Overview

The West Midlands has struggled archaeologically to project a distinct regional identity, having largely been defined by reference to other areas with a stronger cultural identity and history, such as Wessex the South-West, and the North. Only occasionally has the West Midlands come to prominence, for instance in the middle Saxon period (viz. the kingdom of Mercia), or, much later, with rural south Shropshire being the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution. Yet it is a region rich in natural mineral resources, set amidst readily productive farmland, and with major rivers, such as the Severn, facilitating transportation. The scale of its later prehistoric monuments, notably the hillforts, proclaims the centralisation of some functions, whether for security, exchange or emulation, while society supported the production and widespread distribution of specialised craft goods. Finally, towards the close of prehistory, localised kingdoms can be seen to emerge into view. In the course of reviewing the evidence for later prehistory from the Middle Bronze Age to Late Iron Age, the papers presented here adopt a variety of approaches, being either regional, county-wide, or thematic (eg. by site type, or artefactual typology), and they also encompass the wider landscape as reconstructed from environmental evidence. This is the second volume in a series - The Making of the West Midlands - that explores the archaeology of the English West Midlands region from the Lower Palaeolithic onwards. These volumes, based on a series of West Midlands Research Framework seminars, aim to transform perceptions of the nature and significance of the archaeological evidence across a large part of central Britain.

Full Product Details

Author:   Derek Hurst
Publisher:   Oxbow Books
Imprint:   Oxbow Books
Volume:   2
Dimensions:   Width: 21.70cm , Height: 1.50cm , Length: 27.90cm
Weight:   0.794kg
ISBN:  

9781785704116

ISBN 10:   1785704117
Pages:   160
Publication Date:   31 January 2017
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Out of stock  
The supplier is temporarily out of stock of this item. It will be ordered for you on backorder and shipped when it becomes available.

Table of Contents

Preface Summary Foreign language summaries 1. Introduction: Westward on the high-hilled plains Niall Sharples 2. Cows, beans and the view: landscape and farming of the West Midlands in later prehistory Elizabeth Pearson 3. 'The Bronze Age has lagged behind ...'. Late Bronze Age settlement and landscape in the West Midlands Hal Dalwood 4. Burnt mounds and beyond: the later prehistory of Birmingham and the Black Country Mike Hodder 5. Any more old Iron Age? An archaeological resource assessment for the Middle Bronze Age to Iron Age in Warwickshire and Solihull Stuart C. Palmer 6. Herefordshire: from the Middle Bronze Age to the later Iron Age Peter Dorling, Keith Ray and Paul White 7. Fugitive pieces: towards a new understanding of the later second and first millennia BC in Shropshire Andy Wigley 8. The Late Bronze Age and Iron Age in Staffordshire: the torc of the Midlands? Chris Wardle 9. Middle Bronze Age to Late Iron Age Worcestershire Derek Hurst 10. An overview of the ceramic basis within the broader West Midlands region Annette Hancocks 11. The potential of the Portable Antiquities Scheme and treasure finds for understanding the Iron Age in the West Midlands Angie Bolton 12. Later prehistoric production and trade in the West Midlands Derek Hurst 13. Touching the void: Iron Age landscapes and settlement in the West Midlands Andy Wigley Index

Reviews

The authors are to be praised for their careful, critical assessment of the myriad evidence available to them for study. Their individual and collective knowledge and experience, gained over decades of dedication and commitment, particularly during a period of recession and local authority changes, deserves wider recognition. -- Elaine Morris * Current Archaeology *

Author Information

Derek Hurst is a senior project manager with Worcestershire Archaeology and heads their post-excavation. With an extensive background in ceramic studies, his principal research interest is in the central role of finds data for the interpretation of sites.

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