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Dorchester-on-Thames and its abbey have been subjects of antiquarian interest for more than 450 years, and during that time much has been written about them. They are, however, still far from being comprehensively studied and recorded. Indeed, the most substantial architectural description of the medieval church was written as long ago as 1845, and a thoroughgoing reappraisal has long been overdue. In this major new study on the origins, history and architecture of Dorchester Abbey, Warwick Rodwell assembles a huge amount of material from observations during repair and conservation and information derived from archaeological excavation, as well as the unexpected discovery of previously unstudied and unpublished topographical and architectural material, housed in several archives. The volume is divided into two parts: the first contains an account of the archaeology of the site and the architectural development of the abbey, while the second comprises a series of detailed notes and observations on the present structure, its fittings and furnishings. ... Read more

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In the 1980s, work began on construction of the vast underground Castle Mall shopping centre in Norwich. The associated archaeological excavation was one of the largest of its kind in northern Europe, designed to investigate not only the castle bailey but also pre-Conquest settlement and, for the post-Conquest period, areas of the surrounding medieval city. The report describes evidence for late Saxon streets, houses and graveyards; the developing fortifications of an urban castle established before 1100; gradual encroachment by the townspeople into the castle precinct after the 13th century; documentation relating to the ownership and development of properties within the Castle Fee; crafts and industries associated with these plots - notably bell-founding; a late medieval assemblage of great significance from the barbican well including ironwork, leather waste, bird and animal bone; and sizeable finds assemblages resulting from the steady infilling of castle ditches with domestic and commercial refuse. ... Read more

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The Shapwick Project began in 1989 as a ten-year, multi-disciplinary landscape investigation of the evolution of early and late medieval settlement patterns. This volume sets out the methods used in the exploration of this wetland-edge landscape and summarises the long term micro-history of a community and its lands from early prehistory to the present day. ... Read more

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Excavation in 1987 at the site of this church revealed much of the graveyard, which had been in use from the 12th to the 15th century. Remains of over 1000 individuals were removed archaeologically from the cemetery. Of these, 436 were articulated individuals, the rest being represented as charnel. Remains of 413 individuals were complete enough to merit detailed examination and analysis, and this report is concerned with the palaeopathology of these burials. The analysis of the human remains produced dramatic and unprecedented results in the field of epidemiology, including an important early group of six cases of treponemal disease. A classic example of Paget's disease and possibly a rare form of chondrodysplasia (dwarfism) have also been identified, as well as a wide range of other pathology. The earliest documentary reference to the church occurs in 1254, and includes the comment ubi sepeliuntur suspense ('where those who were hanged are buried'). Burial ceased when the church became redundant in 1468, and the parish was amalgamated with All Saints to the south. ... Read more

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This study of post-medieval ceramic production and consumption in the Lower Rhineland is prefaced by a survey of previous work and approaches in the field. With the initiation of large-scale urban excavations in the Lower Rhineland during the 1980s, particularly in the town of Duisburg, an extensive sequence of pottery has been recovered dating from c .1400 to 1800, enabling archaeologists for the first time to re-examine traditional chronologies, attributions and socio-economic interpretations. This survey comprises 95 individual assemblages of pottery from sites excavated in Duisburg and from towns and rural sites in the region. (Studies in Contemporary and Historical Archaeology is a new series of edited and single-authored volumes intended to make available current work on the archaeology of the recent and contemporary past. The series brings together contributions from academic historical archaeologists, professional archaeologists and practitioners from cognate disciplines who are engaged with archaeological material and practices.) ... Read more

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The eighth annual Symposium on Mediterranean Archaeology took place from the 20th to 22nd February 2004 at Trinity College, Dublin. Since its inception, SOMA has sought to provide postgraduate researchers in Mediterranean archaeology with a forum in which to present their work and give voice to new trends in Mediterranean archaeological research. This year, one of the main aims of the organisers was to make the symposium inclusive of regions and time periods not normally covered by the conference, i.e., to reach beyond the eastern Mediterranean region, and the Bronze Age and Classical periods. The presentations, therefore, covered places as diverse as Libya, Sardinia, and Jerusalem, and ranging chronologically from Neanderthals to Crusaders. Contents: (1) Italian Wine between the Late Republic and the First Century AD: Analysis of Production and Trade through the Principal Types of Amphora (Francesco Aliperti); (2) The Necropolis of Castelluzzo at Militello in the Catania Valley (Italy) (Susanna Amari); (3) The Maritime Villae of Antium: A Case Study in Coastal Settlement (Tjark Blokzijl); (4) Origins of the Romano-African House (Margherita Carucci); (5) Homesickness and Greek Architecture in a Colony: The example of Cyrene (Libya) (Luca Cherstich); (6) Making aeScentsAe of Flowery Pots. Considering Minoan Ceramic Vessels with Botanical Relief (Jo Day); (7) Beyond the Consumer City; the Case of Ancient Antioch (Andrea Umberto De Giorgi); (8) The site of Iuvanum (Abruzzi, Italy) in the Classical period; Its Public and Private Buildings: A Preliminary Study of a Taverna (Vanessa D'Orazio); (9) Central Adriatic Sea: real aeimportuosa litoraAe? (Domenico Fossataro); (10) Understanding the Limits of Pollution: The Use of the Dead (Florentia Fragkopoulou); (11) Monkeying Around the Mediterranean: A Fresh Perspective on Ancient Primates (Cybelle Greenlaw);(12) Special sites in the Cretan Neolithic Landscape (Heinrich Hall); 13) From Antiquity To Feudalism. At The Southern Border Of Navarra. The Design of a Study in Landscape Archaeology (Jes Lorenzo Jimenez); (14) The Urban Development of Leptis Magna in the Late First Century BC and Early First Century AD (Ibrahim Kreetallah); (15) Eteocretans in The Bronze Age? The Far East of Crete During The LM II-III Periods (1450-1100 BC) (Charlotte Langohr); (16) Reconstructing Minoan Monumentality (Quentin Letesson); (17) Terracotta Human Figures and Figurines from the LBA Cyclades (The Cases of Ayia Irini and Phylakopi): Art, Religion, and Politics (Dionysia Marinou); (18) The Myth of the Synagogue on Delos (Lidia Matassa) 19) A aeHall of the MusesAe at Cyrene (Libya)? (Oscar Mei); (20) Disentangling Material Cultures: Late Roman and Sasanian Facet Cut Glassware in Late Antiquity (Hallie Meredith-Goymour); (21) Cities Under Siege? A Look at Bronze Age Iconography (Angelos Papadopoulos); (22) Symbols of Superiority: Western Greek votive offerings at Delphi (Elvira Rocca); (23) Sacred or Profane: Swallow-Painted Nippled Ewers from Akrotiri (Heather Mae Russell); (24) Is There ONE Crusader Archaeology? (James G. Schryver); (25) Exploring the Divine Cow in Ancient Egypt (Nina Shiel); (26) The Uses of Bow Imagery in a Greek Context: The Enemy Within (Joe Skinner); (27) Altars and cult installations of Punic tradition in North Africa (Federica Spagnoli); (28) Sun, Sea and Archaeological Sites:Archaeology and the State - A View from Cyprus (Deirdre Stritch); (29) Body, Senses and Space in Late Bronze Age Central Macedonia, Greece (Vasileios Tsamis); (30) New Look at Minoan Metalworking Techniques (Thomas Tselios); (31) Debates and Trends on Heritage Management and Architectural Conservation in the Mediterranean Region: The Issue of the Driving Forces Behind Conservation Planning (Kalliopi Vacharopoulou). ... Read more

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The latest archaeological methods provide fascinating insights into the perplexing history of Stonehenge. Over 200 striking full-color photographs reveal the collection of stones from various perspectives, allowing readers to sense the mysterious aura that surrounds this place. Maps and charts. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

An appeal for protection
As much a promotional effort as a history, this book provides an excellent starting point for newcomers to Stonehenge.Even from this distance, Souden provides a close-up view of the monument, its landscape in time and space, and the history of thinking concerning its cause.A first look suggests this is a "picture" book.The photographs and graphics are uniformly of high quality.There are fine maps and diagrams, but the real value is in the perspective drawings of Stonehenge in the past and the present.These are ideally suited to improving the view for either visitors to the site or for those of use distant from Salisbury.Souden follows the direction pointed out by British Heritage to round out this study with a plan for a Stonehenge theme park.

Enthusiasm for the illustrations, however, should not deter the interested reader from the worth of Souden's narrative.He has performed a Herculean task in synopsising a wealth of information about the monument and the environment in which it stands.He provides a fine overview of the likely social scene in place during the periods when Stonehenge and some of its neighbouring sites were being constructed.In developing his theme, he introduces us to some of the contentious topics that have occupied scholars for centuries.Did the "bluestones" come from Wales, or were they glacial debris?Is Stonehenge a finished, if ruined, monument, or is there indication that attention was still being paid to it before the whole area was abandoned?These are questions still plaguing students, and Souden has done a fine summary of them.Given the nature of this publication, we mustn't expect overmuch from the Bibliography.As a starting point, the list has much to recommend it, combining older and modern studies.[stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

Stonehenge Revealedby David Souden
I bought this book when it first became available.The pictures are beautiful and the language is in simple terms that normal people can understand. The layout of the book is well organised and the diagrams areeasy to read. ... Read more

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Recent developments in molecular genetics are currently transforming our understanding of the population history of the world. Their application to the prehistory and history of Europe was the focus of an interdisciplinary meeting held in Cambridge in 1999 as a Euroconference of the Human Genome Diversity Group. The papers describe the latest developments in this fast-moving area, with a clear and accessible discussion of the results of mitochondrial DNA and Y-chromosone analysis, and of their integration with the archaeological and climatic record. For the first time it is here possible to assess the impact of molecular genetics upon European prehistory. This volume will thus be essential reading for all those, including archaeologists and geneticists, concerned with the reconstruction of the prehistory of Europe and with this new, multidisciplinary field of research. ... Read more

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Using the data presented in their companion volume, An Atlas of Rural Settlement in England, the authors offer preliminary explorations of some of the patterns revealed by comparing their new maps with the distribution of other types of landscape elements, archaeological sites and building styles. These two studies represent the culmination of a decade of research for English Heritage's Monuments Protection Programme. The Atlas defines the varied regional character of England's rural settlement and the former distribution of cleared land, wooded land and open pastures, a quilt with origins dating from one or two thousand years ago or more. This volume explores some of the complex interactions and negotiations between the physical and cultural factors that underlie both national patterns and local and regional contrasts. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (2)

Penetrating Secrets
I think I was expecting more than the author intended to deliver, so maybe it is unfair for me to give only three stars, but on the other hand I may not be the only one to make that mistake because of the vagueness of the title and presentation.

I was hoping for an anthropological examination of sacred landscape being seen as sexual and as the body of the earth spirit, perhaps with some discussion of shamanism in connection with the topic. Despite its title, though, landscape wasn't really what this book was about. It addressed only man-made sites. The early parts were best, addressing the subject of ancient monuments with their fertility connections, phallic representations, and sun-penetrating-the-barrow-to-fertilise-the-earth kind of things.

But even there, sometimes the hints dropped sounded more interesting than the material covered. I would like to hear more about Irish traditions about valleys and springs representing the female principle, but all it got was a mention. References for further reading on that would have been nice. Also, to be honest, the phrase "ritual copulation" got a little old.

Later in the book, in more recent times the topic of sex must not have provided enough subject matter, so it was watered down to places connected with love, along with stories of dalliances. The whole thing made me squirmy and I was reminded of a Monty Python bit I'd forgotten, the one in which Cleese comes into a couple's apartment to talk about shellfish and can't get their attention until he mentions sex, so he starts getting more and more lurid, making up sex lives for the poor inert creatures in order to keep his audience rivetted. The bit was meant as a commentary on television and how it's guided by people's taste, but in places this book took on some of Cleese's character's desperation in its efforts to tittilate. I began to fear, uneasily, that in the book truths were being similarly stretched.

Don't get me wrong. I did enjoy the book for the most part. The pictures are lovely and information on sites is generally good. It makes a good addition to a collection of books on megaliths, and a cute book to show to your kids when they're home from college, unless you're too prudish.

Maybe that was my biggest disconnect with the author. She represents all of the sexual imagery as somehow surprising and risque, but for anyone who has been paying attention to discussions of sacred landscape recently, these topics become matter-of-fact pretty quickly. You'll enjoy the book more if for you the whole idea of sexual imagery has retained its naughty giggle quality.

A fertile landscape
This fascinating book investigates the erotic landscapes and monuments that were created over 5000 years in the British Isles, from prehistoric times through the Roman and Victorian eras to the present. The informative and well-researched text is enhanced by copious full colour illustrations.

The chapters are titled From Eden To Eternity (includes the Mound of Venus in West Wycombe, the Cerne Abbas Giant and the Long Man of Wilmington), Romancing The Stone (standing stones and stone circles), From Womb To Tomb (caves), The Goddess Landscape (including the Paps Of Anu and Jura), When In Rome (Roman baths of Bath, Hadrian's Wall), The Serpent In The Garden Of Eden, Licentious Landscapes, We Are Surprisingly Amused, Signs Of The Times (including the work of sculptor Tim Shaw at the Eden Project at St. Austell in Cornwell and the garden of Derek Jarman at Dungeness on the Kent shore, made of pebbles, poles and driftwood).

It is a very revealing study of a landscape that is suffused with fertility images, both ancient and modern. It really makes you think! The book contains a bibliography and a Site Gazetteer. I also recommend the book Stone Age Soundtracks by Paul Devereux, for another perspective on ancient monuments. ... Read more

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Recent research emphasises that feud and vendetta are not merely to be seen as expressions of chaos, anarchy and lawlessness but can be perceived as key to the understanding of these societies. Feud and vendetta were integrated parts of society and played a fundamental role in shaping pre-modern societies at all levels. ... Read more