10,000 years of Northants history in 200 pages Northamptonshire

Submitted by PaulM on Thursday, 02 December 2004 Page Views: 10342

Country: England County: Northamptonshire
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A book of archaeology detailing up to 10,000 years of Northamptonshire's history was officially launched this week. The 200-page book has taken four years to compile and has been published to mark the 30th anniversary of the county's archaeological society.

Dr Francis Pryor, presenter of the recent Channel 4 show Britain AD, attended the launch at the Northamptonshire Archaeological Society's annual general meeting.

The book is the first introduction to the county's archaeological finds to be published in 30 years.

Originally intended to be a millennium project, the amount of detail needed for the book meant that the project was delayed.

Contributor Myk Flitcroft, the council's Historic and Environment team leader, said: "The book also looks forward to the future, for the next 30 years.

He added: "One key issue is that archaeology isn't just a subject followed by professionals, it also has a lot of general public interest and involvement."

The society's history experts, with support from Northamptonshire County Council, pulled together the book from a computerised database of the county's archaeological sites as well as from information supplied by the council's Northamptonshire Archaeology unit.

Among the book's contents are details of recent Roman villa excavations at Whitehall Farm in Nether Heyford and in Piddington.

The book traces details of the oldest known artefact found in Northamptonshire, a reindeer antler dating back to 8000 BC, found in Grendon in 1982, up to the latest, modern-day finds.

Jim Wade (Lab, Corby Rural), council member with responsibility for the environment, said: "The last publication of this type was printed 30 years ago and since then advances have been made in the way we analyse archaeological findings.

"The book gives a fresh perspective and a valuable update on the way we understand our past.
"NAS is a voluntary organisation which has been working with many local archaeologists and other local historical and archaeological societies on this project.

"The publication of The Archaeology of Northamptonshire is a real achievement and it will appeal to a wide audience."

The books are already available in some shops, costing £21.

Local retailers, including Kingsthorpe and Brackley bookshops are selling copies and they should soon be available from local Waterstones branches.They can also be bought from NAS.

For more information log onto www.northants-archaeology.org.uk

Source: Northampton Today

Contributor Bio for PaulM: Based in Macclesfield, contributing since 2002. Favourite site: Hordron Edge. Occupation: Something in waste and recycling.

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