PREHISTORIC WILTSHIRE – AN ILLUSTRATED GUIDE by
Bob Clarke
Amberley Publishing, Stroud. 2011. 128 pages, 151 illus including 131 col and 20
mono plates. ISBN 978-1-84868-877-3, pb, £14.99
This attractive book is the latest in a successful series from the Stroud-based publisher
Amberley. (Amongst others, their titles include Prehistoric Gloucestershire by Tim
Darvill, and John Aubrey and Stone Circles: Britain’s First Archaeologist by Aubrey
Burl.) It is well written by a knowledgeable local archaeologist in a style that is
pleasingly free of jargon, and opens with a fitting tribute from Francis Pryor.
As with some other titles in the series, this pocket-sized book is specifically designed
as a field guide (at 235 x 165mm it is slightly larger than A5), in this instance
describing nearly 50 of the most visible and accessible prehistoric monuments within
the county of Wiltshire. The selected sites are grouped by topographic region (the
Marlborough Downs, the Vale of Pewsey and so on), the majority situated on the
chalk uplands. All the familiar forms of earthwork from causewayed camps and long
barrows to round barrow groups and hillforts are covered. Appropriately, they include
the monuments of the World Heritage Site centred on Avebury and Stonehenge, but
information from the latest fieldwork in those areas ensures up-to-date coverage.
An introductory section provides a brief outline of the conventional sub-divisions of
later prehistory (the Mesolithic to the Iron Age). Thereafter, details are offered on
how best to reach each site: although there are no maps, National Grid References and
useful directions are offered. Some of the sites are on private land and hence the book
judiciously warns ‘this guide does not infer rights of way’, deferring to the county’s
highway authority for the latest information on footpaths and bridleways.
Nonetheless, it describes what can be seen at each site from the best publiclyaccessible vantage points. The entries briefly describe the history of investigation at
each site and summarize current understanding of its function and date.
The book is beautifully illustrated. The majority of the figures are the author’s own
fine colour photographs, although some monochrome archival images are also used
where necessary. Arguably the best views are the excellent oblique aerial
photographs. Their use as an invaluable aid to comprehension recalls the local
tradition pioneered by O. G. S. Crawford and Alexander Keiller in their 1928 work,
Wessex from the Air. Evidently, the author enlisted the help of several pilots,
employing a range of micro-light and private aircraft to gain the necessary
perspective. Because the book focuses on visible sites, most of the subjects are
obviously upstanding earthworks. Nonetheless, the photographs include a few soilmarks, crop-marks and excavations to emphasis that even in an area which boasts
some of the country’s best-known monuments, many others have been lost from
normal view.
It is well known that Wiltshire contains a remarkable number of well-preserved field
monuments of various forms, and hence the author is in the enviable position of being
able to select the most impressive. Because of the quality and visibility of its ancient
monuments, Wiltshire is an ideal region to serve as an introduction for those
unfamiliar with prehistoric remains, but equally it is an unceasing source of
inspiration for the most experienced archaeologist. The field monuments are
complemented by outstanding local museums whose displays reflect the long history
of archaeological investigation within the county. Yet, despite the richness of their
collections, these museums remain the responsibility of private trusts and societies
that constantly struggle to find the necessary resources to conserve and exhibit their
assets. It is most commendable, therefore, that Bob Clarke, the author, has written
Prehistoric Wiltshire as a personal contribution to the Wiltshire Archaeological and
Natural History Society’s fund raising effort to re-display the famous Bronze Age
gallery at Devizes Museum. There are thus two compelling reasons to buy this
excellent book – to guide you to some of the best prehistoric sites in Southern
England, and to help display the spectacular objects found in some of those sites.
Andrew J Lawson
Salisbury
April 2012
“The views expressed in this review are not necessarily those of the Society or the
Reviews Editor”