Britain BC: Life in Britain and Ireland before the Romans [Paperback]

Francis Pryor (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2006

Traditionally, British history has been regarded as starting with the Roman Conquest. Yet this is to ignore half a million years of prehistory that still exert a profound influence on British and Irish life today. In Britain BC, Francis Pryor sets the record straight. Aided in recent years by aerial photography and coastal erosion (which has helped expose such sites as Seahenge), and by advances in scientific techniques such as radiocarbon dating and wood analysis, archaeologists have discovered compelling evidence for a much more sophisticated life among the Ancient Britons than has been previously supposed. Far from being woad-painted barbarians, the earliest inhabitants of the British Isles had developed their own religions, laws, crafts, arts, trade systems, farms, and priesthood long before the Romans' brief occupation. Examining sites from the great ceremonial landscapes of Stonehenge, Avebury, and the Bend of the Boyne to small domestic settlements, and objects from precious ritual offerings to the tiny fragments of flint discarded by toolmakers, Francis Pryor, one of our leading archaeologists, has created a remarkable portrait of the life of our ancestors, in all its variety and complexity. His authoritative and radical re-examination of Britain and Ireland before the coming of the Romans makes us look afresh at the whole story of our islands.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'There are enough curious facts, contentious theories and bizarre hypotheses here to hold the interest of anyone concerned with the unique and peculiar story of these islands.' Independent on Sunday Praise for Francis Pryor's television series 'Britain B.C.': 'Fascinating!the evangelical Pryor paints a vivid portrait of pre-Roman society that tackles received wisdom about what was going on here in the Stone, Bronze and Iron ages.' Daily Telegraph 'Pryor leaps about the country at a cracking pace, his big personality making sure we never get bored by the scant and rarefied scraps that are his stock-in-trade.' Observer

About the Author

Dr Francis Pryor, author of the acclaimed 'Seahenge', 'Britain BC', 'Britain AD' and 'Britain in the Middle Ages - An Archaeological History', has spent thirty years studying the prehistory of the Fens. He has excavated sites as diverse as Bronze Age farms, field systems and entire Iron Age villages, as well as barrows, 'henges' and a large ceremonial centre dating to 3800 BC. In 1982, while working in a drainage dyke at Flag Fen, on the outskirts of Peterborough, he discovered the waterlogged timbers of a Bronze Age religious site. In 1987, with his wife Maisie Taylor, he set up the Fenland Archaeological Trust, which opened Flag Fen to the public. He is President of the Council for British Archaeology, and frequently appears on Channel 4's popular archaeology programme 'Time Team'. In 2003 he wrote and presented a two-part television series on 'Britain BC', and in 2004 made a three-part series on 'Britain AD'.

Product Details

• Paperback: 488 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins UK (October 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 000712693X
• ISBN-13: 978-0007126934
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #139,322 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An impassioned look back, June 11, 2004

By 

Stephen A. Haines (Ottawa, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Life in Britain and Ireland Before the Romans (Hardcover)

Pryor is candid about his intentions. He wants to understand the society of his homeland. To gain that understanding, he's dug more holes than "found in Blackbourne, Lancashire". He's also swept the literature of prehistoric Britain to learn what his colleagues have revealed in their work. The result is a compelling narrative of how Britain, in the years before the Roman invasion, lived, worshipped and died. He's gone a step further in trying out the life for himself. It all boils down to what might be an exercise in chauvinism, but Pryor's too professional to sink into that morass. Instead, he's given us a superb overview of the roots of the British Isles. He also provides an superlative insight into the workings of modern archaeology.

The title reflects Pryor's view that too much attention has been paid to the Roman era. Christianity's invasion on Roman skirt-tails, of course, has diverted attention from the beliefs of pre-Roman peoples. He wants to set that record straight, and does so thoroughly and admirably. Drawing on a wealth of resources, he casts away the "invasion" foundation of British pre-history to build a new structure. Sweeping hordes give way to a society that spread cultural innovations through limited, but far-reaching mobility. Instead of defensive fortresses, the British Isles are pocked with "henges", religious centres reflecting a stable, ancestor-worshipping society. Henges, he reminds us, totally lack defensive features. Weapons are found as often in bogs and streams, or buried with owners. They aren't the detritus of battle.

Pryor's start is the now-famous site of Boxgrove. His account of the finds there, a stone tool preparation site nearly half a million years old, is nearly as vivid as Mike Pitts' own. The site reflects the changing nature of archaeology - more attention is now devoted to assessing what the environment was like in that distant time. Weather, soil, forest or field, are among the many elements now assessed in building a picture of ancient humanity's life. Instead of racks of museum collections, tools, weapons and jewellry now form images of what our ancestors considered important. If Pryor delves into speculation in his depictions, it's clearly an informed conjecture. Details, hidden in time, may remain hidden, but much more is now available to consider than earlier researchers had at their disposal.

Pryor demonstrates how modern research has discerned Neolithic paddocks and trackways. Faint lines in crops or discontinuities in the soil exposed by aerial photography have led to amazing finds. His descriptions of discoveries, digs exposing ancient structures and artefacts reveal a wealth of new information while imparting Pryor's own love of the science. That affection carries over into his accounts of how his ancestors lived. To him, this information is intensely valuable. If nothing else, it shatters long-held, but false myths about what comprises the British peoples. People today will understand themselves better if they understand their ancestors better. If that reduces aggression, bigotry and dogma, that's all to the good. In Pryor's hands, archaeology becomes more than an arcane science removed from society. Instead, the research becomes a force for positive thinking and, hopefully, action.

With such an outlook, this author has produced an immensely readable book. His fondness for the work and the discoveries is apparent. He exhorts you to share it all with him. He draws the reader into the questions his research seeks to answer. His enthusiasm is contagious - you want to be there at the various digs and museums with him. If you can't arrange that, he provides a multitude of drawings, maps and photograph sets to help convey what he's seen. There are the dead, their possessions, sometimes their dress. Different conditions, he explains, preserve different things. Where they haven't been preserved, he reconstructs them. The wattle and thatch house at Fengate is built to verify how it was done. With all these elements assembled in one book, it becomes clear that Pryor has created a lasting volume. British focus aside, this book should be a feature on any shelf. It's about you. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome!, March 30, 2005

By 

Bu-Chan (Aotearoa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Life in Britain and Ireland Before the Romans (Hardcover)

Pryor has combined his own expertise from the archaeological field with a thorough understnading of the work of fellow archaeologists, (both in the UK and abroad), to present a vibrant, fluid and exceptionally informative look at life before Roman Britain.

Where Pryor makes some "judgement calls", he is open and honest about how much evidence there is and some different ways of understanding it. He presents a variety of views.

What you end up with a very comprehensive view of prehistoric life in Britain that does not get lost in reams of dry information. Pryor writes with an obvious passion for the topic, and that enthusiasm comes out in the writing.

It is basically a great book, with loads of information. I learned heaps from it!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars UK BC review, March 31, 2008

By 

Boyd M. Dixon - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Britain BC: Life in Britain and Ireland before the Romans (Paperback)

As a former participant in the Fengate excavations that Francis Pryor supervised near Peterborough in the 1970s, I found his interpretation of Neolithic, Bronze Age, and Iron Age ritual in the daily life of prehistoric Britian to be compelling, interspersed as it was with personal anecdotes and current case studies. This book only whetted my appetite to return and experience anew those discoveries and many more, enlightened by a new understanding of my own roots, both professional and personal.

Dr. Boyd Dixon
Senior Archaeologist
PBS&J
Austin Texas