Offers readers an incisive synthesis and much-needed overview of current research themes Includes essays from leading scholars and professionals who address the very latest trends in current research Explores the interpretive debates surrounding major transitions in British prehistory

Orientation of Prehistoric Monuments in Britain: A Reassessment

Orientation of Prehistoric Monuments in Britain: A Reassessment PDF Author: Alistair Marshall
Publisher: Archaeopress Publishing Ltd
ISBN: 1789697069
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 704

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Book Description
Reassesses major axial alignment at many megalithic ritual and funerary monuments (Neolithic to Bronze Age) in Britain and Ireland, not in terms of abstract astronomical concerns, but as an expression of repeated seasonal propitiation involving community, agrarian economy and ancestry in an attempt to mitigate variable environmental conditions.

Is There a British Chalcolithic?

Is There a British Chalcolithic? PDF Author: Michael J. Allen
Publisher: Oxbow Books
ISBN: 1842178970
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 546

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Book Description
The Chalcolithic, the phase in prehistory when the important technical development of adding tin to copper to produce bronze had not yet taken place, is not a term generally used by British prehistorians and whether there is even a definable phase is debated. Is There a British Chalcolithic? brings together many leading authorities in 20 papers that address this question. Papers are grouped under several headings. 'Definitions, Issues, and Debate' considers whether appropriate criteria apply that define a distinctive period (c. 2450 - 2150 cal BC) in cultural, social, and temporal terms with particular emphasis on the role and status of metal artifacts and Beaker pottery. 'Continental Perspectives' addresses various aspects of comparative regions of Europe where a Chalcolithic has been defined. 'Around Britain and Ireland' presents a series of large-scale regional case studies where authors argue for and against the adoption of the term. The final section, 'Economy, Landscapes, and Monuments', looks at aspects of economy, land-use and burial tradition and provides a detailed consideration of the Stonehenge and Avebury landscapes during the period in question. The volume contains much detailed information on sites and artifacts, and comprehensive radiocarbon datasets that will be invaluable to scholars and students studying this enigmatic but pivotal episode of British Prehistory. Additional information originally found on included CD ROM can be downloaded here: https://books.casematepublishers.com/Is_There_a_British_Chalcolithic.pdf

A Neolithic and Bronze Age Landscape in Northamptonshire

A Neolithic and Bronze Age Landscape in Northamptonshire PDF Author: Jan Harding
Publisher: English Heritage
ISBN: 1848021755
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 976

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Book Description
The Raunds Area Project investigated more than 20 Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments in the Nene Valley. From c 5000 BC to the early 1st millennium cal BC a succession of ritual mounds and burial mounds were built as settlement along the valley sides increased and woodland was cleared. Starting as a regular stopping-place for flint knapping and domestic tasks, first the Long Mound, and then Long Barrow, the north part of the Turf Mound and the Avenue were built in the 5th millennium BC. With the addition of the Long Enclosure, the Causewayed Ring Ditch, and the Southern Enclosure, there was a chain of five or six diverse monuments stretched along the river bank by c 3000 cal BC. Later, a timber platform, the Riverside Structure, was built and the focus of ceremonial activity shifted to the Cotton 'Henge', two concentric ditches on the occupied valley side. From c 2200 cal BC monument building accelerated and included the Segmented Ditch Circle and at least 20 round barrows, almost all containing burials, at first inhumations, then cremations down to c 1000 cal BC, by which time two overlapping systems of paddocks and droveways had been laid out. Finally, the terrace began to be settled when these had gone out of use, in the early 1st millennium cal BC. This second volume of the Raunds Area Project, published as a CD, comprises the detailed reports on the environmental archaeology, artefact studies, geophysics and chronology.

Prehistoric Britain

Prehistoric Britain PDF Author: Timothy Darvill
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136973036
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 592

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Book Description
Britain has been inhabited by humans for over half a million years, during which time there were a great many changes in lifestyles and in the surrounding landscape. This book, now in its second edition, examines the development of human societies in Britain from earliest times to the Roman conquest of AD 43, as revealed by archaeological evidence. Special attention is given to six themes which are traced through prehistory: subsistence, technology, ritual, trade, society, and population. Prehistoric Britain begins by introducing the background to prehistoric studies in Britain, presenting it in terms of the development of interest in the subject and the changes wrought by new techniques such as radiocarbon dating, and new theories, such as the emphasis on social archaeology. The central sections trace the development of society from the hunter-gatherer groups of the last Ice Age, through the adoption of farming, the introduction of metalworking, and on to the rise of highly organized societies living on the fringes of the mighty Roman Empire in the 1st century AD. Throughout, emphasis is given to documenting and explaining changes within these prehistoric communities, and to exploring the regional variations found in Britain. In this way the wealth of evidence that can be seen in the countryside and in our museums is placed firmly in its proper context. It concludes with a review of the effects of prehistoric communities on life today. With over 120 illustrations, this is a unique review of Britain's ancient past as revealed by modern archaeology. The revisions and updates to Prehistoric Britain ensure that this will continue to be the most comprehensive and authoritative account of British prehistory for those students and interested readers studying the subject.

Building the Great Stone Circles of the North

Building the Great Stone Circles of the North PDF Author: Colin Richards
Publisher: Windgather Press
ISBN: 1909686158
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 343

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Book Description
Of all prehistoric monuments, few are more emotive than the great stone circles that were built throughout Britain and Ireland. From the tall, elegant, pointed monoliths of the Stones of Stenness to the grandeur of Stonehenge and the sarsen blocks at Avebury, circles of stone exert a magnetic fascination to those who venture into their sphere. In Britain today, more people visit these structures than any other form of prehistoric monument and visitors stand in awe at their scale and question how and why they were erected. Building the Great Stone Circles of the North looks at the enigmatic stone structures of Scotland and investigates the background of their construction and their cultural significance.

The Neolithic of Britain and Ireland

The Neolithic of Britain and Ireland PDF Author: Vicki Cummings
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1317514270
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 311

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Book Description
The Neolithic of Britain and Ireland provides a synthesis of this dynamic period of prehistory from the end of the Mesolithic through to the early Beaker period. Drawing on new excavations and the application of new scientific approaches to data from this period, this book considers both life and death in the Neolithic. It offers a clear and concise introduction to this period but with an emphasis on the wider and on-going research questions. It is an important text for students new to the study of this period of prehistory as well as acting as a reference for students and scholars already researching this area. The book begins by considering the Mesolithic prelude, specifically the millennium prior to the start of the Neolithic in Britain and Ireland. It then goes on to consider what life was like for people at the time, alongside the monumental record and how people treated the dead. This is presented chronologically, with separate chapters on the early Neolithic, middle Neolithic, late Neolithic and early Beaker periods. Finally it considers future research priorities for the study of the Neolithic.

Bronze Age Britain

Bronze Age Britain PDF Author: Michael Parker Pearson
Publisher: Batsford Books
ISBN: 184994699X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 337

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Book Description
During the Neolithic and Bronze Age - a period covering some 4,000 years from the beginnings of farming by stone-using communities to the end of the era in which bronze was an important material for weapons and tools - the face of Britain changed profoundly, from a forest wilderness to a large patchwork of open ground and managed woodland. The axe was replaced as a key symbol, first by the dagger and finally by the sword. The houses of the living came to supplant the tombs of the dead as the most permanent features in the landscape. In this fascinating book, eminent archeologist Michael Parker Pearson looks at the ways in which we can interpret the challenging and tantalising evidence from this prehistoric era. He also examines the various arguments and current theories of archeologist about these times. Drawing on recent discoveries and research, and illustrated with numerous maps, plans, reconstructions and photographs, this book shows what life was like and how it changed during the Neolithic and Bronze Age.