A tour of Ireland can adopt many themes – for example, castles, restaurants, pubs, spas, golf courses. Another way to explore the Irish countryside and see its mysterious past will be made easier from September 2018 when ‘The Old Stones: A Field Guide to the Megalithic Sites of Britain and Ireland by Andy Burnham’ is published by Watkins Publishing.
The iconic standing stones of Ireland and Britain are world renowned for their enduring mystery – intrigue and speculation have flourished around them since recorded history began. While everybody knows about Drombeg (above) and Newgrange in Ireland, or Stonehenge in Britain, there are numerous other sites across these islands, equally as fascinating but much less well known, that await popular discovery.
The Old Stones is the most detailed field guide ever published to the prehistoric places of Ireland and Britain, divided by region, featuring 126 sites in Ireland and more than 750 overall (hundreds of which are not covered elsewhere), with over 500 colour photographs. It is packed with articles that will change the way you see these sites, from investigation into how the stones may have been aligned on prominent landscape features, to up-to-the-minute archaeological insights based on computer modelling or sensory techniques.
This is the only book about standing stones created by the whole community of megalith enthusiasts, as represented by the archaeologists, photographers, theorists, and stones aficionados who post on the biggest megalithic website in the world: the Megalithic Portal. It includes unparalleled coverage of Ireland’s Neolithic and Bronze Age sites, from standing stones, circles and henges, to dolmens, barrows and prehistoric settlements. We learn where they are, how to access them, what to look out for, and how to understand what is left on the ground.
With a contemporary design that reflects the cultural status of our megalithic sites, this will be a volume to gift and take out on expeditions. The book will be published on 20th September 2018 in paperback priced at £29.99 and can be ordered from Ireland here
