On the Ocean - The Mediterranean and the Atlantic From Prehistory to Ad 1500

The story of the contest between humans and the sea, played out in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic from early prehistory until AD 1500.

List of contents

• 1: Those in Peril on the Sea


• 2: The Combat that is called Navigation


• 3: Taking to the Sea


• 4: Two Seas, Many Responses, 5300-1200 BC


• 5: The Eastern Mediterranean Cauldron, 5300-1200 BC


• 6: Exploring the Ends of the World, 1200-600 BC


• 7: Of Ships and Sails: a Technical Interlude


• 8: Exploring the Outer Ocean, 600-100 BC


• 9: The Atlantic Community, 100 B.C.-A.D. 500


• 10: An End and a Beginning, A.D. 350-800


• 11: The Age of the Northmen, A.D. 780-1100


• 12: The New European Order, A.D. 1100-1400


• 13: The Ocean Conquered, 1400-1510


• 14: Reflections on the Ocean


• Glossary of Nautical Terms


• A Guide to Further Reading


• Illustration Sources


• Index

About the author

Barry Cunliffe taught archaeology in the Universities of Bristol and Southampton and was Professor of European Archaeology at the University of Oxford from 1972 to 2008, thereafter becoming Emeritus Professor. He has excavated widely in Britain (Fishbourne, Bath, Danebury, Hengistbury Head, Brading) and in the Channel Islands, Brittany, and Spain, and has been President of the Council for British Archaeology and of the Society of Antiquaries, a Governor of the Museum of London, and a Trustee of the British Museum. He was a Commissioner of English Heritage from 2005 to 2013. His many publications include The Ancient Celts (1997), Facing the Ocean (2001), The Druids: A Very Short Introduction (2010), Britain Begins (2012), By Steppe, Desert, and Ocean (2015), The Scythians (2019), Bretons and Britons (2021), and Facing the Sea of Sand (2023), all also published by Oxford University Press. He received a knighthood in 2006.

Product details

• Authors: Sir Barry (Emeritus Professor of Europea Cunliffe, Cunliffe Barry
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Release: 08.01.2026
• EAN: 9780198960416
• ISBN: 978-0-19-896041-6
• No. of pages: 640
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > Antiquity; Non-fiction book > History > Pre and early history, antiquity; prehistory, HISTORY / Civilization, HISTORY / Maritime History & Piracy, Mediterranean Sea, maritime history, Atlantic Ocean, CE period up to c 1500, Ancient History, Early history: c 500 to c 1450/1500, Archaeology by period / region, General and world history, Ancient history: to c 500 CE, Prehistoric archaeology, HISTORY / Europe / Medieval, BCE period – Protohistory