Ancient Europe 8000 B.C.--A.D. 1000: An Encyclopedia of the Barbarian World

A superbly written work that covers a history all but ignored in conventional historical surveys, Ancient Europe, 8,000 B.C.-A.D. 1,000 features 212 essays written for a general readership by 131 contributors. The span of years covered by the set is explained in the introduction of the first "The beginning is marked by the freeing of Europe from glacial ice...and the end is determined by the spread of Christianity across northern and eastern Europe and the establishment of many European states that persist into the present." Many of the contributors are archaeologists, and the set is focused accordingly.\nArranged in seven sections, the set proceeds in chronological order once past the first section, "Discovering Barbarian Europe," which provides overview essays such as "Trade and Exchange." Each section features several essays--most about eight pages in length--many followed by somewhat shorter "feature essays" that deal with more specific topics. The eight-page essay "Bronze Age Britain and Ireland," for example, is followed by the six-page essay "Stonehenge," the three-page "Flag Fen," and the three-page "Irish Bronze Age Goldwork," each separately authored. There are black-and-white photographs and maps throughout. Each volume also has a section of line maps and a chronology at the start as well as eight pages of color plates in the middle. Each essay concludes with an up-to-date bibliography and cross-references to other articles. In a work that is not alphabetically arranged, it would have been helpful to have these cross-references include specific page numbers rather than just volume and part number.\nThe Encyclopedia of Barbarian Europe offers accessible A-Z entries on people, places, and events; the present set not only encompasses a much wider time frame but offers a different perspective.