Prehistoric Ritual and Religion
Sutton Publishing Ltd
Published on 23. July 1998
Book
Paperback/Softback
256 pages
978-0-7509-1598-4 (ISBN)
Description
Ritual monuments are among the most remarkable and enduring aspects of prehistory. They are a tangible reminder of life in the distant past. In modern times, they form the focus of constant study and reinterpretation because they provide a key for modern understanding of prehistoric people. In this text, the authors apply modern research to selected prehistoric sites in order to suggest ways of approaching one of the most evocative subjects in archaeology. The book concentrates first on monumental remains such as stone circles, passage graves, timber circles, palisaded sites and henge monuments. These structures indicate the richness and emotive power of prehistoric architecture, and they are among the most conspicuous signs of early human society to survive in substantial numbers in the present landscape. The authors go on to examine the ceremonial aspects of prehistoric manufacture and trade in order to account for the ritual value of artefacts. In particular, they consider the magical significance of stone axes, jet artefacts, ceramics and wooden idols which had more than a simple utilitarian purpose for our ancestors.
They also assess prehistoric astronomy, the Celtic ritual calendar and the orientation of stone age monuments in relation to lunar or solar observations. The book takes a broad view of the subject as a whole, and covers sites and monuments in Ireland, Scotland, England, Brittany and elsewhere in North-West Europe.
They also assess prehistoric astronomy, the Celtic ritual calendar and the orientation of stone age monuments in relation to lunar or solar observations. The book takes a broad view of the subject as a whole, and covers sites and monuments in Ireland, Scotland, England, Brittany and elsewhere in North-West Europe.
More details
Edition
New edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Stroud
United Kingdom
Publishing group
The History Press Ltd
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Edition type
New edition
Illustrations
60 b&w photographs & illustrations, bibliography, index
Dimensions
Height: 244 mm
Width: 172 mm
Weight
600 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-7509-1598-4 (9780750915984)
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Schweitzer Classification
Content
Part 1 Monuments: stone circles and passage graves - a contested relationship; double entrance henges - routes to the past?; the Ballynahatty complex; Irish hengiform enclosures and related monuments - a review; colour in prehistoric architecture; Hindwell and the neolithic palisaded sites of Britain and Ireland; timber circles at Zwolle, Netherlands; monuments in the landscape - thoughts from the peak. Part 2 Artefacts: breaking stones, making places - the social landscape of axe production sites; points of exchange - the later neolithic monuments of the Morbihan; radiocarbon dates for settlements, tombs and ceremonial sites with grooved ware in Scotland; the Welsh "jet set" in prehistory - a case of keeping up with the Joneses?; wood species for wooden figures - a glimpse of a pattern. Part 3 Theory and practice: Tyrebagger recumbent stone circles, Aberdeenshire - a note on recording; from ritual to romance - a new western; the time lords - ritual calendars, druids and the sacred year; ritual astronomy in the neolithic and Bronze Age British Isles - patterns of continuity and change; recording orthostatic settings; H.A.W. Burl - a bibliography.