Hillforts of Iron Age Wales, The

Description

Toby Driver is quite the most perfect guide and in ‘The Hillforts of Iron Age Wales’ he combines an easy authority with clear readability, in a book quietly buoyed up by an obvious and communicable enthusiasm for the subject …Throughout, it’s an absorbing and informing read … a book that deserves to be on the bookshelf of anyone possessed with more than a passing interest in Wales. It’s a quietly marvellous achievement … a genuine gateway to the past, which Driver has turned into nothing less than an open door. – Nation.Cymru

This book provides a detailed introduction to the great hillforts, early villages and people of Iron Age Wales, showcasing the results of the latest research and discoveries alongside the pioneering investigations of early archaeologists. It examines hillforts and prehistoric life in Wales, focussing on some of the remarkable finds which tell the story of how early Wales developed and how the Romans conquered western Britain.

Beyond the more famous sites, Welsh hillforts – with their towering ramparts of earth and stone – are little known and can be difficult for visitors to understand on the ground today. Featuring ground and aerial photographs, vivid reconstructions, maps and plans, this book clearly explains how hillforts were engineered and built, how they were carefully sited in the landscape to oversee resources and territory and why prehistoric communities chose to live inside fortified villages.

Exploring coastal trade across western Wales in prehistory, along with the weaponry, industry and ways of life of the Iron Age people, the book also looks at the shadowy worlds of religion and ritual which culminated in deposits of prestige metalwork in the votive lakes and bogs of Wales.

Along with a gazetteer of Iron Age sites to visit, the book includes detailed tours and access information for ten hillforts of particular interest.

Dr Toby Driver is a specialist in the prehistoric and Roman archaeology of Wales and has written, lectured and broadcast widely on the subject of hillforts. He is the author of The Hillforts of Cardigan Bay and works as an aerial archaeologist with the Royal Commission, Wales. He is a Trustee of the Cambrian Archaeological Association and a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London.

Contents: Acknowledgements; Preface; Timeline: Iron Age and Roman Wales; 1. Exploring the hillforts of Wales; 2. Iron Age Wales and the wider world; 3. People, land and territory; 4. Weaponry and conflict; 5. Shock and awe: hillfort design and construction; 6. Ways of living: houses, farms and hut groups; 7. Worlds apart: coastal promontory forts; 8. Visiting the hillforts of Wales: a top ten; Further reading; Finding out more; References; Index

Paperback with flaps | 336 pages | 242 x 171 mm | 28 Sep 2023
c.200 colour illustrations
ISBN 9781910839676