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The Megalithic Monuments of Britain and Ireland

The Megalithic Monuments of Britain and Ireland by Chris Scarre Author: Chris Scarre
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
Published: 2007

Few regions of the world possess such a remarkable concentration of prehistoric monuments as Britain and Ireland. From the great stone circles of southern England to the passage tombs of Brú na Bóinne and the chambered cairns of Scotland, these monuments provide a lasting record of the communities that transformed the landscape over 5,000 years ago. In The Megalithic Monuments of Britain and Ireland, archaeologist Chris Scarre brings together this extraordinary heritage in a beautifully illustrated and highly accessible survey.

Originally published by Thames & Hudson, the book introduces readers to Britain's and Ireland's best known prehistoric monuments while also highlighting many lesser-known sites that deserve wider recognition. Written for both general readers and archaeology enthusiasts, it remains one of the finest single-volume introductions to the subject.

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"An informative and stimulating overview of a complex subject."

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Contents

1. Monuments, Society and Landscape

  • Monuments, society & landscape — p. 6
  • Mesolithic Britain and the Continent — p. 8
  • The nature of the 'Neolithic transition' — p. 10
  • Monuments and the Neolithic — p. 12
  • Monuments in their social context — p. 13
  • Landscape and monuments — p. 14
  • Scanning the heavens — p. 20

2. Scotland

  • Earth and timber monuments — p. 25
  • Southwest Scotland — p. 31
  • Argyll and Arran — p. 33
  • The Western Isles — p. 36
  • Orkney — p. 38
  • Tombs and houses — p. 44
  • Manipulating the dead — p. 49
  • Prehistoric politics — p. 53
  • Clava Cairns and recumbent stone circles — p. 58

3. England and Wales

  • Portal dolmens and passage graves — p. 64
  • Chambered long mounds — p. 76
  • Unchambered long mounds — p. 82
  • Later Neolithic burials — p. 86
  • Henges and cursus monuments — p. 88
  • Stone and timber circles — p. 91

4. Avebury and Stonehenge

  • A 4th-millennium BC landscape — p. 100
  • Avebury in the 3rd millennium — p. 103
  • Stonehenge — p. 117

5. Ireland

  • Classifying the tombs — p. 128
  • Court cairns — p. 131
  • Portal tombs — p. 134
  • Passage tombs — p. 135
  • The Boyne valley complex — p. 136
  • Linkardstown cists, wedge tombs and boulder burials — p. 144
  • Stone settings and earthen rings — p. 147

6. Neolithic Monuments in their European Setting

  • Neolithic monuments in their European setting — p. 151
  • Bibliography — p. 155
  • Acknowledgments — p. 157
  • Sources of illustrations — p. 157
  • Index — p. 159

Book Review

Published by Thames & Hudson in 2007, this 160-page paperback gathers 175 illustrations in a survey organised by region. Scarre opens with monuments in their social and landscape settings, including a section on astronomical alignments (Scanning the heavens), before turning to Scotland, England and Wales, Avebury and Stonehenge, Ireland, and the wider European Neolithic. Thames & Hudson describe it as an authoritative overview suited to traveller and student alike.

The text outlines the principal monument types found in the book — passage tombs, chambered cairns, portal tombs, court tombs, wedge tombs, long barrows, henges, cursus monuments and stone circles — in an archaeological rather than speculative style. At 160 pages, the treatment of individual sites remains introductory.

Photographs, maps and site plans accompany the text throughout, from famous monuments such as Stonehenge and Newgrange to regional examples given shorter coverage. Readers seeking full excavation reports will need more specialised site publications; this volume works best as a single, affordable introduction to the subject.

Ireland

The Ireland chapter (pp. 125–147) classifies Irish tomb types, then surveys court cairns, portal tombs and passage tombs. The section The Boyne valley complex (p. 136) outlines Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth within the Brú na Bóinne landscape, including Newgrange's winter solstice alignment and Knowth's carved stones. Later sections cover wedge tombs, Linkardstown cists, boulder burials and stone settings. The final chapter places these monuments within their European setting.

About Chris Scarre

Chris Scarre is Professor of Archaeology at Durham University. A specialist in the prehistory of western Europe and the Atlantic façade, he took his MA and PhD at Cambridge, edited the Cambridge Archaeological Journal from 1990 to 2005, and was Deputy Director of the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research before moving to Durham in 2006. He has also edited The Human Past and The Seventy Wonders of the Ancient World.

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