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Further reading
The Big Dig Archaeology Action Pack by Jonathan Barnes, Stephen Scoffham and William Stow (Canterbury Archaeological Trust, 2001), free to teachers leading group visits.
Resources for teachers leading group visits to the Big Dig, including background materials, activity sheets and suggested schemes of work for Key Stages 1, 2 and 3.
Sponsored by Kent Archaeological Society, the pack can be picked up at the Big Dig itself, by post from the Canterbury Archaeological Trust or downloaded from the CAT website at www.canterburytrust.co.uk. Teachers are also welcome to make preliminary visits to the Big Dig exhibition free of charge.
The following books have been suggested by Oxbow Books in Oxford, specialist booksellers in archaeology and medieval history and organisers of the Time Team Book Club.
General
The Romans in Britain
Roman religion
Medieval monasteries and monastic life
St Augustine
The Canterbury Tales
Medieval crafts
Books out of Time Team
General
Archaeology in British Towns by Patrick Ottaway (Routledge, 1992) £18.99
A useful synthesis of the past 25 years of urban archaeology, subtitled ‘From the Emperor Claudius to the Black Death’. Ottaway draws on his experience of excavation in York to examine and contrast urban development during the Roman, Anglo-Saxon and medieval periods. He describes both the results of particular excavations – including Roman and medieval sites in Canterbury – and the principles and challenges facing urban archaeologists.
Picturing the Past: The art of reconstruction by Brian Davison (Cadw/English Heritage, 1997) £8.95
Reconstruction is an essential part of presenting archaeology to the public. At the same time, pictures are the equal of 1,000 interpretative words and have a subconscious effect on scholars and the general reader alike. Such issues are well-addressed in a publication that also showcases the very best reconstruction illustrations from the Neolithic to the medieval period in Britain, including pictures of building work on castles and cathedrals and of life within the cloister.
The Romans in Britain
The Roman Invasion of Britain by Graham Webster (Routledge, 2nd edition 1993) £15.99
A reprint of the latest edition of the first volume of Graham Webster’s history of Britain. He presents the background to Britain before the invasion and the impact of Julius Caesar’s campaigns on Kent (including Durovernum, present-day Canterbury). Webster also describes the Roman forces, the personalities involved, the actual invasion – including the battle on the Medway – and Claudius’s triumphal entrance into Camulodunum (Colchester), the British capital.
Life in Roman Britain by Joan Alcock (Batsford/English Heritage, 1996) £15.99
A good introduction to the social life of Romano-Britain, vividly recreated through reconstruction drawings and photographs. Alcock focuses on topics such as administration, the law and the composition of society, religion, entertainment, housing, eating and drinking.
Roman Britain by John Wacher (Sutton, rev. edition 1998) £10 (special Oxbow price).
First published in 1978, this solid study has been updated to take account of new discoveries. Wacher begins with life in Britain before the arrival of the Romans and the effect of invasion and warfare upon the population. He then considers the problems of urbanisation that faced the Romans and their new administrative processes – Canterbury was among the first self-governing communities of Roman Britain. Other chapters examine the daily occupation of Roman and native inhabitants of Britain, their superstitions, beliefs and leisure. Wacher finally explores what happened to the Britons after the Romans left.
Roman religion
The Cults of the Roman Empire by Robert Turcan (Blackwell, 1996) £16.99
The multiplicity of gods, goddesses and cults that existed within the Roman Empire are attested to by the evidence of engravings, sculpture, votive dedications and inscriptions. Alongside the deities of the Roman pantheon were those imported over the years from Greece, Asia Minor, Egypt and even further east. Robert Turcan’s text compares different ‘families’ of gods and their associated cultic rituals, providing a clear picture of beliefs and worship practices across the Empire.
Dictionary of Roman Religion by Lesley Adkins and Roy A Adkins (Facts on File, 1996) £24.95
A fine dictionary of the many gods, rituals and religions of the Roman Empire. While many of their traditions and deities were inherited from predecessors, notably the Greeks, or ‘borrowed’ from their dominions, there are numerous elements of the Romans’ religious world that cannot be ascribed to foreign cultures. This volume aims to set Roman religion in as full a context as possible, with brief definitions and comprehensive entries.
The Romans and Their Gods by R M Ogilvie (Pimlico, 2000) £10
The Roman Empire of the first centuries BC and AD encompassed a multitude of different races, each with their individual religions. Roman religion had no dogma and, therefore, it was not unusual to devote oneself to more than one cult at a time or to adapt a religion to suit one’s nature. This concise volume examines belief during a period of approximately 100 years (80 BC to AD 69), at the end of which Christianity began to change the tolerant character of Roman religion completely.
The Roman Cult of Mithras by Manfred Claus, translated by Richard Gordon (Edinburgh University Press, 2000) £14.99
Originally published in German in 1990, this is a new and updated English edition of Claus’s fascinating introduction to one of Rome’s most successful mystery cults. Claus draws on evidence from over 420 archaeological sites, as well as hundreds of inscriptions and depictions of bull-killing, to place the Mithraic cult within a wider religious and social context. He examines the origins of the cult in the 1st century AD and suggests a connection with the Persian and Hellenistic deity Mitra. The book examines the significant astrological element in the rituals and their artistic representations and explores the relationship of the cult with other Roman gods. Claus follows the cult across the Roman world, including England, until the 4th century when it finally lost its long-running battle with Christianity. This enjoyable account is illustrated throughout and provides a comprehensive list of further reading.
Medieval monasteries and monastic life
Abbeys and Monasteries by Derry Brabbs (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1999) £8.99
A portfolio of colour photographs that records Britain’s monastic buildings, whether intact or as picturesque ruins in the landscape. The buildings are arranged by monastic order and the photographs are accompanied by clear and informative histories. Brabbs is a professional photographer with a keen appreciation of the countryside and his attractive guide to the landscape is a source of inspiration. Canterbury's St Augustine’s abbey is just one of the many highlights.
Discovering Abbeys and Priories by Geoffrey N Wright (Shire, 3rd edition 1994) £5.99
A user-friendly handbook that clarifies the difference between abbeys and priories, traces the history of monasteries from Anglo-Saxon times to the Dissolution and describes the different monastic orders. The bulk of the guide contains an illustrated gazetteer of 200 sites open to the public.
Life in a Medieval Abbey by Tony McAleavy (English Heritage, 1996) £6.95
This illustrated introduction to monasteries aims to explain how and why monasticism established itself in Britain and elsewhere and to show what monastic life was like in the Middle Ages. Concise descriptions, scenes from illuminated manuscripts and diagrams reconstruct daily life in an abbey, the turbulent history of monasteries, their place in the medieval economy and landscape and their dissolution.
Monasteries in the Landscape by Mick Aston (Tempus, 2000) £14.99
This new paperback is a revised, rewritten and extensively updated edition of Mick’s 1993 Monasteries book (long out of print) that focused on the place of the monasteries in the British landscape. In this new book, Mick explains how and why monasticism developed in Britain and why monasteries were placed where they were. The study looks beyond the closed world of the monastery, abbey or priory to examine their agricultural, industrial and commercial activities, which had a huge impact on the surrounding countryside and towns.
St Augustine
St Augustine’s Abbey, Canterbury: A resource book for teachers by Stephen Scoffham (English Heritage, 1988) £3.95
This comprehensively illustrated teachers’ guide to the history and building of the abbey combines notes, diagrams and reconstruction drawings for preparation and follow-up work with trail sheets that lead pupils around the site. The emphasis is on enquiry-based learning that can be developed later on in the classroom.
St Augustine of Canterbury by Richard Gameson (Dean & Chapter of Canterbury, 1997) £4.50
This booklet was produced to accompany an exhibition of photographs at the abbey, which relate to St Gregory the Great, St Augustine and the Conversion of England. The photographs show a wide range of artefacts, manuscripts, architecture and sculpture, each complemented by concise descriptions.
St Augustine and the Conversion of England, edited by Richard Gameson (Sutton, 1999) £30
The arrival on these shores of St Augustine, a Roman missionary, in AD 597 was a major factor in the conversion of Anglo-Saxon pagans to Christianity. This important book is the result of a 1997 conference in Canterbury, which was part of the 1400th anniversary celebrations of St Augustine’s first arrival in England. The 17 contributors explore the various social, political, cultural and religious changes that ensued as well as the role and achievements of Augustine and his contemporaries. Literary, artistic, architectural and archaeological sources are all drawn upon.
The Canterbury Tales
The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, translated by Nevill Coghill (Penguin Classics, 3rd rev. edition 1977) £3.99
A vigorous, uncluttered and humorous verse translation of a medieval literary masterpiece. The tales, told by pilgrims gathered from across the social spectrum, provide a vivid and entertaining picture of life in 14th-century England.
The Canterbury Tales: The first fragment by Geoffrey Chaucer, edited by Michael Alexander (Penguin Classics, 1996) £5.99
The full text in Middle English, with a facing glossary, of what is arguably the most popular section of The Canterbury Tales, encompassing the general Prologue and the tales of the Knight, Miller, Reeve and Cook. Chaucer’s text is preceded by a useful introduction and concludes with a detailed set of explanatory notes.
Medieval crafts
English Tilers by Elizabeth Eames (British Museum Press, 1992) £7.99
A superbly illustrated introduction to medieval tiles: their manufacture, design and use. Once commissioned solely for cathedrals and palaces, by the later medieval period these elaborate tiles enriched homes and churches across Britain. This invaluable guide is written by one of the foremost authorities on the subject.
Masons and Sculptors by Nicola Coldstream (British Museum Press, 1991) £7.99
Drawing on masons’ records, building contracts and accounts plus inscriptions, self-portraits and personal marks, Coldstream discusses who the masons were, the organisation of their professional lives, their patrons and how they designed and built the cathedrals and castles. The guide is beautifully illustrated with photographs and plans of their masterpieces, as well as numerous scenes from illuminated manuscripts that show masons at work.
Embroiderers by Kay Staniland (British Museum Press, 1991) £6.99
An attractively presented guide to the world of medieval embroiderers. Staniland discusses the designers and their designs, the guilds, the production techniques and the patrons who ordered the work. Each section includes photographs of surviving examples of medieval embroidery and artistic representations of the craftsmen and the results.
Books out of Time Team
Mick’s Archaeology by Mick Aston (Tempus, 2000) £12.99
Beneath the stripey jumper lies a professor of archaeology, a lecturer at the University of Bristol and a prolific writer. In this book, Mick explains what got him into archaeology in the first place, what he likes and dislikes about the subject and how he became involved in Time Team. He discusses his career, the sites he has dug and his love for landscape archaeology, which has been the subject of many of his other books (see Monasteries in the Landscape above).
Behind the Scenes at Time Team by Tim Taylor (Channel 4 Books/Boxtree, 1998) £12.99
As the Time Team producer’s memoirs of the 1998 series makes clear, transferring excavation to the screen has not always been easy, although consistently entertaining. With lots of colour photographs and a juicy text, this is an enjoyable read. Now available in paperback.
The Ultimate Time Team Companion by Tim Taylor (Channel 4 Books/Boxtree, 1999) £14.95
This ‘alternative history of Britain’ includes all of the Time Team sites excavated before 1999, arranged chronologically, from the Palaeolithic period, through numerous Roman and medieval projects, to the excavation of a World War II Spitfire. All of the sites are superbly illustrated, accompanied by a quirky and entertaining text. Five digs are covered in detail, showing how the team worked: Eleveden, Suffolk; Flag Fen, Cambridgeshire; Cirencester, Gloucestershire; Basing, Hampshire; Wierre-Effroy, France.
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