What to read??

[BAJR Host]

What are your best suggestions for a budding archaeologist / budded archaeologist / armchair archaeologist to read.

My fave at the moment for Building Recording

'Guidelines on Recording a Vernacular Building'
by Yorkshire Vernacular Buildings Group
download for free at http://www.yvbsg.org.uk/publications.htm
:)

BAJR

[BoltonSquanderer]

Paul Bahn, "The Bluffers Guide To Archaeology", people have have made a career on the basis of reading it!

[destroyer]

Another vote for Bluffers Guide from me. I didnt actually base a career on it as i only read it after i'd got going, the problem was i seem to have followed it anyway.

[BAJR Host]

Damn you all.... you have found my guilty secret... Bluffing.. the only way!!

[Beardstroker]

I suppose the fairly obvious ones are Phillip Barkers "Techniques of Archaeological Excavation and " Understanding Archaeological Excavation" which although a little dated in parts are still pretty relavant.
There's also a good guide to excavation techniques by John Collis which I can't for the life of me remember the title of at the moment.Also Renfrew and Bahns, Archaeology:Theory, Methods and Practise if your feeling brave.

On the lighter side, the Bluffers Guide is an absolute must as is Phillip Ratze's "How to get an excavation finished or Night Thoughts after reading PA Barkers Techniques of Archaeological Excavation" IF you can find a copy of it.This contains one of the best pieces of advice ever which is "Don't read anything by Ed Harris as it will only upset you"
For the budding Romanist a complete set of Asterix books is probably essential. Don't know what to recommend to Prehistorians though. Stig of the Dump prehaps:D

[Oxbeast]

'Clan of the Cave Bear' for prehistorians. Newer books in the series have kept up with developments in theory fairly well. Not all accurate by any means, but there's plenty there to get you interested.

[Post-Med Potterer]

Surveying for Archaeologists by F. Bettess. Much reprinted, very cheap, and tells all you young-uns who just think that you can press a button exactly what a triangle is and why it is important.

I would also recommend the Cambridge Series of Archaeological Manuals (or whatever they were called). I don't know if you can still get them even, and they are quite expensive. But there are a whole range on Illustration, Pottery and so-on. White-coloured hardbacks.

[destroyer]

What about anything by Erich Von Daniken or the various other nutjobs who's names i forget. As some famous general probably once said, it is important to understand your enemy. Plus it provides useful ideas, when a member of the public asks what is it you've found?/whats the point of this then? you have a ready supply of answers about stone age satellite dishes transferring mana to atlantis.

[the invisible man]

All these for "buddings";

Any of the Shire series, and the old EH/Batsford series.

Collis - Digging up the Past

Cunliffe's Great Big Book of the Iron Age (ok it's dated and only for lottery winners)

Harding D W - Iron Age in Lowland Britain. Well, dated again but I like it, and a bit of an antidate to the above.

PPS - just to sort them out.

MAP2 and IFA Standards and Guidance. That should warn them.:D

All the Hornblower novels. Not much to do with it really, but I like them.

AVOID anything with the words Time Team or Celtic in the title.

[julesp600]

The books we recommend to our group are:
http://www.field-archaeology.net/read.htm

The AS book is a must for the students studying AS or A2 archaeology.

http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/stats/team/team_45514.html
SETI@home is a scientific experiment that uses Internet-connected computers in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). You can participate by running a free program that downloads and analyzes radio telescope data.

[Steffan]

quote:Originally posted by the invisible man

AVOID anything with the words Time Team or Celtic in the title.


Hmmm. Doesn't that make the European & British Iron Age a bit tricky ? After all, even the most Celto-sceptic authors use the term in their titles - it apparently boosts the sales ('Celtic' not 'Time Team', that is).
:D

Steffan Ellis

[the invisible man]

OK, fair enough. I do recommend Collis's "The Celts: Origins, Myths, Inventions! "The Celtic World" (Ed. Miranda Green) is not a bad read too.

I therefore beg to change my advice to "Beware of anything with Celtic in the title!"

[achingknees]

Any of the English Heritage Batsford series are good starting points for period overviews.

[Petethedig]

Try Mike Aston's how to dig a monastery in 3 days! Or Tony Robinson's 'Knee high to a rangng pole!' Or my all time favorite, Phil Hardings guide to 'ooowww arhhhh flint knapping!' lol[8D]

Evil to him who thinks evil.

[BAJR Host]

ooooooooooo you are a'ful..... but I like you

I prefer the... the classic ... It shoudn't happen to an archaeologist!!

}:)

[troll]

the buried soul by tim taylor is a crackin read for the already hooked. For the buddings out there, a nice easy and well illustrated read is people of the past-the epic story of human origins and development edited by goran burenhult. For humour and fantasy, read the archaeologist published by some people called the IFA.

[uncle andy]

good one troll!!!
but what about Renfrew and Bahn's Archaeology? I have found this to be an essential source of information for my phd submission.:D

[troll]

Just suffered from a bout of hilarity...sorry... Having picked my self up from the floor, owzya bum fer spots mate?:D:D:D

[deepdigger]

how about
Christopher Tilleys A Phenomenology of Landscape. if that doesnt put them off their ok with me!

deep