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One of the UK's most-visited monuments, this is a beautifully illustrated account of the history and archaeology of this iconic feature within the English landscape.
About the author
Francis Pryor is one of Britain's most distinguished living archaeologists, the excavator of Flag Fen and a sheep farmer. Based in Lincolnshire, he is the author of seventeen books including The Fens (a Radio 4 Book of the Week), Stonehenge, Flag Fen, Britain BC, Britain AD, The Making of the British Landscape and Scenes from Prehistoric Life. Francis lives in the South Lincolnshire Fens.
Summary
A beautifully illustrated account of the history and archaeology of an iconic feature of the English landscape, as part of the stunning Landmark Library series.
Perched on the chalk uplands of Salisbury Plain, the megaliths of Stonehenge offer one of the most recognizable outlines of any ancient structure. Its purpose – place of worship, sacrificial arena, giant calendar – is unknown, but its story is one of the most extraordinary of any of the world's prehistoric monuments.
Constructed in several phases over a period of some 1500 years, beginning c. 3000 BC, Stonehenge's key elements are its 'bluestones', transported from West Wales by unexplained means, and sarsen stones quarried from the nearby Marlborough Downs.
Francis Pryor is one of Britain's most distinguished archaeologists. In
Stonehenge, he delivers a rigorous account of the nature and history of the monument, while also placing the enigmatic stones in a wider cultural context, exploring how antiquarians, scholars, writers, artists, 'the heritage industry' – and even neopagans – have interpreted the site over the centuries.
Additional text
'Stonehenge makes three important contributions. First, it summarises in less than 200 pages the latest research on the monument without superficial treatment. Second, Pryor cuts through the bewilderingly complicated sequence of construction and reconstruction at Stonehenge to make sense of this complex monument ... And third, it is a lively and engaging read, punctuated by Pryor's anecdotes from working at Flag Fen and other sites' Time and Mind.
