Hengeworld: Life in Britain 2000 BC as Revealed by the Latest Discoveries at Stonehenge, Avebury and Stanton Drew

One of the more readable and informative books on the topic, Mike Pitts covers all aspects of the complex surrounding Stonehenge. After reading from cover to cover twice, I still find myself going back time and again, making this one of my chief resources for the study of Salisbury plain. Other books tend to be more or less arguments for the author's personal theories regarding what went on there, Mr. Pitts fills his pages with what has been found, how it ties in with nearby sites (the Cursus, Woodhenge, the many burials in the area and the more recent finds at Durrington Walls, that is, facts not fantasy. When he does propose an explaination for what he describes, it is done without bias and leaves the decision to the reader. If you are to read one book on Stonehenge, this has to be it.

It was with a sudden passion for Stonehenge that I came across Hengeworld. I have read a great deal about henges in general, and Stonehenge in particular, over the last six months of obsession with the topic. This book stands out for a number of reasons. 1. It is very informative, and gave me a clear picture of what Pitts was talking about. I could physically visualize the places and various monument in location, without having to go and hunt for sizes, dates and scale, as I had to with so many other books and articles. Many other archaeologists leave out critical details because they are so familiar with the jargon, they forget that readers may not be. 2. Pitts put Stonehenge into context, giving a much broader picture than just the massive sarsens and their companion bluestones. It is so much more than that. 3. I got a really clear idea of exactly how archaeologists work. This is critical in assessing just how much of what is 'known' is really known for sure, and how much is subject to later variation. 4. There were some great anecdotes. They weren't just a good read but added to the big picture. 5. The book gave a really good image of life at the time and the changes which were taking place over the lifespan of the henges. 6. By including Stonehenge in an overview of henge monuments, Pitts made it clear that any explanation of Stonehenge must fit a broader pattern. 7. And it was a great read because it is just so well written. I would have enjoyed it for the writing alone. Having read a great deal since I first read Hengeworld and gained a lot more expertise in the field, I have returned to Hengeworld and am finding that a second reading enables me to really absorb the finer details. It's a rare book which can be read - and thoroughly enjoyed - for general interest and also for really detailed data. Pitts achieves this.

You're the honoured guest at Mike Pitts' party. He's set up a receiving line. You meet a guest, are given some personal background, there's a bit of chat, perhaps a short show and tell, then on to the next. They're a varied lot - an RAF veteran, a testy lady, students of all kinds, scholars and civil servants. Off to one side huddle a scruffy group of fishermen. They seem unimportant, but they're vital to this book. Everyone here, including you, Pitts hopes, has a common interest - the henges of Britain. Each of them has contributed something to a better understanding of the ditch circles, posthole remnants, standing and fallen stones, and corpses that make up the hengeworld. They all want to know how the henges were built and by what sort of people. Mostly, they want to know why these monuments came to be. Perhaps you can help answer the questions.Originally subtitled "Why Was Stonehenge Built?", this question remains glaringly unanswered by this book. Yet in pursuing the inquiry, Pitts has provided more information about the sites, their construction and environment than any other single source. Pitts' title reflects his attempt, largely successful, to bring to life the circumstances and people involved in the multiple constructions scattered about the British landscape. He stresses that all the henges underwent successive building or remodeling over the centuries. Ditches and banks established an enclosure, later modified by circles of posts. Sometimes, as at Stonehenge, dedicated residents finished the project with stone monuments. Over the centuries, those people died, or were killed, their bodies interred within the enclosures or nearby.Pitts explains how information is gleaned on ages of the sites, condition of the artefacts unearthed, morphology of the disinterred corpses. In his quest to show us the lives of the builders and occupiers, he has a face built from skeletal remnants. Don't skip over that image, it may be one of your ancestors. He provides a wealth of other images - many fine maps, tables of artefact ages, photographs of workmen [some at your party] unearthing or restoring the sites.The "Why?" remains elusive, for many reasons. We have no written records, of course, and the carvings on stones are enigmatic. So is the positioning. If Stonehenge's Heel Stone doesn't mark the midsummer sunrise, why is it placed where it is? Why is there a preponderance of cattle remains at Stonehenge, but pig remains at Woodhenge, only a few kilometres [and years] away? Why are there massive wood constructions, many with human remains adjoining the posts, as well as stone monuments? Why is Stonehenge's construction method such a departure from the remaining henge sites? And why, if they did, should Stonehenge's builders have trekked all the way to southern Wales for building materials? [That's similar to my walking to Toronto, buying the Province's legislature building, tearing it apart and returning the stones to Ottawa

Mike Pitts', _Hengeworld_ is the most exciting jewel of journalistic-style archeology I've run across since the most recent Dead-Sea Scroll ferment, or "missing link" bones-find article written up in Scientific American. Pitt's volume fills some of my own arcane need for reliable historical review of digs at paleolithic sites in Great Britain, and their current status. The tantalyzing bits we know about the age of the Celtic people and early Britons never ceases to stretch my imagination to creative edges, but finding trusty sources is tricky and often discouraging. Pitt's efforts to clean up the murk around previous digs, and his willingness to frankly set out the limits of our knowledge about the Henges, their makers and customs is refreshing. I found his hypothesized conclusions coherent with the evidence presented, and anthropologically sound. One warning is in order here for those who might say to themselves, "Ah-ha! Readable archaelogy. Good, I'll pick that one right up!" This book, if given the close reading it deserves, has the potential to broaden one's rear-view horizon. Hengeworld is above all a candid book. It can lead some of us to re-consider, in concert with disquieting facts and acknowledgment of good data, our whole enterprise of gathering knowledge about our ancestors. In spite of this caveat, the book's final chapter exceeded my expectations. The chap who wrote the review above obviously knows too much for his own good. It's rare that good archaeology is offered in an appealing way to the non-specialist, without attempting to inflame the masses with mere sensationalism, and maintaining a healthy skeptical edge. Pitt's book is well-worth the time and effort.

I bought this book out of curiosity after seeing Mike Pitts as part of a TLC documentary on Stonehenge. I'm glad I did. It's very readable, and very interesting, and very accessable to a non-archaeologist such as myself. Highly recommended.