The Lake Districtis famous for its magnificent scenery, but it is also an area that has been inhabited from early prehistoric times. This book by a former county archaeologist of Cumbriais both an introduction to the prehistoric archaeology of Cumbriaand a field guide to the area. More than 100 Neolithic and Bronze Age sites are described, in particular the many conspicuous stone circles. There is new material on major sites such as the Swinside circle and previously unpublished information on both well-known and new sites. The whole work is illustrated by a fine range of photographs and plans.
Whether it is Hadrian's Wall, Kendal Castle or the beautiful fells of the Lake District – for thousands of years people have found a certain elegance and utility in stone. Nestled amongst these common relics are a multitude of massive stone monuments, built over 3,000 years before British shores were ever touched by Roman sandals. Cumbria’s 'megalithic' monuments are among Europe's greatest and best-preserved ancient relics but are often poorly understood and rarely visited. Cumbria’s Prehistoric Monuments aims to dispel the idea that these stones are merely ‘mysterious’. Instead, within this book you will find credible answers, using up-to-date research, excavation notes, maps and diagrams to explore one of Britain's richest archaeological landscapes. Featuring stunning original photography and newly illustrated diagrams of every megalithic site in the county, Adam Morgan Ibbotson invites you to take a journey into a land sculpted by ancient hands.
These papers highlight recent archaeological work in Northern England, in the commercial, academic and community archaeology sectors, which have fundamentally changed our perspective on the Neolithic of the area. Much of this was new work (and much is still not published) has been overlooked in the national discourse. The papers cover a wide geographical area, from Lancashire north into the Scottish Lowlands, recognising the irrelevance of the England/Scotland Border. They also take abroad chronological sweep, from the Mesolithic/Neolithic transition to the introduction of Beakers into the area. The key themes are: the nature of transition; the need for a much-improved chronological framework; regional variation linked to landscape character; links within northern England and with distant places; the implications of new dating for our understanding ‘the axe trade; the changing nature of settlement and agriculture; the character early Neolithic enclosures; the need to integrate rock art into wider discourse.
This lavishly illustrated volume presents a state of the art survey of the ancient rock art of Britain and Ireland. Bringing together new discoveries and new interpretations, it enhances our understanding and further establishes ancient British and Irish rock art as a significant archaeological assemblage worthy of attention and additional study.
This collection of articles helps to explain why the Bronze Age has come to hold such a fascination within modern archaeological research. By providing new theoretical and analytical perspectives on the evidence new interpretative avenues have opened, it situates the history of the Bronze Age in both a local and a global setting.
"This comprehensive, illustrated guide to Britain's earthworks, henges, and standing stones explores how and why they were built and used, offering a tantalizing glimpse into the religious, civic, and social practices of their creators. An A-Z section details all the site types in the British Isles, and each monument is identified by latitude and longitude, making it easy for history buffs to find them using maps and geo-location devices."--Amazon.com
‘Weaving together science, history, antiquarianism and art, this stimulating collection of essays amply demonstrates Thomas Pennant’s centrality to a broad range of British Enlightenment debates and discourses, especially those relating to Britain’s so-called “Celtic Fringe”. At the same time, it underscores the epistemological importance of travel and travel writing in the late eighteenth century.’ —Carl Thompson, Senior Lecturer in English, St Mary’s University, UK
Recumbent Stone Circles are a distinctive architectural style of British stone circle. Built circa 2500 BC, they dominated the Late Neolithic landscape of Aberdeenshire, Scotland. This book discusses their archaeology and, using experimental archaeology, explains how the original builders went about building these magnificent stone circles. Sharing the results of the author’s unique experiments, the book demonstrates how measured ropes were used to set out the geometrical design of the stone rings, as well as dictate the dimensions of the circle’s respective orthostats. Moreover, given the book’s provision of instructions on to repeat these experiments, the reader will be able to explore how these circles not only captured their corresponding astronomy, but how they were also positioned in the landscape so that they were astronomically aligned towards each other, creating a network of inter-aligned stone circles that enabled the prehistoric communities to synchronise both time and space across the vast regions of Aberdeenshire.
Landmark Visitors Guides are practical guides designed for the independent traveller. They are written in the form of touring itineraries and include maps and twon plans with plenty of colour photographs to whet the appetite whilst still at home.
The Rough Guide to the Lake District is the best all-purpose guide to the English Lake District, beautifully illustrated with colour photos and full-colour maps. Comprehensive, lively reviews outline the finest places to stay and eat for every budget, all fully revised for this seventh edition by our Lakes expert. Whether you're looking for a walker's hostel or boutique hotel, simple café or swanky gastropub, farmhouse B&B or country-house hotel, The Rough Guide to the Lake District has the lowdown on all the best deals. The guide includes detailed information on the best way to get around by public transport, plus special features on the great outdoors focussing on local walks, classic hikes, mountain climbs, lake cruises and family adventures. The "Things Not to Miss" section pinpoints some of the absolute must-sees, while author picks throughout The Rough Guide to the Lake District highlight personal favourites and special places that are less well known. Whether you're on a walking holiday or family break, you can discover all the facts you need - from full opening times and admission prices to festival dates and walking routes, plus history, culture, nature, and wildlife of the English lakes to help you make the most of your time in the Lake District.
Reveals how Stonehenge was an extraordinary astronomical calendar used in the cultivation of ingredients for long-forgotten botanical cures • Explores how Stonehenge and other stone circles were ancient healing sanctuaries and celestial calculators for the preparation of natural medicines • Explains how the megalithic priesthood--and their successors, the Druids--developed astonishing memory techniques to preserve knowledge over generations • Draws upon the very latest discoveries from recent archaeological excavations and overlooked historical source material Stonehenge is just one of thousands of stone circles erected throughout Britain and Ireland for over three millennia from 3,000 BC on. How did this building tradition survive for so long, over such a large area and with such complexity and uniformity, when the people of the British Isles lived in separate, isolated communities and left no evidence of a central leadership or obvious communication network? Graham Phillips argues that these stone circles are evidence of an astonishing system of healthcare and preservation of ancient medical knowledge that held together a society scattered across the British Isles. With stones aligned to the sun, moon, and certain stars, these ancient monuments enabled the precise timings necessary for the cultivation of medicinal plants. He explains how the megalithic priesthood possessed medical knowledge well beyond their time and may even have discovered a cure for cancer. Furthermore, because they had no form of writing, the megalithic people developed phenomenal memory techniques to preserve their knowledge over many generations, resulting in a class of wisdomkeepers that were not only healers but the living libraries of their culture. Drawing upon the latest discoveries from recent archaeological excavations and overlooked historical source material, Phillips reveals that the megalithic culture survived far longer than previously thought and that the people who held it together were an enigmatic shamanic sect ultimately called the Druids. Uncovering the secrets of ancient megalithic culture and the purpose of their enigmatic stone circles, Phillips contends that all the evidence has now been gathered to unlock the secrets encoded in the stones--and perhaps discover remedies for diseases still uncured by modern medicine today.
