The Story of Archaeology traces the thrilling and fascinating tale of modern archaeology from its earliest beginnings to the present through lively and accessible profiles of 50 iconic excavations, from the Dead Sea Scrolls to the Death Pit of Ur, from Machu Picchu to the Mary Rose, and from Hoxne to Hallstatt. Some of these are discoveries of the swashbuckling type lost tombs filled with precious artefacts but others consist of bricks and letters and pieces of flint and pottery which have, in the story they tell, proved to be yet rarer and more valuable. Broken pots and test-tubes of ancient pollen can, after all, be just as much 'treasure' as the mask of Tutankhamun, for they all tell a part of the story that helps us to understand who we are and how we got here. Each profile is accompanied by boxed features that explain something of the archaeological techniques used then and now, the cultures that have been discovered and the personal stories of the people who discovered them. Helpful locator maps and informative timelines are included for every site. Profiled sites include: Angkor WatAmarna Port Royal Pompeii and HerculaneumJava Man The Mary Rose Easter IslandThe Lady of Elx The First Australians Ancient OlympiaKnossos The Vindolanda Tablets The Hoxne flintsThe Antikythera Mechanism Lucy: Origin of our species PetraMalta's Hidden Prehistory The Terracotta Army Belzoni in EgyptMachu Picchu Aztec Templo Mayor Rosetta StoneThe Death Pit of Ur
