Routledge Library Editions: Archaeology: Neolithic Britain: New Stone Age Sites Of England, Scotland

Reissuing works originally published between 1930 and 1996, this set presents a rich selection of renowned and lesser-known scholarship across the subject. Classic previously out-of-print works are brought back into print here in this set of research, guidance and surveys. It includes works of theory and of practical research, ranging over a wide range of themes from archaeology and place-names to industrial archaeology to the rock art of Africa. The phrase 'stone age' has come to mean different things to different people. To some it implies denigration, and a lack of culture, but archaeologists increasingly regard it as a period of achievement. The climax of the stone age in Britain, the neolithic period (4700-2000 BC), was a period of startlingly varied achievement, and it is this phase that Rodney Castleden documents in this book. Britain is astonishingly rich in neolithic sites, which supply us with evidence of the complex archaic societies that flourished the length and breadth of the island. At its highest development, the neolithic economy depended on networks of communication that spread right across into mainland Europe. The neolithic Britons created some magnificent monumental architecture at their cult centres, such as Avebury and Maes Howe. All too often the remains of that neolithic world have survived only in severely damaged fragments, sometimes hastily retrieved with the limited resources of a rescue dig: yet even these provide us with valuable insights. Where more sustained work has been possible, as at Fengate, Avebury, Crickley Hill or Stonehenge, we can begin to see a more continuous image of the neolithic way of life. Rodney Castleden lists and surveys a wide variety of domestic, ceremonial and burial sites, some of them recently discovered. He selects some of these for detailed description and explanation; from these a sense of the diversity and vitality of the neolithic communities emerges. Cover 1 Half Title 2 Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 Original Title Page 6 Original Copyright Page 7 Dedication 8 Table of Contents 10 List of illustrations 12 Acknowledgements 16 Introduction: ‘Saying it with stone' 18 ENGLAND 26 Avon 26 Bedfordshire 29 Berkshire 33 Buckinghamshire 34 Cambridgeshire 36 Cheshire 45 Cornwall (excluding Scilly) 46 Cumbria 71 Derbyshire 79 Devon 94 Dorset 98 Essex 120 Gloucestershire 122 Greater London 132 Hampshire 133 Hereford and Worcester 138 Hertfordshire 140 Humberside 143 Kent 148 Lancashire 152 Leicestershire 152 Lincolnshire 154 Merseyside 157 Norfolk 158 Northamptonshire 162 Northumberland 165 Nottinghamshire 168 Oxfordshire 169 Scilly Isles 178 Shropshire 180 Somerset 181 Staffordshire 187 Suffolk 190 Surrey 192 East Sussex 196 West Sussex 204 Tyne and Wear 211 Warwickshire 211 Wiltshire 213 North Yorkshire 265 West Yorkshire 274 SCOTLAND 294 Borders 294 Central 296 Dumfries and Galloway 297 Fife 304 Grampian 305 Highland 311 Caithness 311 Inverness 324 Nairn 325 Ross and Cromarty 325 Sutherland 326 Lothian 330 Orkney 331 Shetland 363 Strathclyde 372 Tayside 383 Western Isles 386 WALES 394 Anglesey (part of Gwynedd) 394 Clwyd 403 Dyfed 407 Glamorgan 414 Gwent 419 Gwynedd (excluding Anglesey) 420 Powys 428 Appendix: Radiocarbon dates 436 Bibliography 438 Index 443 This book is one of a series of volumes resulting from the World Archaeological Congress, September 1986 which addressed world archaeology in its widest sense, investigating how people lived in the past and how and why changes took place to result in the forms of society and culture which exist now. The series brought together archaeologists and anthropologists from many parts of the world, academics from contingent disciplines, and also non-academics from a wide range of cultural backgrounds who could lend their own expertise to the discussions. This book is an exploration of the way in which the animal world features in the works of art of a variety of cultures of different times and places. Contributors have adopted a variety of perspectives for looking at the complex ways in which past and present humans have interrelated with beings they classify as animals. Some of the approaches are predominantly economic and ecological, some are symbolic and others philosophical or theological. All these different views are included in the interpretation of the artworks of the past, revealing some of the foci and inspirations of cultural attitudes to animals. Originally published 1989 The climax of the Stone Age in Britain, the Neolithic period (4700-2000BC), was a period of startling achievement. The British Isles are rich in Neolithic sites, which give us evidence of a complex and surprisingly developed archaic society. The author surveys 1100 secular and ceremonial sites in Britain, selecting some for detailed explanation; from these a sense of the diversity and dynamism of the living Neolithic communities emerges. He presents a comprehensive, profusely illustrated and up-to-date view of the Neolithic, organised by county.Archaeologists and prehistorians will find this book of interest and it should prove indispensable to students of archaeology as a source of information about the British Neolithic. The climax of the Stone Age in Britain, the Neolithic period (4700-2000BC), was a period of startling achievement. The British Isles are rich in Neolithic sites, which give us evidence of a complex and surprisingly developed archaic society. The author surveys 1100 secular and ceremonial sites in Britain, selecting some for detailed explanation; from these a sense of the diversity and dynamism of the living Neolithic communities emerges. He presents a comprehensive, profusely illustrated and up-to-date view of the Neolithic, organised by county. Archaeologists and prehistorians will find this b Experimental archaeology is a new approach to the study of early man. By reconstructing and testing models of ancient equipment with the techniques available to early man, we learn how he lived, hunted, fought and built. What did early man eat? How did he store and cook his food? How did he make his tools and weapons and pottery? Such everyday questions, besides the more dramatic mysteries associated with the monuments of Easter Island and Stonehenge and the colonization of Polynesia, can all be explored by experiment "The climax of the Stone Age in Britain, the Neolithic period (4700-2000BC), was a period of startling achievement. The British Isles are rich in Neolithic sites, which give us evidence of a complex and surprisingly developed archaic society. The author surveys 1100 secular and ceremonial sites in Britain, selecting some for detailed explanation; from these a sense of the diversity and dynamism of the living Neolithic communities emerges."--Publisher's website A comprehensive discussion of what can be established about the culture and daily life of medieval Germany. Besides methodological questions, the author considers what can be learnt about the history of settlement and architecture, of technology, of economic and social matters, of churches and missions, and of population, diet and vegetation. This volume develops a new approach to plant exploitation and early agriculture in a worldwide comparative context. The studies throughout the book come from a worldwide range of geographical contexts, from the Andes to China and from Australia to the Upper Mid-West of North America. Originally published 1989. The British Isles are rich in Neolithic sites, which are evidence of a complex, rich and highly developed society. Rodney Castleden surveys 1100 of the known sites in mainland Britain, and from them he selects a number for detailed explanation. Steinarchitektur - Besiedlungsgeschichte - andere europäische Länder