The Megalithic Architectures of Europe (Paperback)

Luc Laporte

ISBN 10: 178925809X / ISBN 13: 9781789258097

Published by Oxbow Books, Oxford, 2022

About this Item

Paperback. Megalithic monuments are among the most striking remains of the Neolithic period of northern and western Europe and are scattered across landscapes from Pomerania to Portugal. Antiquarians and archaeologists early recognised the family resemblance of the different groups of tombs, attributing them to maritime peoples moving along the western seaways. More recent research sees them rather as the product of established early farming communities in their individual regions. Yet the diversity of the tombs, their chronologies and their varied cultural contexts complicates any straightforward understanding of their origins and distribution. Megalithic Architectures provides new insight by focusing on the construction and design of European megalithic tombs on the tomb as an architectural project. It shows how much is to be learned from detailed attention to the stages and the techniques through which tombs were built, modified and enlarged, and often intentionally dismantled or decommissioned. The large slabs that were employed, often unshaped, may suggest an opportunistic approach by the Neolithic builders, but this was clearly far from the case. Each building project was unique, and detailed study of individual sites exposes the way in which tombs were built as architectural, social and symbolic undertakings. Alongside the manner in which the materials were used, it reveals a store of knowledge that sometimes differed considerably from one structure to another, even between contemporary monuments within a single region. The volume brings together regional specialists from Scandinavia, Germany, Britain, France, Belgium and Iberia to offer a series of uniquely authoritative studies. Results of recent fieldwork are fully incorporated and much of the material is published here for the first time in English. It provides an invaluable overview of the current state of research on European megalithic tombs. AUTHORS: Luc Laporte is Directeur de Recherche in the CNRS and is based at the Laboratoire Archeosciences at the Universite de Rennes. He is currently directing field projects on megalithic monuments in western France and Senegal. Christopher Scarre is Professor of Archaeology at Durham University, and specialises in the Neolithic monumentality of the Atlantic facade of Europe. He has excavated at megalithic monuments in western France, Portugal and the Channel Islands. First major synthesis by leading regional specialists of recent excavation results and new approaches to the study of megalithic monuments and their individual histories across Europe. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9781789258097

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Megalithic Architectures of Europe (Paperback)
• Publisher: Oxbow Books, Oxford
• Publication Date: 2022
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 178925809X
• ISBN 13: 9781789258097
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

Megalithic monuments are among the most striking remains of the Neolithic period of northern and western Europe and are scattered across landscapes from Pomerania to Portugal. Antiquarians and archaeologists early recognised the family resemblance of the different groups of tombs, attributing them to maritime peoples moving along the western seaways. More recent research sees them rather as the product of established early farming communities in their individual regions. Yet the diversity of the tombs, their chronologies and their varied cultural contexts complicates any straightforward understanding of their origins and distribution. Megalithic Architectures provides new insight by focusing on the construction and design of European megalithic tombs – on the tomb as an architectural project. It shows how much is to be learned from detailed attention to the stages and the techniques through which tombs were built, modified and enlarged, and often intentionally dismantled or decommissioned. The large slabs that were employed, often unshaped, may suggest an opportunistic approach by the Neolithic builders, but this was clearly far from the case. Each building project was unique, and detailed study of individual sites exposes the way in which tombs were built as architectural, social and symbolic undertakings. Alongside the manner in which the materials were used, it reveals a store of knowledge that sometimes differed considerably from one structure to another, even between contemporary monuments within a single region. The volume brings together regional specialists from Scandinavia, Germany, Britain, France, Belgium and Iberia to offer a series of uniquely authoritative studies. Results of recent fieldwork are fully incorporated and much of the material is published here for the first time in English. It provides an invaluable overview of the current state of research on European megalithic tombs.

About the Author

Luc Laporte is Directeur de Recherche in the CNRS and is based at the Laboratoire Archéosciences at the Université de Rennes. He is currently directing field projects on megalithic monuments in western France and Senegal.

Christopher Scarre is Professor of Archaeology at Durham University, and specialises in the Neolithic monumentality of the Atlantic façade of Europe. He has excavated at megalithic monuments in western France, Portugal and the Channel Islands.