Sark: A Sacred Island

by Barry Cunliffe, Emma Durham

Sark came briefly to prominence in 1719 when the Sark hoard was found - a pot containing Gaulish coins and embossed silver plaques. It was brought to England and disappeared. The Archaeological Survey of Sark began in 2004 with a view to studying the island in the context of Atlantic maritime networks to explore the themes of remoteness and connectivity. Fieldwork organized through the School of Archaeology, University of Oxford has been carried out annually and continues. A complete gazetteer of nearly 100 sites has been compiled together with a full listing of all the artifacts recovered. Notable are the large number of Neolithic stone axes, many made from the local dolerite, and the widespread use of local serpentine to make amulets.

Sark: A Sacred Island contains full reports on eight archaeological excavations including details of an early Neolithic settlement, a middle Neolithic ritual site, a Beaker cist burial, a Mid-Late Bronze Age settlement, a Gallo-Roman ritual site (from which the Sark hoard came) and an early Medieval farm. Results of surveys of a Dark Age monastery and 16th century French fortifications are also given.

280 pages, Hardcover

First published December 31, 2019

About the author

Sir Barrington Windsor Cunliffe taught archaeology in the Universities of Bristol and Southampton and was Professor of European Archaeology at the University of Oxford from 1972 to 2008, thereafter becoming Emeritus Professor. He has excavated widely in Britain (Fishbourne, Bath, Danebury, Hengistbury Head, Brading) and in the Channel Islands, Brittany, and Spain, and has been President of the Council for British Archaeology and of the Society of Antiquaries, Governor of the Museum of London, and a Trustee of the British Museum. He is currently a Commissioner of English Heritage.