The Oxford Handbook of Anglo-Saxon Archaeology (Oxford Handbooks)

As a relative newcomer to Anglo-Saxon studies, I have found this book immensely helpful. It is, as its over 1000 pages suggests, weighty in all senses of the word. Inevitably, there is some unevenness in terms of style and level of detail. Having said that, the book's organisation into ten key themes increases its manageability and enables a more coherent understanding of what is involved in ongoing debates such as the significance of place-names.Highlights for me included: Catherine Hills on fundamental issues in A-S history and archaeology; Simon Esmonde Cleary's succinct statement of his latest views concerning the ending of Roman Britain; Susan Oosthuizen concerning Anglo-Saxon fields (and the whole section on food production more generally); the late Margaret Gelling on place-names in archaeology. Martin Carver's What Were They Thinking? prompts thoughtful reflection in the manner intended. Helena Hamerow's excellent chapters appear in very similar guise in her book Rural Settlements and Society in Anglo-Saxon England (2012) but an element of re-reading repays the attention given.Any reservations? Well, depending on the definition of Handbook, it could have been helpful to have included extracts from excavation reports such as those on West Stow, Mucking or Wasperton. These would not have been new as such but would illustrate the basis on which of the observations in the book have been formed.Overall, superb!

Helena Hamerow accomplished one of the most painstaking tasks in Anglo-Saxon archaeology: unravelling the damaged artefacts of the Taplow Barrow. The same meticulous but ultimately satisfying approach is clear in this handbook, which she jointly edits with David Hinton and Sally Crawford.I am slightly uncomfortable about the term 'handbook'. This is essentially a series of essays by experts summarising the latest scholarship in a range of important fields. It is not really the same kind of book as, say, the Handbook for Sound Engineers. Nonetheless, it is a fascinating, detailed and extensively referenced book which will save the archaeology undergraduate hundreds of hours tracking down journal articles in the library or sifting through JSTOR.This is a superb summary of the current state of the field.

this is filled with essential reference material for the serious scholar and the general reader

Very pleased with item and service.

A must read for anyone interested in the so called dark ages.