Birth of Modern Britain

Francis Pryor has spent 30 years studying the prehistory of the Fens. He has excavated sites as diverse as Bronze Age farms, field systems and entire Iron Age villages. From 1980 he turned his attention to pre-Roman religion. In 1982, while working in a drainage dyke at Flag Fen, on the outskirts of Peterborough, he discovered the waterlogged timbers of a Bronze Age religious site. In 1987, with his wife Maisie Taylor, he set up the Fenland Archaeological Trust, which opened Flag Fen to the public. He appears frequently on TV's ‘Time Team’ and is the author of ‘Seahenge’ as well as ‘Britain BC’, ‘Britain AD’ and ‘Britain in the Middle Ages’.

‘Hugely enjoyable…You will learn a lot from it – and one of the things is how much work has gone into unearthing all this stuff. You will certainly never look at the A5 in the same way again’ Daily Telegraph‘No one person has previously attempted such a journey into Britain’s entire archaeological past, and this book brings the series to a successful – and refreshingly jargon-free – conclusion’ BBC History magazine‘[Pryor’s] enthusiasm for getting his hands dirty is infectious’ Sunday Times‘Much to admire…fascinating details’ Guardian‘Immensely fascinating case histories’ Daily Express