top of page

Books on The Anglo-Saxons

The Anglo-Saxons were a major cultural force in post-Roman Britain and evidence of them can be seen in many and varied forms. From churches to burials and from treasure hoards to place-names these people left their mark on our islands.

Early Humans

The Anglo-Saxons: A History of the Beginnings of England

Morris, Marc. The Anglo-Saxons: A History of the Beginnings of England. Cornerstone, London, 2021. 

In his latest work Marc Morris gives us the story of the Anglo-Saxons and traces six hundred years that were formative in the creation of what came to be known as England. It explains the struggle between powerful leaders and the later threat of the Vikings. It explores the changes in religion and the establishment of Christianity. Of course there are famous figures like King Offa, Alfred the Great and Edward the Confessor, but also features a host of lesser known characters. Morris uses a host of sources to create a picture of turbulent but influential times.

Neanderthals among mammoths: excavations at Lynford Quarry, Norfolk, UK

The Old Stones: A Field Guide to the Megalithic Sites of Britain and Ireland

Burnham, Andy, and Michael Parker Pearson, eds. The Old Stones: A Field Guide to the Megalithic Sites of Britain and Ireland: The Megalithic Portal. London: Watkins, 2018. An accessible guide to the Megaliths around Britain be they stone circles, standing stones or even the occasional oddity.

La Cotte de la St. Brelade 1961-1978

The Neolithic of Britain and Ireland

Cummings, Vicki. The Neolithic of Britain and Ireland. Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY: Routledge, 2017. A good general introductory text to the subject.

The Oxford Illustrated History of Prehistoric Europe

Orcadia: Land, Sea and Stone in Neolithic Orkney

Edmonds, Mark. Orcadia: Land, Sea and Stone in Neolithic Orkney. Head of Zeus. 2019. Another really interesting work by one of Britain’s leading archaeologists of the Neolithic.

Prehistoric Britain 2nd Edition

The tale of the axe: how the Neolithic revolution transformed Britain

Miles, David. The tale of the axe: how the Neolithic revolution transformed Britain. London: Thames & Hudson, 2016. A look at how one tool resulted in such significant change in the landscape.

Britain: One Million Years of the Human Story

Neolithic Britain: The Transformation of Social Worlds

Ray, Keith, and Julian Thomas. Neolithic Britain: The Transformation of Social Worlds, Oxford University Press, 2020. A new book on the impact of a new cultural world between 4,000 and 2,000 BCE.

Origins and Revolutions: Human Identity in Earliest Prehistory.

The Megalithic Monuments of Britain and Ireland

Scarre, Christopher. The Megalithic Monuments of Britain and Ireland. London ; New York: Thames & Hudson, 2007. More on the monuments that came to define a new age.

Settling the Earth: The Archaeology of Deep Human History.

Between The Wind and The Water: World Heritage Orkney

Wickham-Jones, Caroline. Between the wind and the water: World Heritage Orkney. London: Thames & Hudson, 2016. The Neolithic in Orkney was the setting for some of the most significant changes in the social world of the people who lived there and far beyond.

bottom of page