Iron Age Britain

English Heritage

by Barry Cunliffe

This completely revised and redesigned edition of Professor Barry Cunliffe’s authoritative introduction to Britain in the first millennium BC is the definitive text on the subject. Filled with color illustrations, it includes all the latest discoveries about this still-controversial era. In Europe, dramatic changes ultimately led to the emergence of Rome as a megastate; on the extremity of those developments, England underwent its own profound social and economic transformations as the prehistoric Neolithic and Bronze ages gave way to a new world. It’s an epic tale of revolution, one not repeated again until centuries later.

Genres: History, Archaeology, Nonfiction, British Literature, Prehistory

128 pages, Paperback

First published June 30, 1994

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.

Reviews

[Sherrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very detailed and well informed book about this period of history. I found it interesting but a little too complex for me. I may try a less detailed book about the iron age next.

[Aithne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not gonna lie, I bought this one a bit dumbly, just because I was curious how it compares to the amazing Iron Age Communities in Britain: An account of England, Scotland and Wales from the Seventh Century BC until the Roman Conquest by the same author. Judging by the page count, I expected it to be way less detailed, and therefore also less satisfying. And... Well, surely it didn't go into as much detail as the other book, just that I'm not sure if that's necessarily a bad thing. I'd assume a general reader simply wants to get some kind of understanding what iron age in Britain looked like and doesn't need 60 pages dedicated to different types of pottery (which, by the way, all. look. exactly. the. same). Or ramparts (which also look the same, lol, at least some of them).

So if a general picture is what you're after, then this book is a good choice. It's still Cunliffe, so you get a solid dose of professional analysis, all the main points covered, you'll probably learn a lot. Bonus points for beautiful illustrations which are a tremendous help in making the things mentioned in the text come to life. For all the mentions of excarnation in the other book, it was only the picture provided here which made it at last possible for me to imagine what it might've looked like...

Iron Age Communities in Britain reads like a textbook. A full, unabridged edition of everything that's ever been said in your lecture. Iron Age Britain reads like the notes you took during those lectures and which you're revising before the final exam. All the most important points in a concise form. More superficial, but also more digestible.

I give it only three stars because, even though it was nice to revise the whole topic and (re)discover some interesting titbits, I was simply pretty bored reading it. After both Iron Age Communities in Britain AND The Ancient Celts, it was basically reading the very same words for the third time. If it was at least some other author, (s)he would have probably at least put emphasis on other points, structure the whole thing differently, maybe even present some conflicting points of view. But this is literally the same story. Not the book's fault, but welp, those are my personal feelings towards it.

But the pictures are cool. Have I mentioned the pictures are cool? Worth it.

(Granted, the book costed me sth like 2,50 EUR + shipping costs, so it'd have to try hard not to be worth it ;) )

[Monty Milne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Barry Cunliffe writes authoritatively and with some style, and manages to pack a great deal into what is a relatively brief book. It is an excellent introduction to the period, although of course it is now somewhat out of date. Since it was published in 1995 there have been many further studies and discoveries, particularly in the field of genetics. I came across a cheap second hand copy of this book, and enjoyed it a great deal; but those who are really keen on the subject will want something both meatier and more up to date.

[Rhiannon Grant · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short overview of the period, with good illustrations and references to the broader European context.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was published almost 30 years ago, so some minor parts are out of date and I think Cunliffe would agree. But on the whole it's a well researched and brilliant book to summarise Iron Age Britain, and a great jumping off point to some of his more dense work.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite a feat to get so much content about into a small book, but an expert in the subject like Cunliffe manages to do it nicely and maintain the flow and readability. The quality of the English Herritage books never dissapoints with a ton of pictures, maps and diagrams to support the text.

[Del · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good general overview and easy to read introduction to the British Ice Age that could do with an update.