Book Review Time...
Nov. 20th, 2010 04:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
endlessraritiesAnd now it's time for one of my random book reviews...
The subject for dissection today is a non-fiction book, which may prove of interest to the Welsh contingent (yeah, I know I've accumulated a few of you. I'd say 'hello, everybody' in Welsh, but I can't spell it, so just imagine I'm saying it, okay??) It's 'The Tomb Builders In Wales 4000-3000BC' by Steve Burrows (National Museum of Wales, 2006).
This is a pretty book. A very pretty book. It's nicely presented, with a fetching gatefold card cover that features a handy distribution map at one end and a timeline at the other. It's very arty. Full of Atmospheric Moody shots of portal dolmens, reconstruction drawings, and Lots Of Pretty Things.
Books like this make me wary. Sometimes they represent a victory of style over substance. But this is a fun little book, and it provides a good overview of the wide variety of Neolithic chambered tombs in Wales. It's clearly intended for the consumption of an intelligent layman, in an easy-to-read style. But it's just as useful to the serious student of archaeology. It doesn't dumb down its subject. It uses the established classfications used in Neolithic studies to describe various tomb types - passage graves, Cotswold-Severn, Clyde (better known as 'Clyde-Carlingford', portal dolmen, etcetera - giving an excellent overview of mortuary practices in Neolithic Wales.
I've stumbled across a few Welsh sites in my time, both as a heritage tourist, and as a scholar. Some of the names were familiar, like Pentre Ifan, and Gwernvale. I wish I'd had this book to hand on my visits, as it was lovely to be able to see how Wales fitted into the wider pattern of remains seen across the British Isles and Ireland. Because the author discussed each tomb type in such detail, it was possible to see just how eclectic the people of Neolithic Wales were in terms of their burial practices. Wales bears tombs which are reminiscent of those in south-west Scotland, Ireland and Orkney, representing a mingling of 'foreign' traditions as well as some monuments which are peculiarly Welsh in character. They also widely practice cremation, which is interesting, because everyone knows that cremation only became popular in the Middle Bronze Age! That's what I love about prehistory - the people of the past always seem to have done their best to confound those who came after!
This is a great little book. I found only one flaw which made me gnash my teeth with frustration. It made reference to deposits of 'domestic pottery' within some of the tomb structures, but failed to elaborate on the character of this pottery. Are we talking about carinated bowls, for instance? I presume this reveals a reluctance on the part of the author to attach cultural labels to pottery types, but since he's prepared to do this for the tombs themselves, why should he treat the pottery any differently?
It's a minor point. I'm proud to add this little number to my prehistory bookshelf, and the Rather Helpful Gazetteer at the rear makes the volume worthwhile in its own right.
Right. Must pencil a return trip to Anglesey in for the not too distant future. I can't go through life without seeing the rock art in the passage grave named 'Barclodiad y Gawres' ... In the meantime, here's a picture of a Clyde-Carlingford tomb, just so you know what all the fuss is about:-
The subject for dissection today is a non-fiction book, which may prove of interest to the Welsh contingent (yeah, I know I've accumulated a few of you. I'd say 'hello, everybody' in Welsh, but I can't spell it, so just imagine I'm saying it, okay??) It's 'The Tomb Builders In Wales 4000-3000BC' by Steve Burrows (National Museum of Wales, 2006).
This is a pretty book. A very pretty book. It's nicely presented, with a fetching gatefold card cover that features a handy distribution map at one end and a timeline at the other. It's very arty. Full of Atmospheric Moody shots of portal dolmens, reconstruction drawings, and Lots Of Pretty Things.
Books like this make me wary. Sometimes they represent a victory of style over substance. But this is a fun little book, and it provides a good overview of the wide variety of Neolithic chambered tombs in Wales. It's clearly intended for the consumption of an intelligent layman, in an easy-to-read style. But it's just as useful to the serious student of archaeology. It doesn't dumb down its subject. It uses the established classfications used in Neolithic studies to describe various tomb types - passage graves, Cotswold-Severn, Clyde (better known as 'Clyde-Carlingford', portal dolmen, etcetera - giving an excellent overview of mortuary practices in Neolithic Wales.
I've stumbled across a few Welsh sites in my time, both as a heritage tourist, and as a scholar. Some of the names were familiar, like Pentre Ifan, and Gwernvale. I wish I'd had this book to hand on my visits, as it was lovely to be able to see how Wales fitted into the wider pattern of remains seen across the British Isles and Ireland. Because the author discussed each tomb type in such detail, it was possible to see just how eclectic the people of Neolithic Wales were in terms of their burial practices. Wales bears tombs which are reminiscent of those in south-west Scotland, Ireland and Orkney, representing a mingling of 'foreign' traditions as well as some monuments which are peculiarly Welsh in character. They also widely practice cremation, which is interesting, because everyone knows that cremation only became popular in the Middle Bronze Age! That's what I love about prehistory - the people of the past always seem to have done their best to confound those who came after!
This is a great little book. I found only one flaw which made me gnash my teeth with frustration. It made reference to deposits of 'domestic pottery' within some of the tomb structures, but failed to elaborate on the character of this pottery. Are we talking about carinated bowls, for instance? I presume this reveals a reluctance on the part of the author to attach cultural labels to pottery types, but since he's prepared to do this for the tombs themselves, why should he treat the pottery any differently?
It's a minor point. I'm proud to add this little number to my prehistory bookshelf, and the Rather Helpful Gazetteer at the rear makes the volume worthwhile in its own right.
Right. Must pencil a return trip to Anglesey in for the not too distant future. I can't go through life without seeing the rock art in the passage grave named 'Barclodiad y Gawres' ... In the meantime, here's a picture of a Clyde-Carlingford tomb, just so you know what all the fuss is about:-
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no subject
Date: 2010-11-20 10:02 pm (UTC)I must get a copy of this book; it sounds fascinating. And if you head Anglesey-wards, to let me know, as that's where my parents live.
(BTW: My icon is me at Pentre Ifan, one of my favourite burial sites.)
no subject
Date: 2010-11-21 03:27 pm (UTC)I've a sneaking suspicion that one of the three was Pentre Ifan. I'm hopeless with Welsh. It might be the land of my fathers, but I'm a right muppet with the language.
no subject
Date: 2010-11-21 03:45 pm (UTC)Pentre Ifan is in North Pembrokeshire, near Nevern.
no subject
Date: 2010-11-21 03:59 pm (UTC)It's all Welsh to me!
The one on Anglesey was near a 'Dark Age'/early medieval settlement.
I'll have to go and root through my books...
no subject
Date: 2010-12-12 10:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-12-13 05:38 pm (UTC)My favourite monument was, however, Parys Mountain. It was just incredible. It's a bit later than the Neolithic, but impressive nonetheless!
no subject
Date: 2010-12-13 06:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-11-21 02:42 pm (UTC)Lots of nice piccies.
no subject
Date: 2010-11-21 03:28 pm (UTC)