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Hardback has sold over 3000 copies at GBP18.95 since publication at
end of 1987. New foreward by Sir Michael Tippett The Knossos
Labyrinth published November 1989 has sold 1250 copies during first
month at GBP17.95
Since Sir Arthur Evans rediscovered the Minoans in the early 1890s, the people of Bronze Age Crete have become a fixture in European prehistory. We have defined a whole string of cultural traits that make the `Minoan' personality: elegant, graceful, lithe and athletic, these refined aesthetes surrounded themselves with sophisticated architecture and beautiful objects. Nature lovers, lovers of peace, the inhabitants of each city-state lived in harmony with their neighbours, while their fleets ruled the seas around Crete. This, at least, is the popular view of the Minoans. But how far does the later work of archaeologists in Crete support this view? In Minoans: Life in Bronze Age Crete, Rodney Castleden uses the results of recent archaeological research to produce a comprehensive new vision of the peoples of Minoan Crete. eBook available with sample pages: 0203135814
Every generation has created its own interpretation of Stonehenge,
but rarely do these relate to the physical realities of the
monument. Rodney Castleden begins with those elements which made
possible the building of this vast stone circle: the site, the
materials and the society that undertook the enormous task of
transporting and raising the great vertical stones, then capping
them, all to a carefully contrived plan. What emerges from this
detailed examination is a much fuller sense of Stonehenge, both in
relation to all the similar sites close by, and in terms of the
uses to which it was put. Castleden suggests that there is no one
'meaning' or 'purpose' for Stonehenge, that from its very beginning
it has filled a variety of needs. The Romans saw it as a centre of
resistance; the antiquaries who 'rediscovered' it in the
seventeenth century saw a long line of continuity leading back into
the nation's past. The archaeologists see it as a subject for
rational, scientific investigation; The National Trust and English
Heritage view it as an unfailing magnet for visitors; UNESCO has
declared it a World Heritage Site, the cultural property of the
whole of humanity. Lost to view amid competing interests over the
millenia are the uses it has served for those who live within its
penumbra, for whom Stonehenge has never been 'lost' or
'rediscovered'. It exists in local myth and legend, stretching back
beyond history.
Knossos, like the Acropolis or Stonehenge, is a symbol for an
entire culture. The Knossos Labyrinth was first built in the reign
of a Middle Kingdom Egyptian pharaoh, and was from the start the
focus of a glittering and exotic culture. Homer left elusive clues
about the Knossian court and when the lost site of Knossos
gradually re-emerged from obscurity in the nineteenth century, the
first excavators - Minos Kalokairinos, Heinrich Schliemann, and
Arthur Evans - were predisposed to see the site through the eyes of
the classical authors. Rodney Castleden argues that this line of
thought was a false trail and gives an alternative insight into the
labyrinth which is every bit as exciting as the traditional
explanations, and one which he believes is much closer to the
truth. Rejecting Evans' view of Knossos as a bronze age royal
palace, Castleden puts forward alternative interpretations - that
the building was a necropolis or a temple - and argues that the
temple interpretation is the most satisfactory in the light of
modern archaeological knowledge about Minoan Crete.
The Mycenaean World belonged to the legendary heroes who conquered
Troy and stand at the heart of Greek identity. This new book brings
their culture and society to life with wit and elegance. Since the
discovery of the remains of the civilization of Mycenae in the
1870s, knowledge of these Bronze Age Greeks has increased
dramatically. This text is a major new contribution to our
understanding of this crucial period.. Stepping into the place of
the collapsed civilization of Minoan Crete and the Peloponnese (the
subject of Castleden's earlier bestselling study, Minoans), the
Mycenaeans dominated mainland Greece and the Greek islands from
about 1600-1250 BC. Their exploits became the subject of the
legends that were immortalized by Homer. In lively prose informed
by the latest research, this vivid study delivers the fundamentals
of Mycenaean civilization, its hierarchy, economy, religion and
arts. Controversially, Castleden interprets the well-known palaces
of Mycenae, Tiryns, Pylos and elsewhere as temples. Their sea
empire and their relations with other peoples of the Bronze Age
world, including the Hittites, the Egyptians and the Trojans,
receive full attention. book is an indispensable starting point for
the study of the Greek Bronze Age. Full bibliography and copious
illustrations support this comprehensive interpretation of a
civilization whose legend still lives on.
The Mycenaean World belonged to the legendary heroes who conquered
Troy and stand at the heart of Greek identity. This new book brings
their culture and society to life with wit and elegance. Since the
discovery of the remains of the civilization of Mycenae in the
1870s, knowledge of these Bronze Age Greeks has increased
dramatically. This text is a major new contribution to our
understanding of this crucial period.. Stepping into the place of
the collapsed civilization of Minoan Crete and the Peloponnese (the
subject of Castleden's earlier bestselling study, Minoans), the
Mycenaeans dominated mainland Greece and the Greek islands from
about 1600-1250 BC. Their exploits became the subject of the
legends that were immortalized by Homer. In lively prose informed
by the latest research, this vivid study delivers the fundamentals
of Mycenaean civilization, its hierarchy, economy, religion and
arts. Controversially, Castleden interprets the well-known palaces
of Mycenae, Tiryns, Pylos and elsewhere as temples. Their sea
empire and their relations with other peoples of the Bronze Age
world, including the Hittites, the Egyptians and the Trojans,
receive full attention. book is an indispensable starting point for
the study of the Greek Bronze Age. Full bibliography and copious
illustrations support this comprehensive interpretation of a
civilization whose legend still lives on.
Contents: 1. Who this Arthur Was: The Once and Future King; Doubts about Arthur's Existence 2. The Documents: Constantius' Life of Germanus; Writings on Stones; Genealogies; Nennius' Historical Miscellany; Poetry; The Anglo-saxon Chronicle; Gilda's Book of Complaint; Geoffrey of Monmouth 3. The Archaeology: Background Problems; Strongholds of the North; strongholds of Wales and the Borders; Dark Age Dumnonia; Castle Dore and Other Sites 4. Arthur's Britain: St Germanus and Vortigern; Ambrosius Aurelianus; Christian Missionaries; The Saxons 5. Arthur: The Man. the King and the Kingdom: The Man; 'The most powerful leader of the Britons'; Arthur's Power Base; Arthur as a Christian King 6. Camelot: Colchester, Cadbury and Caerlaverock, Tintagel, Viroconium, Killibury, The Hammerer 7. The Death of Arthur: The last battle; Arthur's Disappearance; Avalon; 'The Wonder of the World'
Plato's legend of the famed lost continent of Atlantis has become notorious among scholars as the most absurd lie in literature. Exciting our imagination and our curiosity, Atlantis Destroyed explores the possibility that Plato's account is the historical truth. In this fascinating account, Rodney Castleden considers the widely-debated location of Atlantis and its destruction, the literary origins of utopian Atlantis and how this became confused with Plato's authentic account and also the remarkable parallels between Plato's narrative and the bronze age civilisation in the Aegean.
King Arthur: The Truth Behind the legend offers a more complete picture of Arthur's Britain and his place in it than ever before. This exciting new investigation argues not only that Arthur did exist, as a Dark Age chieftain, but that many of the romantic tales - Merlin, Camelot, and Excalibur - are rooted in truth. In his quest for the real King Arthur, Rodney Castleden uses up-to-date archaeological and documentary evidence to recreate the history and society of Dark Age Britain and its kings. He revives the possibility that Tintagel was an Arthurian residence, and proposes a radical new theory - that Arthur escaped alive from his final battle. A location is even suggested for perhaps the greatest mystery: the whereabouts of Arthur's grave. eBook available with sample pages: 0203022165
Plato's legend of Atlantis has become notorious among scholars as the absurdest lie in literature. Atlantis Destroyed explores the possibility that the account given by Plato is historically true. Rodney Castleden first considers the location of Atlantis re-examining two suggestions put forward in the early twentieth century; Minoan Crete and Minoan Thera. He outlines the latest research findings on Knossos and Bronze Age Thera, discussing the material culture, trade empire and agricultural system, writing and wall paintings, art, religion and society of the Minoan civilization. Castleden demonstrates the many parallels between Plato's narrative and the Minoan Civilization in the Aegean. Fired by the imagination a new vision of Atlantis has arisen over the last one hundred and fifty years as a lost utopia. Rodney Castleden discusses why this picture arose and xplains how it has become confused with Plato's genuine account. eBook available with sample pages: 0203024869
Every generation has its own view of Stonehenge, but rarely do
these interpretations relate to the physical, ecological, economic
and social realities of the monument and its prehistoric past. In
"The Making of Stonehenge" Rodney Castleden provides a far more
comprehensive sense of Stonehenge--both in relation to the similar
sites nearby and in terms of its uses. First describing those
elements which made possible the assembly of this vast stone
circle, Castleden also speculates about the society which undertook
the enormous task of transporting and raising these giant vertical
stones.
Castleden suggests that there is no one "meaning" or "purpose" for
Stonehenge, but that from its very beginning it has filled a
variety of needs. The Romans saw it as a center of resistance; the
antiquaries who "rediscovered" it in the 17th century believed it
gave them insight into the nation's past. Archaeologists see it as
a subject for rational, scientific investigation; the National
Trust and English Heritage view it as an unfailing tourist
attraction; and UNESCO has declared it a World Heritage Site, the
cultural property of the whole of humanity. Castleden examines how
the ancient reality of Stonehenge has been lost amid these
competing views, and considers the consequences of Stonehenge's
continual mythologization and reappropriation.
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.
Thoroughly researched, Rodney Castleden's Minoans: Life in Bronze
Age Crete here sues the results of recent research to produce a
comprehensive new vision of the peoples of Minoan Crete. Since Sir
Arthur Evans rediscovered the Minoans in the early 1900s, we have
defined a series of cultural traits that make the 'Minoan
personality': elegant, graceful and sophisticated, these nature
lovers lived in harmony with their neighbours, while their fleets
ruled the seas around Crete. This, at least, is the popular view of
the Minoans. But how far does the later work of archaeologists in
Crete support this view? Drawing on his experience of being
actively involved in research on landscapes processes and
prehistory for the last twenty years, Castleden writes clearly and
accessibly to provide a text essential to the study of this
fascinating subject.
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.
3300 years ago Agamemnon, king of Mycenae in Greece, attacked the
city of Troy in western Anatolia. The bloody siege that followed
gave rise to one of the most famous legends of the ancient world,
and the search for the truth behind the legend has intrigued
scholars ever since. In this fascinating new investigation Rodney
Castleden reconsiders all the evidence in order to establish the
facts and give a historical basis to the most potent myth of
ancient warfare.
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History of Seaford
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Discovery Miles 2 840
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