Kenneth Brophy

This book offers a timely roadmap for navigating the material and intangible legacies of prehistory with which we live today. Drawing on a series of global case-studies, field observations and real-world scenarios from a decade of his journey as the urban prehistorian, Kenneth Brophy argues that thinking and doing a contemporary archaeology of prehistory can be transformative not only in terms of how we practice, but also how we think about archaeology and the past. The book develops several innovative approaches, including the use of psychogeography as both an intellectual framework and a fieldwork methodology, and the introduction of the concept of Hyperprehistory as the point of fusion between development, knowledge creation and social benefit. Reflections on the nature of temporality in archaeology are combined with caution for those who imagine prehistory is consigned to deep time: there are warnings to heed about what happens when it is used and abused, or politicised carelessly or with malicious intent. However, there are also inspiring tales of communities engaging with their prehistory, of cities organised on prehistoric principles, of the resilience of the past against all odds. By focusing on the present and future of prehistory, Kenneth Brophy offers a radical new vision of how we can relate to and exist alongside our ancient past.

This book offers a timely roadmap for navigating the material and intangible legacies of prehistory with which we live today. Drawing on a series of global case-studies, field observations and real-world scenarios from a decade of his journey as the urban prehistorian, Kenneth Brophy argues that thinking and doing a contemporary archaeology of prehistory can be transformative not only in terms of how we practice, but also how we think about archaeology and the past. The book develops several innovative approaches, including the use of psychogeography as both an intellectual framework and a fieldwork methodology, and the introduction of the concept of Hyperprehistory as the point of fusion between development, knowledge creation and social benefit. Reflections on the nature of temporality in archaeology are combined with caution for those who imagine prehistory is consigned to deep time: there are warnings to heed about what happens when it is used and abused, or politicised carelessly or with malicious intent. However, there are also inspiring tales of communities engaging with their prehistory, of cities organised on prehistoric principles, of the resilience of the past against all odds. By focusing on the present and future of prehistory, Kenneth Brophy offers a radical new vision of how we can relate to and exist alongside our ancient past.

A detailed report on the excavation of prehistoric features at Forteviot in eastern Scotland by the University of Glasgow's Strathearn Environs and Royal Forteviot (SERF) Project. Details include an extensive prehistoric landscape including a Neolithic cremation cemetery, large pit-defined enclosure, early Bronze Age henge monuments, and a Bronze Age dagger-cist burial. The monuments appear to have survived into the early historic period and were modified in the first millennium AD.

Reading Between the Lines: The Neolithic Cursus Monuments of Scotland is the first systematic analysis of Scotland’s cursus monuments and is written by one of the foremost scholars of the Neolithic in Scotland. Drawing on fifteen years of experience of cropmark interpretation, as well as his involvement in several excavations of cursus monuments and contemporary sites, Kenneth Brophy uncovers some of the secrets of the Neolithic landscape.While outlining the physical characteristics of the cursus, this book also addresses the limitations of this kind of typological description when applied to monuments which varied so remarkably in terms of materiality and size. Moving beyond a morphological account, Brophy considers what can be said of this diverse group of sites, and how they were actually built and used in prehistory, in light of several decades of aerial reconnaissance and excavation in Scotland. Through a close study of the differences, as well as the similarities, between these structures, this book offers a nuanced account of cursus monuments, finally allowing this important monument type to be better understood and placed alongside others of the period.Offering exciting new ways of thinking about these enigmatic yet important monuments, Reading Between the Lines: The Neolithic Cursus Monuments of Scotland is an essential resource for students and specialists in British prehistory, providing an introduction to the Early Neolithic archaeology of lowland Scotland as well as a meditation on broader aspects of monumentality and architecture.

Reading Between the Lines: The Neolithic Cursus Monuments of Scotland is the first systematic analysis of Scotland’s cursus monuments and is written by one of the foremost scholars of the Neolithic in Scotland. Drawing on fifteen years of experience of cropmark interpretation, as well as his involvement in several excavations of cursus monuments and contemporary sites, Kenneth Brophy uncovers some of the secrets of the Neolithic landscape.While outlining the physical characteristics of the cursus, this book also addresses the limitations of this kind of typological description when applied to monuments which varied so remarkably in terms of materiality and size. Moving beyond a morphological account, Brophy considers what can be said of this diverse group of sites, and how they were actually built and used in prehistory, in light of several decades of aerial reconnaissance and excavation in Scotland. Through a close study of the differences, as well as the similarities, between these structures, this book offers a nuanced account of cursus monuments, finally allowing this important monument type to be better understood and placed alongside others of the period.Offering exciting new ways of thinking about these enigmatic yet important monuments, Reading Between the Lines: The Neolithic Cursus Monuments of Scotland is an essential resource for students and specialists in British prehistory, providing an introduction to the Early Neolithic archaeology of lowland Scotland as well as a meditation on broader aspects of monumentality and architecture.

British practitioners, photographers and interpreters from the aerial archaeological community present a counterpoint to the traditional textbook - a companion to David Wilson's 'Air Photo Interpretation'.