Hengeworld (Paperback, Revised)

Recent discoveries at Stonehenge, Avebury and Stanton Drew have helped archaeologists learn more about what life was like in this country at the time of Christ, and there's some remarkable information here. The collapse of a megalith at Stonehenge on the last night of the 19th century produced astonishing new evidence about the ancient site. And right at the end of the 20th century, an equally dramatic discovery at nearby Avebury shed even more light into the dimmest recesses of history. With these findings and others, especially at Stanton Drew in Somerset, archaeologist Mike Pitts has revealed a previously missed pattern of links between Britain's ancient circles and the mysterious people who created them. This book won the British Archaeology Press Award not only for its revelations but also for the lucid way in which Pitts explains them. This is history as it should be told - with enthusiasm and details that are easy to follow. Like all archaeologists, Pitts is as much a detective as a historian. His findings show that not all our Neolithic ancestors were woad-wearing savages. Indeed, some of them possessed astronomical and building skills that would test even the best of today's scientists and engineers. Particular about the type of materials to be used for their structures, they were prepared to trek hundreds of miles for precisely the right stuff. The wherefores are clear enough, the whys are not so certain. Pitts believes that ancestor worship played a great part in Neolithic thinking but it is unclear why stone of a certain type was necessary for that purpose. This is a good, enlightening read that avoids dumbing down but provides plenty of talking points for the amateur as well as the expert. (Kirkus UK)

In November 1997 English Heritage announced the discovery of a vast prehistoric temple in Somerset. The extraordinary wooden rings at Stanton Drew are the most recent and biggest of a series of remarkable discoveries that have transformed the way archaeologists think of the great monuments in the region including Stonehenge and Avebury. The results of these discoveries have not been published outside academic journals and no one has considered the wider implications of these finds. Here Mike Pitts who has worked as an archaeologist at Avebury, and has access to the unpublished English Heritage files, asks what sort of people designed and built these extraordinary structures - the biggest in Britain until the arrival of medieval cathedrals. Using computer reconstructions he shows what they looked like - and asks what they are for. This is the story of the discovery of a lost civilisation that spanned five centuries, a civilisation that now lies mostly beneath the fields of Southern England.

General

Imprint:	Arrow Books Ltd
Country of origin:	United Kingdom
Release date:	August 2001
First published:	August 2001
Authors:	Michael Pitts
Dimensions:	198 x 129 x 27mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Paperback - B-format
Pages:	448
Edition:	Revised
ISBN-13:	978-0-09-927875-7
Categories:	Books > Humanities > Archaeology > Archaeological theory Books > Humanities > History > World history > BCE to 500 CE Books > Humanities > History > British & Irish history > General Books > Humanities > Archaeology > Archaeology by period / region > General Books > History > British & Irish history > General Books > History > World history > BCE to 500 CE Promotions
LSN:	0-09-927875-8
Barcode:	9780099278757

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