New Reading the Landscape: Fieldwork in Landscape History

by Richard Muir

In this essential handbook for all those researching landscape history, Richard Muir explains how to recognize and interpret the complex evidence for historical change in England's countryside. Drawing on the wealth of research carried out since Reading the Landscape was originally published in 1981, Muir provides a masterly synthesis of current thinking about the history of the key elements in England's rural landscape. As well as covering familiar topics such as villages, woodlands and roads, he explores how landscape features are human ideas made manifest-boundary walls and hedges reflect territoriality, churches and henges reflect belief and castles and hillforts reflect status and the need for defence. Throughout, he explains how the researcher can link the evidence of field archaeology, ecology and documentary research to develop as complete a picture as possible.An entirely rewritten successor to the original Reading the Landscape, with full referencing. Illustrated with
60 original maps guid

Genres: Archaeology

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Richard Muir is Senior Lecturer in Geography in the University College of Ripon and York St John. He is one of Britain's most widely published and respected landscape historians. Two of his bestselling books on British landscape have won the Yorkshire Arts Literary Prize.

Reviews

[Johanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book, a really good intro to learning to read the landscape. Nicely divided into landscape types.

[Lee Broderick · Rating 2 out of 5]

A classic textbook on the subject but one I think is rather superseded by Historic Landscape Analysis: Deciphering The Countryside.