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From the Early Neolithic farm at Knap of Howar to the flamboyant
chapel built by Italian prisoners of war in the 1940s, the Orkney
Islands are amazingly rich in historic and prehistoric sites. At
their centre is a cluster of spectacular Neolithic monuments -
domestic, ceremonial and burial - now inscribed as a UNESCO World
Heritage Site. Orkney later became a flourishing Norse centre, with
St Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall as its striking centrepiece. The
palaces of the notorious Stewart earls also survive as a relic of
Renaissance grandeur; while later periods have left evidence of
industry, war and worship. In this extensively illustrated guide,
Orkney-based archaeologist Caroline Wickham-Jones introduces more
than 60 monuments in concise and accessible terms, set in context
by a brief history of the islands. A site location directory is
also included.
The Archaeological sites of Orkney give us an unparalleled glimpse
into prehistory. Inscribed as the 'Heart of Neolithic Orkney' World
Heritage Site in 1999, four great monuments - the village of Skara
Brae, the Ring of Brodgar, the Stones of Stenness and the burial
mound of Maeshowe - are also at the centre of the archipelago's
story. This book looks at what makes these monuments so special.
Caroline Wickham-Jones explores the Neolithic world in which they
were built, how they caome to be a focus through the ages, and what
they mean today. Picts, saints, Vikings, antiquarians and tourists
populate Orkney's past: a history which is channelled through these
'dances of stones'.
At the end of the last Ice Age, sea level around the world was
lower, coastal lands stretched further and the continents were
bigger, in some cases landmasses were joined by dry land that has
now disappeared beneath the waves. The study of the now submerged
landscapes that our ancestors knew represents one of the last
barriers for archaeology. Only recently have advances in underwater
technology reached the stage where a wealth of procedures is
available to explore this lost undersea world. This volume
considers the processes behind the rising (and falling) of relative
sea-levels and then presents the main techniques available for the
study and interpretation of the archaeological remains that have
survived inundation. Case studies are used to illustrate particular
applications. Finally, a review of projects around the world
highlights the varying scale and period of sites concerned.
Submerged archaeological sites often include the preservation of
fragile materials such as decorated timbers, that shed rare detail
on the communities of prehistory; in other cases the features of
the landscape context into which they are set can be
extraordinarily well-preserved. This is not a book about shipwrecks
but about landscapes now lost beneath the waves. It is written for
all archaeologists, whether they work on land or at sea, and for
all who are interested in the past; it illustrates the shape of the
world as it once was and explains why we need to understand it. It
offers an easily accessible introduction to the exciting realm of
underwater archaeology.
The environmental crisis is one of the most pressing concerns to
face the population of the world today. The debate centres on the
way in which our current problems are of recent making and how we
might fix them. But in reality the issue is far more fundamental
and stretches back further in time than many of us might think.
This book traces the origins of our present situation to the
changes that came about with the introduction of farming to Britain
6000 years ago, and the inexorable course of human development
since then. This is a course which has set us on the path to
catastrophe. However, there is hope. The book also looks at the
much older traits from a way of life long gone in Britain, from the
hunter-gatherers who lived here over the millennia before the
introduction of farming. These traits, almost forgotten, but never
quite lost, are now re-surfacing and may hold many of the keys to
our continued existence.
This volume of papers is dedicated to Peter Woodman in celebration
of his contribution to archaeology, providing a glimpse of the many
ways in which he has touched the lives of so many. The twenty-one
contributions cover many aspects of predominantly Mesolithic
archaeology in Ireland, mainland Britain and North-west Europe,
reflecting the range and breadth of Peters own interests and the
international esteem in which his work is held. His particular
interest in antiquarians and the material they collected began
early in his career and Part 1 presents papers which deal with
artefacts and finds by antiquarians. Part 2 is concerned with
papers on fieldwork projects, both new sites and sites which have
been re-investigated, predominantly focusing on the Mesolithic
period. Part 3 presents papers on the theme of people and animals,
particularly the topic of the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition from
different angles.
FROM the top of the highest mountain to the bottom of the deepest
peat bog, the landscape of Scotland bears the mark of the people
who have lived and worked on the land for generations. It is the
role of archaeology to recognise and interpret these traces, and in
this book archaeological skills are brought to bear on the
landscape of today. Beautiful scenery conceals traces of how the
land was used by its communities - how the wealth of the land was
extracted and exploited through mining and industry; how
communities interacted through trade and warfare; and how religion
and burial were performed. Each subject is explained using
representative sites from all periods and all parts of the country,
such as farmsteads, castles, Roman remains and standing stones.
Each of the 150 sites bears an illustration and concise analysis
using a broad range of physical and human factors. Wickham-Jones
takes us to humps and bumps and piles of stone - the ordinary sites
which explorers of the countryside come across every day. After
reading this book a walk in the countryside will never be the same
again.
Conservation is a matter of great concern to everyone, and this
volume shows how archaeology contributes both a human and a time
dimension to the debate, demonstrating how the historic environment
is an integral part of the natural heritage. The twenty-two essays,
which are based on papers given at the 1991 IFA conference, fall
into four categories: principles, practice, case studies, and the
way forward.
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