The birth of modern Britain

Sample

Roberta Gilchrist

"This book considers the archaeology of 'the other monasticism', a range of religious vocations and associated settlements - hospitals, preceptories of the military orders, monasteries for women and hermitages - that were constant and integral to medieval life, yet have remained on the margins of modern scholarship." "Evidence for the social and religious roles of the monasteries is outlined, together with a consideration of their relationships to lay society and the changing nature of religious mentalities. Archaeological and historical evidence is brought together in an examination of the meaning of monasticism to medieval people. Monastic identities are explored through the connection between material culture and issues such as belief, gender, membership of a monastic order, patronage and a sense of liminality, or otherness."--BOOK JACKET.

Sample

William R. Biers

William R. Biers wrote The Archaeology of Greece to introduce students, teachers, and lay readers to the delights of exploring the world of ancient Greece. The great popularity of the first edition testifies to his success. In his preface to the second edition, Biers points out that, while the field of Greek archaeology may seem conservative and slow-moving, it has undergone major changes, especially in regard to work on the Bronze Age. The revised edition brings information on all areas up to date, reflecting the most recent research, and it includes cross references to Perseus II, the interactive electronic data base on Archaic and Classical Greece. This edition includes new illustrations, some of recent finds, some of improved plans, and others added to enhance an explanation or to illustrate a point.

Sample

Jefferson Reid and Stephanie Whittlesey

Carved from cliffs and canyons, buried in desert rock and sand are pieces of the ancient past that beckon thousands of visitors every year to the American Southwest. Whether Montezuma Castle or a chunk of pottery, these traces of prehistory also bring archaeologists from all over the world, and their work gives us fresh insight and information on an almost day-to-day basis. Descriptions of long-ago people are balanced with tales about the archaeologists who have devoted their lives to learning more about "those who came before." Trekking through the desert with the famed Emil Haury, readers will stumble upon Ventana Cave, his, "answer to a prayer." With amateur archaeologist Richard Wetherill, they will sense the peril of crossing the flooded San Juan River on the way to Chaco Canyon. Others profiled in the book are A. V. Kidder, Andrew Ellicott Douglass, Julian Hayden, Harold S. Gladwin, and many more names synonymous with the continuing saga of southwestern archaeology. This book is an open invitation to general readers to join in solving the great archaeological puzzles of this part of the world. Moreover, it is the only up-to-date summary of a field advancing so rapidly that much of the material is new even to professional archaeologists.

Sample

Hershel Shanks

Jerusalem: An Archaeological Biography traces the turbulent history of the Holy City on the 3,000th anniversary of its establishment by King David as the capital of Israel. The reader will follow archaeologists as they discover where Jesus was buried, what Solomon's Temple looked like, and how David captured the city. Here, too, is the painful evidence of the city's repeated destruction - by the Babylonians, led by the rapacious Nebuchadnezzar, and then by the Romans, under Titus. This comprehensive, authoritative, up-to-the-minute account debunks many long-standing theories: Solomon's Stables were not built by Solomon, nor were they a stable, and the Garden of Gethsemane, where Judas betrayed Jesus and where Jesus was arrested, was not a garden but a cave. Jerusalem: An Archaeological Biography is like a visit to Jerusalem, and more instructive: 200 full-color pictures lead the reader through a clear and fascinating text filled with little-known details. This authoritative book is the perfect introduction to the Holy City.