Stonehenge - A New Understanding
Solving the Mysteries of the Greatest Stone Age Monument
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- $179.00
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- $179.00
Descripción editorial
"The most authoritative, important book on Stonehenge to date."—Kirkus, starred review
Stonehenge stands as an enduring link to our prehistoric ancestors, yet the secrets it has guarded for thousands of years have long eluded us. Until now, the millions of enthusiasts who flock to the iconic site have made do with mere speculation—about Stonehenge's celestial significance, human sacrifice, and even aliens and druids. One would think that the numerous research expeditions at Stonehenge had left no stone unturned. Yet, before the Stonehenge Riverside Project—a hugely ambitious, seven-year dig by today's top archaeologists—all previous digs combined had only investigated a fraction of the monument, and many records from those earlier expeditions are either inaccurate or incomplete.
Stonehenge—A New Understanding rewrites the story. From 2003 to 2009, author Mike Parker Pearson led the Stonehenge Riverside Project, the most comprehensive excavation ever conducted around Stonehenge. The project unearthed a wealth of fresh evidence that had gone untouched since prehistory. Parker Pearson uses that evidence to present a paradigm-shifting theory of the true significance that Stonehenge held for its builders—and mines his field notes to give you a you-are-there view of the dirt, drama, and thrilling discoveries of this history-changing archaeological dig.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
A University College London archeology professor and leader of the groundbreaking Stonehenge Riverside Project expounds on recent research into the famed site in this revelatory study. The ambitious project represents the most current thinking on the construction of Stonehenge, its relation to surrounding Neolithic sites, and its possible purpose. As Pearson (If Stones Could Speak) writes in the introduction, "in archaeology, context is everything." As such, he and his team took as their working hypothesis the idea that Stonehenge could only be understood in the context of other proximal sites, particularly Durrington Walls. The spark for the idea came from a Malagasy colleague, Ramilisonina, who suggested that, as in Madagascar, perhaps the timber circles of Durrington were indicative of a monument to the living, and the stones of Stonehenge to the dead. In his recounting of seven seasons of archaeological digs at Stonehenge, Durrington, and other sites in the area, Pearson addresses everything from the bureaucracy of archaeological permissions to whether the druids, either prehistoric or modern, are relevant to an understanding of Stonehenge. This detailed work may challenge casual readers, but it will prove immensely rewarding to any student of the subject. 16-page color insert, b&w photos throughout.
