Mark Edmonds

In 2017 my wife and I visited the Orkney Islands. We only had 2 days, so it was limited to the highlights (Skara Brae, Ring of Brodgar, Maeshowe). But that was enough to see that this very northern archipelago must have been a special place in Neolithic times: the megalithic monuments are very remarkable both quantitatively and qualitatively, because all built of stone (and we owe their preservation to that) in the period between about 3200 and 2500 BCE, so all in all in a quite limited period. Archaeologist Mark Edmonds does not limit himself to a dry overview of the finds, but also tries to really empathize with the 'mindset' of the people who built the houses, monuments, and ceremonial places, including what went into it in terms of world view, organizational skills, social interaction, etc. This is a remarkable book about a remarkable area. Some more remarks in my History account on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4205744892… (meer)