Flat-bottom craft boatbuilding in the Somerset Levels and Moors, rivers and coastal waters.

At last a paperback edition of this standard work on marine archaeology. Séan McGrail's study received exceptional critical acclaim when it was first published in hardback in 1987 and it is now revised and published in paperback for the first time. Professor McGrail provides an authoritative survey of water transport across Northern Europe from the Late Palaeolithic to the later Middle Ages, using evidence of excavations, but also documentary sources, iconographic and ethnographic evidence. In the process he answers such key questions as How were these boats built? What sort of environment were they used in? What speeds could they achieve? and how were they navigated?

First published in 1990. Of all the monuments left by the past, Stonehenge is the most evocative, the most memorable and the most mysterious. Whilst the monuments of other cultures have gradually surrendered their mysteries, Stonehenge alone seems to stimulate endless conjecture. Rodney Castleden's vivid presentation of the world of the megaliths answers many of the most baffling questions about Stonehenge. There are, he stresses, few absolute certainties, but from the vast body of evidence assembled during the last hundred years it is now possible to get much closer to the truth than ever before. Who built the monuments and for what purpose? How were the bluestones moved from the sacred mountains of the west to Salisbury Plain? Who were the people responsible for this amazing undertaking, and what did they think and believe?

A BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week. Flooding has always threatened the rainy, wind-swept islands of the United Kingdom, but it is becoming more frequent and more severe. Combining travel writing and reportage with readings of history, literature and myth, Edward Platt explores the way floods have shaped the physical landscape of Britain and left their mark on its inhabitants. During the course of two years, which coincided with the record-breaking floods of the winter of 2013–14, Platt travelled around the country, visiting places that had flooded and meeting the people affected. He visited flooded villages and towns and expanses of marsh and Fen threatened by the winter storms, and travelled along the edge of the drowned plain that used to connect Britain to continental Europe. He met people struggling to stop their houses falling into the sea and others whose homes had been engulfed. He investigated disasters natural and man-made, and heard about the conflicting attitudes towards those charged with preventing them. The Great Flood dramatizes the experience of being flooded and considers what will happen as the planet warms and the waters rise, illuminating the reality behind the statistics and headlines that we all too often ignore.

Much of England's rich archaeological heritage lies in the countryside. Many monuments, such as barrows, hillforts, and Roman villas, are familiar features fo the landscape, while other sites lie buried or only partly visible. These remains are the result of the impact on the landscape of the countless generations of people who have lived, worked and died within it. The cumulative effect is the landscape we know today, in which the historical dimension is an integral component of the valued whole and an important part of what most people in England are increasingly concerned to see protected and conserved. The archaeological heritage, however, is a finite and fragile resource, and much of it has been lost in the last two decades as a result of increasing pressures on farming, industry, and commerce to maximise the return on investment in the land. The conservation of what remains, therefore, needs to be given urgent consideration.This report has three main goals. First, it aims to present the background to the recognition, investigation, and management of the archaeological resource. Second, it attempts to review what is known of the resource, the threats currently posed to it, and the ways in which it can be exploited and conserved. Finally, it looks towards the development and promotion of a secure future for ancient monuments in the countryside.

The Celtic World is a detailed and comprehensive study of the Celts from the first evidence of them in the archaeological and historical record to the early post-Roman period. The strength of this volume lies in its breadth - it looks at archaeology, language, literature, towns, warfare, rural life, art, religion and myth, trade and industry, political organisations, society and technology. The Celtic World draws together material from all over pagan Celtic Europe and includes contributions from British, European and American scholars. Much of the material is new research which is previously unpublished. The book addresses some important issues - Who were the ancient Celts? Can we speak of them as the first Europeans? In what form does the Celtic identity exist today and how does this relate to the ancient Celts? For anyone interested in the Celts, and for students and academics alike, The Celtic World will be a valuable resource and a fascinating read.