For Professor and Channel 4 personality Mick Aston, landscape archaeology remains his first love, because it provides so much information about how ordinary communities lived in the past. Environmental archaeology, experimental archaeology, the archaeology of buildings, and his great project at the village of Shapwick in Somerset are just some of the other subjects brought excitingly to life in Mick's colourful and action-packed pages. Reading this book, it is easy to share the author's basic conviction that "Archaeology is fun."

Hong Kong boasts a number of rich archaeological sites behind sandy bays. Among these backbeaches is Sha Po on Lamma Island, a site which has long captured the attention of archaeologists. However, until now no comprehensive study of the area has ever been published. Piecing Together Sha Po presents the first sustained analysis, framed in terms of a multi-period social landscape, of the varieties of human activity in Sha Po spanning more than 6,000 years. Synthesising decades of earlier fieldwork together with Atha and Yip’s own extensive excavations conducted in 2008–2010, the discoveries collectively enabled the authors to reconstruct the society in Sha Po in different historical periods. The artefacts unearthed from the site—some of them unique to the region—reveal a vibrant past which saw the inhabitants of Sha Po interacting with the environment in diverse ways. Evidence showing the mastery of quartz ornament manufacture and metallurgy in the Bronze Age suggests increasing craft specialisation and the rise of a more complex, competitive society. Later on, during the Six Dynasties–Tang period, Sha Po turned into a centre in the region’s imperially controlled kiln-based salt industry. Closer to our time, in the nineteenth century the farming and fishing communities in Sha Po became important suppliers of food and fuel to urban Hong Kong. Ultimately, this ground-breaking work tells a compelling story about human beings’ ceaseless reinvention of their lives through the lens of one special archaeological site. ‘A singular effort in the field of Hong Kong archaeology, Piecing Together Sha Po adopts a social landscape approach to chart the development of a single site over millennia of occupation, revealing as it does the untapped potential which careful field investigations hold for generating a better understanding of the region’s rich past.’ —Francis Allard, Department of Anthropology, Indiana University of Pennsylvania ‘This volume is the best overview of the early history of Hong Kong that I know. The authors have articulated patterns of human settlement at Sha Po in a masterly way that informs us not only of Lamma Island, or greater Hong Kong, but of Lingnan as a whole. I welcome it as the key source for specialists and the interested public alike.’ —Charles Higham, Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Otago, New Zealand ‘It is rare indeed for a multi-period study of a region to not only synthesise a vast range of archaeological material but also include incisive points of theory alongside that narrative, such as the need to understand evidence at a landscape level and questioning the utility of “Neolithic” and “Bronze Age” categories. This is such a book.’ —Steve Roskams, Department of Archaeology, University of York

The study of monasteries has come a long way since late the late 19th century. The emphasis has shifted away from reconstructing the layouts of monastic buildings to a better understanding of the wider monastic environment. The papers in this volume, partly based on a conference held in Oxford in 1994, are written by some of today's foremost scholars and reflect the diversity of research now being carried out.

An objective guide to this fascinating science of history and culture Archaeology continually makes headlines--from recent discoveries like the frozen Copper-Age man in the Italian Alps to the newest dating of the first people in America at over 14,0000 years ago. Archaeology For Dummies offers a fascinating look at this intriguing field, taking readers on-site and revealing little-known details about some of the world's greatest archaeological discoveries. It explores how archaeology attempts to uncover the lives of our ancestors, examining historical dig sites around the world and explaining theories about ancient human societies. The guide also offers helpful information for readers who want to participate in an excavation themselves, as well as tips for getting the best training and where to look for jobs.

Michael Aston uses a wide range of source material to study the complex and dynamic history of the countryside, illustrating his points with aerial photographs, maps, plans and charts.

Drawing.

Why was this amazing monument erected? How did our Stone-Age ancestors bring such massive stones to the site from so far away? How did they raise the enormous stones to their upright positions? What was Stonehenge used for, and who lived around the site? With captions and pictures, and using up-to-the-minute research discoveries, Mick Manning and Brita Granström tell the incredible true story of this awe-inspiring monument – one of the greatest ancient sites in the world.

Forges innovative connections between monastic archaeology and heritage studies, revealing new perspectives on sacred heritage, identity, medieval healing, magic and memory. This title is available as Open Access.

The 'Time Team Dig Book' explains all the key skills the budding archaeologist needs to know. From gaining permission for your dig and surveying the landscape, to locating and excavating your first trench; from identifying pottery, to your final report and the legacy of your dig.

Preface : "Welcome to Armageddon" - Prologue : "Have Found Solomon's Stables" - Part I. 1920-1926. "Please Accept My Resignation" - "He Must Knock Off or You Will Bury Him" - "A Fairly Sharp Rap on the Knuckles" - "We Have Already Three Distinct Levels" -- Part II. 1927-1934. "I Really Need a Bit of a Holiday" - "They Can Be Nothing Else Than Stables" - "Admonitory but Merciful" - "The Tapping of the Pickmen" - "The Most Sordid Document" - "Either a Battle or an Earthquake" - Part III: 1935-1939. "A Rude Awakening" -- "The Director is Gone" - "You Asked for the Sensational" - "A Miserable Death Threat" - "The Stratigraphical Skeleton" - Part IV: 1940-2020. "Instructions Had Been Given to Protect This Property" - Epilogue "Certain Digging Areas Remain Incompletely Excavated" -- Cast of Characters: Chicago Expedition Staff and Spouses (alphabetical and with participation dates) - Year by Year List of Chicago Expedition Staff plus Major Events.