Hengeworld

Recent discoveries at Stonehenge, Avebury and Stanton Drew have helped archaeologists learn more about what life was like in this country at the time of Christ, and there's some remarkable information here. The collapse of a megalith at Stonehenge on the last night of the 19th century produced astonishing new evidence about the ancient site. And right at the end of the 20th century, an equally dramatic discovery at nearby Avebury shed even more light into the dimmest recesses of history. With these findings and others, especially at Stanton Drew in Somerset, archaeologist Mike Pitts has revealed a previously missed pattern of links between Britain's ancient circles and the mysterious people who created them. This book won the British Archaeology Press Award not only for its revelations but also for the lucid way in which Pitts explains them. This is history as it should be told - with enthusiasm and details that are easy to follow. Like all archaeologists, Pitts is as much a detective as a historian. His findings show that not all our Neolithic ancestors were woad-wearing savages. Indeed, some of them possessed astronomical and building skills that would test even the best of today's scientists and engineers. Particular about the type of materials to be used for their structures, they were prepared to trek hundreds of miles for precisely the right stuff. The wherefores are clear enough, the whys are not so certain. Pitts believes that ancestor worship played a great part in Neolithic thinking but it is unclear why stone of a certain type was necessary for that purpose. This is a good, enlightening read that avoids dumbing down but provides plenty of talking points for the amateur as well as the expert. (Kirkus UK)