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Eight specialists paint a portrait of one of the most brilliant centers of Christian culture. They describe the Abbey and its role in the making of the English identity, and chart the Abbey's religious, architectural, artistic and intellectual achievements. The illustrations include reconstructions, plans and photographs.
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Third-generation Norweigan-American Rolf M. Nilsestuen summarizes hundreds of pages of documented evidence and proves conclusively that Norwegians were in Minnesota in 1362. The book includes works by Holand, Landsverk, and Hall, as well as a series of articles by Dr. Richard Nielsen that refute every negative argument and attest every word and symbol with new evidence from medieval documents. "The Kensington Runestone Vindicated" exposes the hoax perpetrated by Wahlgren and Wallace and reveals the shameful neglect of this matter by the Smithsonian Institution. With a liberal dose of common sense, human understanding, and Scandinavian wit, Nilsestuen brings this somewhat esoteric subject down to earth. Contents: Introduction; History; The Discovery; The Evidence; Weathering; Mooring Holes; Norse Artifacts; The Mandans; The Verendre Stone; Additional Finds; The Inscription; The Runes; The Numerals; Wahlgren; Wahlgren vs. The Evidence; "Vikings in America"; Other Critics; Dr. Erik Molke; Birgitta L. Wallace; Olof Ohman; Summary; Conclusion; Epilogue; The Runestone vs. the Smithsonian; The Newport Tower. ... Read more

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Nilsestuen rants, but makes a strong argument
Nilsestuen is not a scholar, but rather an iracible retiree who has reviewed and analyzed the major prior studies of the Kensington Rune Stone. He vociferously denounces the shallow investigations by presumably respected runic scholars who concluded that the stone was a fraud. Nilsestuen rants, but makes a strong argument that it is a genuine relic of Viking explorers who reached what is now Minnesota. ... Read more

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A general study of the extensive archaeological research carried out in the field of abbeys and priories during the last 100 years. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

The title is spelled wrong
The correct title of this book is 'Shoes and Pattens' and it's available at Amazon. A patten is a wooden base worn with a shoe to protect the shoe from mud and yuck. The book 'Shoes and Pattens' does contain patterns.

One of the Greatest books about medieval shoes on the market
The tower of London Press has never dissapointed me, and this book is no exception. Having done quite a bit of research on clothing artifacts, I can tell you that this book is excellent.The book contains quality picturesof shoes spanning the periods for anyone into such groups as the SCA,Renfaires, IFGS, and many other historical recreation groups.One ofthe best features of this text is that there are generally three views ofeach shoe.The first is the photograph of the actual item. The second is adrawing of the item, with any parts that time may have removed added backin.The third, and most unique that I've come across, is a picture of thepieces of the shoeflattened. This flattened view lets you make your owntruly medieval shoes with a few simple measurements and pretty basic tools. Some knowledge of leatherwork is helpful.I also found it useful tounderstand how to utilise a sock-pattern for making a shoe.This book isan excellent reference for the shoe enthusiast from the level of thebeginner all the way up to the seasoned expert. ... Read more

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This book offers fresh insights into aspects of early medieval technology and social economy, and explores changes in patterns of trade, the rise of urbanism, cultural attitudes and environmental issues through a discussion of the supply, production and use of leather and fur. ... Read more

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Thier's dissertation examines Old English terminology for ships and parts of ships in order to throw light on seafaring and shipbuilding during the early medieval period. Initially, the study draws on iconographic, archaeological, documentary and literary sources to discuss the types of vessel that were in use. Thier then argues that the etymology of the descriptive words, many of which were inherited from or related to Scandinavian and German words, supports the idea that there was a North Sea culture of seafaring during this period. Much of the study comprises a catalogue of examples where the emphasis is on linguistics rather than history. German text. ... Read more

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Half a century ago, archaeology entered a new field of work with the excavation of ancient ships found under water. A new discipline emerged: maritime archaeology. In this book, Ole Crumlin-Pedersen, the Danish pioneer of maritime archaeology, gives a fascinating overview of more than forty of years of work. Beginning with the natural conditions for seafaring, the author explains the evolution of basic water craft into those plank-built, sail-carrying ships which enabled the seaborne activities of the Viking Age and the following medieval periods, concluding with case studies of the maritime cultural landscape of Roskilde Fjord and the ship as symbol. The themes of this volume were first presented in six Rhind Lectures for the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland in Edinburgh in 2008. ... Read more

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The Spring edition of the Journal of European Archaeology. It includes coverage of the "Copper Age" in the Italian Peninsula; aspects of gender in prehistoric Italy; social factors in the prehistory of the Iberian Peninsula; and Scandinavian warriors. The Journal costs #55.00 per annum. ... Read more

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This archaeological work deals with a range of Europe-focused issues. For example, it includes coverage of cult phenomena during the Neolithic in the Italian peninsula; interpretation of late-Bronze-Age communities in south-eastern Poland; the archaeology of thirst; and Alamannic princely forts. ... Read more

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A unique study of medieval monastic life that for the first time integrates the results of modern archaeological investigation with conventional historical and architectural research. Norton Priory itself has been the subject of the largest campaign of excavation of any monastic house in Europe, and Dr. Greene's results and analysis are therefore of the widest interest. ... Read more

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Set at the western tip of Mull in the Inner Hebrides, the small island of Iona is the burial place of kings and the kernel from which Christianity took root among the pagan Picts, as well as being a symbol of Scottish independence. The island was also St Columba's choice for his spiritual base in 563. This book tells the archaeological story of Iona, from Columba's monastery to the island's restoration and renewal in the late-1870s, assessing the many excavations on the island itself within the wider context of Pictland and Northumbria. ... Read more

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Ranging from the earliest settlements through the emergence of Minoan civilization to the barbarian world at the end of the Roman Empire, Prehistoric Europe provides a fascinating look at how successive cultures adapted to the landscape of Europe. In synthesizing the diverse findings of archeology, Barry Cunliffe and a team of distinguished experts capture the sweeping movements of peoples, the spread of agriculture, the growth of metal working, and the rise and fall of cultures.

For centuries, we knew little of the European civilizations that preceded classical Greece or arose outside of the Roman Empire, beyond ancient myths and the writings of Roman observers.Now the most recent discoveries of archeology have been synthesized into one exciting volume.Featuring hundreds of stunning photographs, this book provides the most complete account available of the prehistory of European civilization. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Why can't academics write well?
I read this book through once, and have read the second half again.I found it very difficult to keep track of different tribes and their movements from Central Asia, into the Balkans and onward.Some of the contributors wrote extremely clearly and their chapters were easy to follow,Others, including the editor, made me cringe.I nearly put the book down while reading the introduction and had to resist taking a red pen to the text.I found the description of the rise of metallurgy interesting although oversimplified.No mention was made of small indigenous metal working.I also agree with the previous reviewer on the confusing description of bell beaker pottery and the use of this style of pottery.Having found bell beaker shards, I would like to know more about the spread and use of this highly decorative and stylized pottery.

Disappointing
I expected the book to be somewhat uneven in quality since it has 11 authors and 13 chapters with each chapter written by one individual.But the chapters on the Neolithic era are particularly weak.These chaptersdivide Europe into the southeast region, the southwest, etc., at the samemoment in time, without showing movements of people and cultures intodifferent regions at somewhat later or earlier times.The regions are justarbitrary compass points; they don't reflect the significance oftransportation along coasts and rivers, for instance.Within a region thepresentation does little to distinguish the agricultural people near thecoasts from less settled or highland people living further inland.Thecoverage of Iberia is flimsy at best, and too brief.The account of thebell-beaker people is totally confusing.I could go on.On the otherhand, the chapters surrounding the era of the Romans are really great. (ButI didn't buy a book entitled "Prehistory" to read about thatera.)As far as the book's illustrations go, there are over 10,000 dolmensand other prehistoric megalithic monuments in Western Europe today, but thebook has just a single photograph of one, and that particular one happensto be covered with earth, the photograph is taken from the air, and all yousee is a mere mound of grass.Reviewing the illustrations as a whole, someof them are worthless, but the majority are well worthwhile pictures ofweapons, drinking vessels, jewelry, statues, etc. A few of them are incolor. There are also some maps. Maps can be a great help in presentingfindings in a work like this, but the book doesn't utilize maps as much asit should (and again the Neolithic and Bronze ages are the weakest in thisregard). ... Read more

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The Knights of St John, or the Knights Hospitaller, were one of the most famous Christian military orders. Their humble origins lay in helping early pilgrims at Jerusalem from the turn of the 12th century, but they developed into a true multi-national organisation with headquarters in almost all European countries. The Priory of England was centred at Clerkenwell, London, where the surviving medieval crypt and Tudor gatehouse are well-known landmarks. Several large-scale excavations by the Museum of London in the 1980s and 90s have been combined with antiquarian surveys in this monograph to produce a remarkable picture of a priory. Founded in 1144, this highly unusual religious house evolved from a round-naved church and associated buildings into one of London's premier palatial residences. Unusually, the priory's buildings were retained after the Dissolution of the Hospitallers in 1540, becoming the residence of nobility and the location, for a while, of the Royal Master of the Revels. There was only ever one headquarters of the Knights Hospitaller in England: this book provides a fascinating blend of the history and archaeology of a unique site. ... Read more

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Excavation along the route of the Newbury Bypass revealed ten archaeological sites, two of which contained in situ Mesolithic and Early Roman remains of national importance. The evidence is presented in chronological order and includes a Mesolithic `home base' site, signs of possible Bronze Age occupation, four Roman farmsteads and two medieval pottery and tile production sites. The excavations as a whole revealed changing patterns in the use and settlement of the environment in a large area of varied topography and geology. The specialist reports are presented in a companion volume by M Allen et al. ... Read more

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The Cotswold Water Park Project is a landscape study centred upon parts of the Upper Thames Valley within what is now the Cotswold Water Park. The report is based upon four key excavated rural settlements, the most extensive being that at Claydon Pike, which dated primarily from the middle Iron Age to the late Roman period. A number of middle Saxon burials were also found. The other Water Park settlements dated to the late Iron Age-Roman period and the 2nd to 3rd century AD. The report has incorporated the results of these excavations into a wider synthesis of landscape development in the region, including aspects of material culture, environment and the economy. ... Read more

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This book brings together for the first time archaeological findings from key ports throughout the Indian Ocean - the Red Sea, South Arabia, the Gulf and India - to build up a balanced picture of relations between East and West. Combined evidence from artefacts and documents reveals a complex situation whereby ordinary goods were carried alongside the more costly items - such as pepper, aromatics and gems - that drove the trade. Here the focus is on ordinary artefacts that uncover a network of Romans, Arabs, Sasanians and Indians who participated in the trade. The evidence from ceramics, especially, shows the interplay between these different ethnic groups, where they lived, when the trade was active, and even how it was organised.The account is arranged geographically, drawing on new evidence from the author's experience of archaeological sites and materials on the Red Sea and in India. A final chapter sketches the changing fortunes of trade between the first century BC and the seventh century AD in the light of these important new archaeological discoveries. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Indo-Roman Trade
I always wanted to read something about this topic, as there were many indication of contacts between ancient Rome and ancient India, but nothing specific. These contacts help to explain for example possible Indian influence on Gnostics in Egypt, the occurance of a statue of an Indian goddess in Pompei, mocaics showing Asian tigers in arenas etc. The book brings together archeological finds along the route and writtendocuments and helps to understand the scale of these contacts. ... Read more