The Story of Archaeology in Britain Author:Ronald Jessup Description from dust jacket: — Of the making of books about archaeology there is no end, and on balance it is a good thing that it should be so. In all its wide variety the story of Britain's past is part of our national heritage to be enjoyed by young and old, the seriously interested and the generally interested alike. — Since all archaeology ... more »depends in the first instance upon discovery, a large part of this book is concerned with the eventful story of discovery in Britain and the background and personalities against which it is set. There is discovery, too, in our own approach to the past, and for this reason there are frequent references to publications which can be used in confidence to direct and inform further study.
There are chapters on Discovery by Chance, Discovery by Purpose - that is by field work and excavation - Discovery from the Air, upon which so much modern research depends, and on Discovery and Science and Discovery and Dating. There is a brief account of Fossil Man in Britain, and a full account of the way in which discovery is published and communicated to the world at large. A chapter is devoted to False Antiquities and some of the entertaining stories of the characters who were responsible, and another to Four Pioneers of archaeological discovery in Britain. There follows a summary account of some recent discoveries of interest and importance, and the book ends with a section called Seeing for Yourself, which is a short guide to archaeology out-of-doors, and a useful bibliography.
A feature of the book is its numerous and quite outstanding photographs.
Ronald Jessup, a well-known Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, has written several books and many papers on various aspects of archaeology. His Puzzle of the Past was most warmly acclaimed in its English, American and six foreign editions, while his last book, Curiosities of British Archaeology was described as 'wit, love, patience, respect and scholarship...a dipper's book to be sure, and praise be for that.' He was recently the recipient of a Leverhulme Research Award for the study of Roman burial mounds in Northern Europe.« less