Author: Alistair Moffat
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
ISBN: 0500778582
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 444
Book Description
A pioneering look at early Scotland that transforms prehistory into gripping narrative. The story of the land that became Scotland is one of dramatic geological events and impressive human endeavor. Alistair Moffat’s gripping narrative ranges from the great thaw at the end of the Ice Age, which was instrumental in shaping Scotland’s magnificent landscape; through the megalith builders, the Celts, and the Picts; to the ascension of King Constantine II. Moffat deploys his knowledge with wit and deftness, interweaving the story with numerous special features on topics as diverse as cave drawings of dancing girls, natural birth control, the myth of Atlantis, and the Zoroastrian Towers of Silence—all of them valuable, sometimes quirky, additions to the whole picture. Erudite and entertaining, Before Scotland transforms our understanding of a neglected period and is essential reading for anyone interested in the people, events, and monuments that make up Scotland’s captivating past.
Before Scotland
Author: Alistair Moffat
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780500297254
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
A pioneering look at early Scotland that transforms prehistory into gripping narrative history. The story of the land that became Scotland is one of dramatic geological events and impressive human endeavour. Alistair Moffat's gripping narrative ranges from the great thaw at the end of the Ice Age - which was instrumental in shaping Scotland's magnificent landscape - through the megalith builders, the Celts and the Picts, to the ascension of King Constantine II. Moffat deploys his knowledge with wit and deftness, interweaving the story with numerous special features on topics as diverse as cave drawings of dancing girls, natural birth control, the myth of Atlantis and the Zoroastrian Towers of Silence - all of them valuable, sometimes quirky, additions to the whole picture. Rounding out the account is a selection of carefully chosen colour photographs that give a strong sense of the Scottish landscape and monuments. Erudite and entertaining, Before Scotland transforms our understanding of a neglected period. A story of dramatic geological events and impressive human endeavour, it is essential reading for anyone interested in the land that became Scotland.
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780500297254
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
A pioneering look at early Scotland that transforms prehistory into gripping narrative history. The story of the land that became Scotland is one of dramatic geological events and impressive human endeavour. Alistair Moffat's gripping narrative ranges from the great thaw at the end of the Ice Age - which was instrumental in shaping Scotland's magnificent landscape - through the megalith builders, the Celts and the Picts, to the ascension of King Constantine II. Moffat deploys his knowledge with wit and deftness, interweaving the story with numerous special features on topics as diverse as cave drawings of dancing girls, natural birth control, the myth of Atlantis and the Zoroastrian Towers of Silence - all of them valuable, sometimes quirky, additions to the whole picture. Rounding out the account is a selection of carefully chosen colour photographs that give a strong sense of the Scottish landscape and monuments. Erudite and entertaining, Before Scotland transforms our understanding of a neglected period. A story of dramatic geological events and impressive human endeavour, it is essential reading for anyone interested in the land that became Scotland.
Before Scotland: A Prehistory
Author: Alistair Moffat
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
ISBN: 0500778582
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 444
Book Description
A pioneering look at early Scotland that transforms prehistory into gripping narrative. The story of the land that became Scotland is one of dramatic geological events and impressive human endeavor. Alistair Moffat’s gripping narrative ranges from the great thaw at the end of the Ice Age, which was instrumental in shaping Scotland’s magnificent landscape; through the megalith builders, the Celts, and the Picts; to the ascension of King Constantine II. Moffat deploys his knowledge with wit and deftness, interweaving the story with numerous special features on topics as diverse as cave drawings of dancing girls, natural birth control, the myth of Atlantis, and the Zoroastrian Towers of Silence—all of them valuable, sometimes quirky, additions to the whole picture. Erudite and entertaining, Before Scotland transforms our understanding of a neglected period and is essential reading for anyone interested in the people, events, and monuments that make up Scotland’s captivating past.
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
ISBN: 0500778582
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 444
Book Description
A pioneering look at early Scotland that transforms prehistory into gripping narrative. The story of the land that became Scotland is one of dramatic geological events and impressive human endeavor. Alistair Moffat’s gripping narrative ranges from the great thaw at the end of the Ice Age, which was instrumental in shaping Scotland’s magnificent landscape; through the megalith builders, the Celts, and the Picts; to the ascension of King Constantine II. Moffat deploys his knowledge with wit and deftness, interweaving the story with numerous special features on topics as diverse as cave drawings of dancing girls, natural birth control, the myth of Atlantis, and the Zoroastrian Towers of Silence—all of them valuable, sometimes quirky, additions to the whole picture. Erudite and entertaining, Before Scotland transforms our understanding of a neglected period and is essential reading for anyone interested in the people, events, and monuments that make up Scotland’s captivating past.
Scotland: A History from Earliest Times
Author: Alistair Moffat
Publisher: Birlinn
ISBN: 085790874X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 561
Book Description
In this book, Alistair Moffat brings vividly to life the story of this great nation, from the dawn of prehistory through to the twenty-first century. Ambitious, richly detailed and highly readable, Scotland: A History From Earliest Times skilfully weaves together a dazzling array of fact and anecdote from a vast range of sources. The result is an imaginative, informative, balanced and varied portrait of Scotland, seen not just through the experience of the kings, saints, warriors, aristocrats and politicians who populate the pages of conventional history books, but also through that of ordinary people who have lived Scotland's history and have played their own important part in shaping its destiny.
Publisher: Birlinn
ISBN: 085790874X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 561
Book Description
In this book, Alistair Moffat brings vividly to life the story of this great nation, from the dawn of prehistory through to the twenty-first century. Ambitious, richly detailed and highly readable, Scotland: A History From Earliest Times skilfully weaves together a dazzling array of fact and anecdote from a vast range of sources. The result is an imaginative, informative, balanced and varied portrait of Scotland, seen not just through the experience of the kings, saints, warriors, aristocrats and politicians who populate the pages of conventional history books, but also through that of ordinary people who have lived Scotland's history and have played their own important part in shaping its destiny.
Before Scotland
Author: Alistair Moffatt
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
ISBN: 0500778574
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 444
Book Description
The story of the land that became Scotland is one of dramatic geological events and impressive human endeavour. Alistair Moffats gripping narrative ranges from the great thaw at the end of the Ice Age which was instrumental in shaping Scotlands magnificent landscape through the megalith builders, the Celts and the Picts, to the ascension of King Constantine II. Moffat deploys his knowledge with wit and deftness, interweaving the story with numerous special features on topics as diverse as cave drawings of dancing girls, natural birth control, the myth of Atlantis and the Zoroastrian Towers of Silence all of them valuable, sometimes quirky, additions to the whole picture. Rounding out the account is a selection of carefully chosen colour photographs that give a strong sense of the Scottish landscape and monuments. Erudite and entertaining, Before Scotland transforms our understanding of a neglected period. A story of dramatic geological events and impressive human endeavour, it is essential reading for anyone interested in the land that became Scotland.
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
ISBN: 0500778574
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 444
Book Description
The story of the land that became Scotland is one of dramatic geological events and impressive human endeavour. Alistair Moffats gripping narrative ranges from the great thaw at the end of the Ice Age which was instrumental in shaping Scotlands magnificent landscape through the megalith builders, the Celts and the Picts, to the ascension of King Constantine II. Moffat deploys his knowledge with wit and deftness, interweaving the story with numerous special features on topics as diverse as cave drawings of dancing girls, natural birth control, the myth of Atlantis and the Zoroastrian Towers of Silence all of them valuable, sometimes quirky, additions to the whole picture. Rounding out the account is a selection of carefully chosen colour photographs that give a strong sense of the Scottish landscape and monuments. Erudite and entertaining, Before Scotland transforms our understanding of a neglected period. A story of dramatic geological events and impressive human endeavour, it is essential reading for anyone interested in the land that became Scotland.
The Prehistory Of Scotland
Author: V. Gordon Childe
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317606477
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 210
Book Description
This volume, originally published in 1935, sought to reveal the significance of Scottish prehistory for the development of understanding of European prehistory. Written at a time of rapid accumulation of new relics and monuments and the insights from them, Professor Childe presented some important new data and made tentative conclusions for the future results from these finds. After an introduction to the geography of Scotland the book looks at evidence from cairns, tombs and stone circles and then addresses chronologically the evidence from Early Bronze Age to Late and onto the Iron Age, with a chapter devoted to forts, towns and castles. It ends with a discussion of what happened in the Dark Ages and addresses questions about the Celts and the Picts and the diversity of the peoples in Scotland.
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317606477
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 210
Book Description
This volume, originally published in 1935, sought to reveal the significance of Scottish prehistory for the development of understanding of European prehistory. Written at a time of rapid accumulation of new relics and monuments and the insights from them, Professor Childe presented some important new data and made tentative conclusions for the future results from these finds. After an introduction to the geography of Scotland the book looks at evidence from cairns, tombs and stone circles and then addresses chronologically the evidence from Early Bronze Age to Late and onto the Iron Age, with a chapter devoted to forts, towns and castles. It ends with a discussion of what happened in the Dark Ages and addresses questions about the Celts and the Picts and the diversity of the peoples in Scotland.
Military History of Scotland
Author: Spiers Edward M. Spiers
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
ISBN: 0748654011
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 857
Book Description
The Scottish soldier has been at war for over 2000 years. Until now, no reference work has attempted to examine this vast heritage of warfare.A Military History of Scotland offers readers an unparalleled insight into the evolution of the Scottish military tradition. This wide-ranging and extensively illustrated volume traces the military history of Scotland from pre-history to the recent conflict in Afghanistan. Edited by three leading military historians, and featuring contributions from thirty scholars, it explores the role of warfare in the emergence of a Scottish kingdom, the forging of a Scottish-British military identity, and the participation of Scots in Britain's imperial and world wars. Eschewing a narrow definition of military history, it investigates the cultural and physical dimensions of Scotland's military past such as Scottish military dress and music, the role of the Scottish soldier in art and literature, Scotland's fortifications and battlefield archaeology, and Scotland's military memorials and museum collections.
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
ISBN: 0748654011
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 857
Book Description
The Scottish soldier has been at war for over 2000 years. Until now, no reference work has attempted to examine this vast heritage of warfare.A Military History of Scotland offers readers an unparalleled insight into the evolution of the Scottish military tradition. This wide-ranging and extensively illustrated volume traces the military history of Scotland from pre-history to the recent conflict in Afghanistan. Edited by three leading military historians, and featuring contributions from thirty scholars, it explores the role of warfare in the emergence of a Scottish kingdom, the forging of a Scottish-British military identity, and the participation of Scots in Britain's imperial and world wars. Eschewing a narrow definition of military history, it investigates the cultural and physical dimensions of Scotland's military past such as Scottish military dress and music, the role of the Scottish soldier in art and literature, Scotland's fortifications and battlefield archaeology, and Scotland's military memorials and museum collections.
The Scots
Author: Alistair Moffat
Publisher: Birlinn
ISBN: 085790020X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 314
Book Description
History has always mattered to Scots, and rarely more so than now at the outset of a new century, with a new census appearing in 2011 and after more than ten years of a new parliament. An almost limitless archive of our history lies hidden inside our bodies and we carry the ancient story of Scotland around with us. The mushrooming of genetic studies, of DNA analysis, is rewriting our history in spectacular fashion. In The Scots: A Genetic Journey, Alistair Moffat explores the history that is printed on our genes, and in a remarkable new approach, uncovers the detail of where we are from, who we are and in so doing colour vividly a DNA map of Scotland.
Publisher: Birlinn
ISBN: 085790020X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 314
Book Description
History has always mattered to Scots, and rarely more so than now at the outset of a new century, with a new census appearing in 2011 and after more than ten years of a new parliament. An almost limitless archive of our history lies hidden inside our bodies and we carry the ancient story of Scotland around with us. The mushrooming of genetic studies, of DNA analysis, is rewriting our history in spectacular fashion. In The Scots: A Genetic Journey, Alistair Moffat explores the history that is printed on our genes, and in a remarkable new approach, uncovers the detail of where we are from, who we are and in so doing colour vividly a DNA map of Scotland.
Ancient Lives
Author: Fraser Hunter
Publisher:
ISBN: 9789088903755
Category : Scotland
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
Ancient Lives provides new perspectives on objects, people and place in early Scotland and beyond.This scholarly and accessible volume provides a show-case of new information and new perspectives on material culture linked, but not limited to, Scotland.
Publisher:
ISBN: 9789088903755
Category : Scotland
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
Ancient Lives provides new perspectives on objects, people and place in early Scotland and beyond.This scholarly and accessible volume provides a show-case of new information and new perspectives on material culture linked, but not limited to, Scotland.
Arthur and the Lost Kingdoms
Author: Alistair Moffat
Publisher: Birlinn
ISBN: 0857902261
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 352
Book Description
The Holy Grail, the kingdom of Camelot, The Knights of the Round Table and the magical sword Excalibur are all key ingredients of the legends surrounding King Arthur. But who was he really, where did he come from, and how much of what we read about him in stories that date back to the Dark Ages is true? So far historians have failed to show that King Arthur really existed at all, for a good reason - they have been looking in the wrong place. In this fascinating and thought-provoking book, Alistair Moffat shatters all existing assumptions about Britain's most enigmatic hero. With reference to literary sources and historical documents, to archaeology and the ancient names of rivers, hills and forts, he strips away a thousand years of myth to unveil the real King Arthur. And in doing so he solves one of the greatest riddles of them all - the site of Camelot itself.
Publisher: Birlinn
ISBN: 0857902261
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 352
Book Description
The Holy Grail, the kingdom of Camelot, The Knights of the Round Table and the magical sword Excalibur are all key ingredients of the legends surrounding King Arthur. But who was he really, where did he come from, and how much of what we read about him in stories that date back to the Dark Ages is true? So far historians have failed to show that King Arthur really existed at all, for a good reason - they have been looking in the wrong place. In this fascinating and thought-provoking book, Alistair Moffat shatters all existing assumptions about Britain's most enigmatic hero. With reference to literary sources and historical documents, to archaeology and the ancient names of rivers, hills and forts, he strips away a thousand years of myth to unveil the real King Arthur. And in doing so he solves one of the greatest riddles of them all - the site of Camelot itself.
The Archaeology and Prehistoric Annals of Scotland
Author: Sir Daniel Wilson
Publisher: Library of Alexandria
ISBN: 1465608133
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 841
Book Description
The zeal for Archæological investigation which has recently manifested itself in nearly every country of Europe, has been traced, not without reason, to the impulse which proceeded from Abbotsford. Though such is not exactly the source which we might expect to give birth to the transition from profitless dilettantism to the intelligent spirit of scientific investigation, yet it is unquestionable that Sir Walter Scott was the first of modern writers "to teach all men this truth, which looks like a truism, and yet was as good as unknown to writers of history and others, till so taught,—that the bygone ages of the world were actually filled by living men." If, however, the impulse to the pursuit of Archæology as a science be thus traceable to our own country, neither Scotland nor England can lay claim to the merit of having been the first to recognise its true character, or to develop its fruits. The spirit of antiquarianism has not, indeed, slumbered among us. It has taken form in Roxburgh, Bannatyne, Abbotsford, and other literary Clubs, producing valuable results for the use of the historian, but limiting its range within the Medieval era, and abandoning to isolated labourers that ampler field of research which embraces the prehistoric period of nations, and belongs not to literature but to the science of Nature. It was not till continental Archæologists had shewn what legitimate induction is capable of, that those of Britain were content to forsake laborious trifling, and associate themselves with renewed energy of purpose to establish the study on its true footing as an indispensable link in the circle of the sciences. Amid the increasing zeal for the advancement of knowledge, the time appears to have at length come for the thorough elucidation of Primeval Archæology as an element in the history of man. The British Association, expressly constituted for the purpose of giving a stronger impulse and a more systematic direction to scientific inquiry, embraced within its original scheme no provision for the encouragement of those investigations which most directly tend to throw light on the origin and progress of the human race. Physical archæology was indeed admissible, in so far as it dealt with the extinct fauna of the palæontologist; but it was practically pronounced to be without the scientific pale whenever it touched on that portion of the archæology of the globe which comprehends the history of the race of human beings to which we ourselves belong. A delusive hope was indeed raised by the publication in the first volume of the Transactions of the Association, of one memoir on the contributions afforded by physical and philological researches to the history of the human species,—but the ethnologist was doomed to disappointment. During several annual meetings, elaborate and valuable memoirs, prepared on various questions relating to this important branch of knowledge, and to the primeval population of the British Isles, were returned to their authors without being read. This pregnant fact has excited little notice hitherto; but when the scientific history of the first half of the nineteenth century shall come to be reviewed by those who succeed us, and reap the fruits of such advancement as we now aim at, it will not be overlooked as an evidence of the exoteric character of much of the overestimated science of the age. Through the persevering zeal of a few resolute men of distinguished ability, ethnology was at length afforded a partial footing among the recognised sciences, and at the meeting of the Association to be held at Ipswich in 1851, it will for the first time take its place as a distinct section of British Science.
Publisher: Library of Alexandria
ISBN: 1465608133
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 841
Book Description
The zeal for Archæological investigation which has recently manifested itself in nearly every country of Europe, has been traced, not without reason, to the impulse which proceeded from Abbotsford. Though such is not exactly the source which we might expect to give birth to the transition from profitless dilettantism to the intelligent spirit of scientific investigation, yet it is unquestionable that Sir Walter Scott was the first of modern writers "to teach all men this truth, which looks like a truism, and yet was as good as unknown to writers of history and others, till so taught,—that the bygone ages of the world were actually filled by living men." If, however, the impulse to the pursuit of Archæology as a science be thus traceable to our own country, neither Scotland nor England can lay claim to the merit of having been the first to recognise its true character, or to develop its fruits. The spirit of antiquarianism has not, indeed, slumbered among us. It has taken form in Roxburgh, Bannatyne, Abbotsford, and other literary Clubs, producing valuable results for the use of the historian, but limiting its range within the Medieval era, and abandoning to isolated labourers that ampler field of research which embraces the prehistoric period of nations, and belongs not to literature but to the science of Nature. It was not till continental Archæologists had shewn what legitimate induction is capable of, that those of Britain were content to forsake laborious trifling, and associate themselves with renewed energy of purpose to establish the study on its true footing as an indispensable link in the circle of the sciences. Amid the increasing zeal for the advancement of knowledge, the time appears to have at length come for the thorough elucidation of Primeval Archæology as an element in the history of man. The British Association, expressly constituted for the purpose of giving a stronger impulse and a more systematic direction to scientific inquiry, embraced within its original scheme no provision for the encouragement of those investigations which most directly tend to throw light on the origin and progress of the human race. Physical archæology was indeed admissible, in so far as it dealt with the extinct fauna of the palæontologist; but it was practically pronounced to be without the scientific pale whenever it touched on that portion of the archæology of the globe which comprehends the history of the race of human beings to which we ourselves belong. A delusive hope was indeed raised by the publication in the first volume of the Transactions of the Association, of one memoir on the contributions afforded by physical and philological researches to the history of the human species,—but the ethnologist was doomed to disappointment. During several annual meetings, elaborate and valuable memoirs, prepared on various questions relating to this important branch of knowledge, and to the primeval population of the British Isles, were returned to their authors without being read. This pregnant fact has excited little notice hitherto; but when the scientific history of the first half of the nineteenth century shall come to be reviewed by those who succeed us, and reap the fruits of such advancement as we now aim at, it will not be overlooked as an evidence of the exoteric character of much of the overestimated science of the age. Through the persevering zeal of a few resolute men of distinguished ability, ethnology was at length afforded a partial footing among the recognised sciences, and at the meeting of the Association to be held at Ipswich in 1851, it will for the first time take its place as a distinct section of British Science.