Customer Reviews
A fine directory of 275 interesting archaeological sites - By: S. Crane, 05 Nov 2006 
The Synopsis is a fair description: "Region by region the Time Team select the most interesting & important sites..."
But what are these sites. How many do they describe in detail. Allow me to explain:
In the book, Britain & Ireland is divided into 15 regions; 10 for England, Wales is one, Scotland in 2, & Ireland in 2. Then 2-4 sites are described in detail for each region, a total of 51 for the book, with two & occasionallly four pages for each entry. Then in each region another 15 or so sites are very briefly described, with brief directions on how to drive to each, a total of 225 for the book. The contents page unfortunately does not list the 51 detailed sites so..
The Regions & the sites described in detail are:
South west- Maiden castle, Chysauster, Bath spa town, Glastonbury abbey
South- Avebury, Stonehenge, Portchester Roman fort,
London- Roman London, Globe theatre, Merton Abbey mills
South East- Boxgrove paleolithic site, Lullington Roman villa, Fishbourne Roman British palace
Heart of England- Wroxeter lost Roman city, Kenilworth castle ruins, Ironbridge gorge, Birmingham canals
East-Grimes graves, Flag Fen, Sutton Hoo, West Stow Anglo-saxon village
East Midlands- Creswell crags prehistoric art, Arbor Low stone circle, Lincoln city
North west England- Ribchester Roman fort, Cuerdale Viking hord, Liverpool docks & ralway
Yorkshire- York, Rievaulx abbey, Wharram Percy deserted medieval 1400's village,
North England- Hadrians walll, Vindolanda roman fort,Lindisfarne, Furness Abbey,
Wales- Castell Beullys iron age hillfort, Llangorse royal fortress in lake, Conwy castle, Blaenavan industrial revolution iron works
South Scotland- Crannog centre, Whithorn early Christian centre 400AD,
Scottish Highlands- Skara Brae, Maes Howe neolithic burial site, Iona early Christian settlement,
North Ireland- Navan prechristain religious sanctuary 100BC- 400AD, Nendrum early Christian centre 700AD
Republic of Ireland- Newgrange, Tara, Clonmacnoise medieval monastic site 500AD, Dublin, Turoe Stone Clonfert, Trim, Portumna
There are colour photos on every page, & 17 reconstruction drawings by TV show illustrator Victor Ambrus. There are no site plans for each site, pity. There is a map for each Region at a scale of about 1:1,000,000 showing roads, rivers & towns. It would have been nice if these maps were at a greater scale. You will need a 1;250,000 scale road atlas to find most sites. There is no "Further Reading" list for any site (not even Stonehenge) or the book as a whole, another omission. But there is a web site listed for each of the 51 major sites, often English Heritage or the National Trust.
These quibbles aside, the book is a fine directory of the more interesting archaeological sites open to the public in Britain & Ireland
The book finishes with a list of the Time Team's personal "Top Ten" sites: Grimes graves, Avebury, Newgrange, Maes Howe, Flag fen, Maiden Castle, bath, Sutton Hoo, Conwey castle & Ironbridge Gorge.
A beautiful and informative book! - By: Iceni Peasant, 05 Apr 2005 
Wow! This is a gorgeous book....and MUCH thicker & heavier than it first appears!
You don't have to have watched the Time Team TV series to like this book.
The book shows some of the best archaeological & historical sites in Britain & Ireland, some more famous than others. The book is structured into sections/regions, ie: South-west of England, East of England etc, with maps of the area to show their position. The site of interest is then described with the historical background, followed by information on how to get to the place for a visit, website addresses where possible & sometimes other information on other sites nearby.
Each site is illustrated with colour photos and/or diagrams or paintings, created by Victor the Time Team artist who interprets & gives life to how the historical sites may have looked in their own time.
The text is easy to read & to the point with no excessive waffle. It's the sort of book you don't have to read from start to finish, but can pick up from time to time & just read a few pages about a couple of sites at a time.
It's a truly beautiful book with some stunning photos, alll printed on high quality paper. A must for the history fan & a definte MUST for the Time Team fan!
