Overview

An invigorating journey through Britain's prehistoric landscape, and an insight into the lives of its inhabitants. 'Highly compelling' Spectator, Books of the Year 'An evocative foray into the prehistoric past' BBC Countryfile Magazine 'Vividly relating what life was like in pre-Roman Britain' Choice Magazine 'Makes life in Britain BC often sound rather more appealing than the frenetic and anxious 21st century!' Daily Mail In Scenes from Prehistoric Life, the distinguished archaeologist Francis Pryor paints a vivid picture of British and Irish prehistory, from the Old Stone Age (about one million years ago) to the arrival of the Romans in AD 43, in a sequence of fifteen profiles of ancient landscapes. Whether writing about the early human family who trod the estuarine muds of Happisburgh in Norfolk c.900,000 BC, the craftsmen who built a wooden trackway in the Somerset Levels early in the fourth millennium BC, or the Iron Age denizens of Britain's first towns, Pryor uses excavations and surveys to uncover the daily routines of our ancient ancestors. By revealing how our prehistoric forebears coped with both simple practical problems and more existential challenges, Francis Pryor offers remarkable insights into the long and unrecorded centuries of our early history, and a convincing, well-attested and movingly human portrait of prehistoric life as it was really lived.

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9781789544152

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Reviews

'You get a lot of Francis Pryor in this book, but that is only a good thing. His descriptions of visiting and excavating the sites mentioned add welcome dimensions ... Decades' worth of communicating archaeology on TV and a recent foray into crime fiction writing help make this book a highly compelling read. What the book does particularly well is to humanise prehistory' * Spectator * 'Pryor's colourful book makes life in Britain BC often sound rather more appealing that the frenetic and anxious 21st century!' * Daily Mail * '[Pryor] brings almost impossibly distant times into brilliant focus' * Eastern Daily Press Norfolk * PRAISE FOR FRANCIS PRYOR: 'Pryor is especially able in conveying the dynamism of prehistory, with its constant changes, both of the form of individual monuments and in broader patterns of ritual behaviour and architectural fashion' TLS, on Stonehenge. '[Francis Pryor's] enthusiasm is infectious, whether he's glimpsing Ely cathedral from a train, coming across John Clare's grave or counting the bricks of Tattershall Castle' The Spectator, on The Fens. 'An immersive journey through the landscape, saturated with local history and personal insight ... It will inspire you to explore the locations on foot' Country Walking, on The Fens. 'Beautifully written and illustrated' Mail on Sunday, on Stonehenge. 'Written with pace and passion ... Immensely readable' -- Tom Holland, on Britain BC

'You get a lot of Francis Pryor in this book, but that is only a good thing. His descriptions of visiting and excavating the sites mentioned add welcome dimensions ... Decades' worth of communicating archaeology on TV and a recent foray into crime fiction writing help make this book a highly compelling read. What the book does particularly well is to humanise prehistory' * Spectator * PRAISE FOR FRANCIS PRYOR: 'Pryor is especially able in conveying the dynamism of prehistory, with its constant changes, both of the form of individual monuments and in broader patterns of ritual behaviour and architectural fashion' TLS, on Stonehenge. '[Francis Pryor's] enthusiasm is infectious, whether he's glimpsing Ely cathedral from a train, coming across John Clare's grave or counting the bricks of Tattershall Castle' The Spectator, on The Fens. 'An immersive journey through the landscape, saturated with local history and personal insight ... It will inspire you to explore the locations on foot' Country Walking, on The Fens. 'Beautifully written and illustrated' Mail on Sunday, on Stonehenge. 'Written with pace and passion ... Immensely readable' -- Tom Holland, on Britain BC

'You get a lot of Francis Pryor in this book, but that is only a good thing. His descriptions of visiting and excavating the sites mentioned add welcome dimensions ... Decades' worth of communicating archaeology on TV and a recent foray into crime fiction writing help make this book a highly compelling read. What the book does particularly well is to humanise prehistory' * Spectator * 'Pryor's colourful book makes life in Britain BC often sound rather more appealing that the frenetic and anxious 21st century!' * Daily Mail * '[Pryor] brings almost impossibly distant times into brilliant focus' * Eastern Daily Press Norfolk * 'Vividly relating what life was like in pre-Roman Britain' * Choice Magazine * PRAISE FOR FRANCIS PRYOR: 'Pryor is especially able in conveying the dynamism of prehistory, with its constant changes, both of the form of individual monuments and in broader patterns of ritual behaviour and architectural fashion' TLS, on Stonehenge. '[Francis Pryor's] enthusiasm is infectious, whether he's glimpsing Ely cathedral from a train, coming across John Clare's grave or counting the bricks of Tattershall Castle' The Spectator, on The Fens. 'An immersive journey through the landscape, saturated with local history and personal insight ... It will inspire you to explore the locations on foot' Country Walking, on The Fens. 'Beautifully written and illustrated' Mail on Sunday, on Stonehenge. 'Written with pace and passion ... Immensely readable' -- Tom Holland, on Britain BC

'Decades worth of communicating archaeology on TV and a recent foray into crime fiction writing help make this book a highly compelling read' * Spectator * 'An evocative foray into the prehistoric past ... Pryor recreates [the prehistoric world] with an effortless narrative style' * BBC Countryfile Magazine * 'Brings almost impossibly distant times into brilliant focus' * Eastern Daily Press Norfolk * 'Pryor's colourful book makes life in Britain BC often sound rather more appealing than the frenetic and anxious 21st century!' * Daily Mail * 'Vividly relating what life was like in pre-Roman Britain' * Choice Magazine * 'Our prehistoric cousins lie on the other side of a vast expanse of time ... Francis Pryor bridges that gap, showing how excavation and analysis can bring their stories to life. Of course, the gap between us and them is matched by the prehistoric era's epic sweep, and Pryor charts the changes witnessed across that time' * BBC History Magazine *

'Decades worth of communicating archaeology on TV and a recent foray into crime fiction writing help make this book a highly compelling read' * Spectator * 'An evocative foray into the prehistoric past ... Pryor recreates [the prehistoric world] with an effortless narrative style' * BBC Countryfile Magazine * 'Brings almost impossibly distant times into brilliant focus' * Eastern Daily Press Norfolk * 'Pryor's colourful book makes life in Britain BC often sound rather more appealing than the frenetic and anxious 21st century!' * Daily Mail * 'Vividly relating what life was like in pre-Roman Britain' * Choice Magazine * 'Our prehistoric cousins lie on the other side of a vast expanse of time ... Francis Pryor bridges that gap, showing how excavation and analysis can bring their stories to life. Of course, the gap between us and them is matched by the prehistoric era's epic sweep, and Pryor charts the changes witnessed across that time' * BBC History Magazine * 'Francis Pryor is always good value ... He cherrypicks the most interesting recent discoveries about Britain's past before the Romans' * Spectator, Books of the Year *

Decades worth of communicating archaeology on TV and a recent foray into crime fiction writing help make this book a highly compelling read * Spectator * An evocative foray into the prehistoric past... Pryor recreates [the prehistoric world] with an effortless narrative style' * BBC Countryfile Magazine * Brings almost impossibly distant times into brilliant focus * Eastern Daily Press Norfolk * Pryor's colourful book makes life in Britain BC often sound rather more appealing than the frenetic and anxious 21st century! * Daily Mail * Vividly relating what life was like in pre-Roman Britain * Choice Magazine * Our prehistoric cousins lie on the other side of a vast expanse of time... Francis Pryor bridges that gap, showing how excavation and analysis can bring their stories to life. Of course, the gap between us and them is matched by the prehistoric era's epic sweep, and Pryor charts the changes witnessed across that time' * BBC History Magazine * Francis Pryor is always good value... He cherrypicks the most interesting recent discoveries about Britain's past before the Romans' * Spectator, Books of the Year * Archaeologists, enthusiasts, and novices alike can turn the page and enter scenes from prehistory, learning what it meant to live in and experience the past * The Past *

Author Information

Francis Pryor is one of Britain's most distinguished living archaeologists, the excavator of Flag Fen and a sheep farmer. He is the author of seventeen books including The Fens (a Radio 4 Book of the Week), Stonehenge, Flag Fen, Britain BC, Britain AD, and The Making of the British Landscape.

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