Description

Brittany has long been famous for its Neolithic monuments, which include the largest prehistoric standing stone ever to have been erected in Western Europe, and the spectacular Carnac alignments. How and by whom were they built? This fully illustrated study aims to answer those questions using the results of recent French research on these sites, along with the insights provided by the author’s own field studies. The emphasis is on the landscape setting of these monuments, and how that landscape may have influenced or inspired the construction of megalithic tombs and settings of standing stones. The development of the monuments is set within a chronological narrative, from the last hunter-gatherers of the late 6th millennium BC and the arrival of the first farmers, down to the end of the Neolithic period 3000 years later.

Publisher Review

beautifully presented and right up to date ... the best introduction to English to its subject * Times Literary Supplement * This authoritative account of our current state of knowledge explores Breton monuments from the perspectives of landscape and materiality it offers Anglophone readers a valuable overview, highlighting how ideas have developed since the 18th century. * Alison Sheridan, British Archaeology * Chris Scarres Landscapes of Neolithic Brittany provides a comprehensive account of recent work ... Overall it provides a splendid and up to date overview of this period from which so many fine Breton monuments survive * Frances Griffith, Devon Archaeological Society * a compelling read for students and researchers alike. * Lou Albessard, Archaeological Review from Cambridge * updated study, full of fresh ideas, which represents the best current survey of the subject in our language ... excellent * Ronald Hutton, Time & Mind: The Journal of Archaeology, Consciousness and Culture *