The Tribes of Britain

The earliest known inhabitant of Britain was a 6-foot hunter known as 'Boxgrove Man' who lived 500,000 years ago. A 9,000 year old skeleton discovered in a cave in the Cheddar Gorge has direct descendants living in the immediate area today. The diverse peoples of Britain and Ireland are revealed not only by physical characteristics but also through structures and settlements, place names and dialects. Using the latest genetic and archaeological research, the author shows how different peoples traded, settled and conquered, establishing the 'tribal' and regional roots still apparent today. Its vast scope considers the impact of prehistoric peoples and Celtic tribes, Romans and Vikings, Saxons and Normans, Jews and Huguenots, as well as the increasing population movements of the last century.

Table of Contents:
Prehistoric Peoples; Naming the British; The Roman Interlude; The Migration Period; The Viking Legacy; The New Norsemen (Norman Conquest); Expanding Horizons; The Impact of Empire; Migrations of the 20th Century

About the Author :
David Miles is Chief Archaeologist at English Heritage. Previously Director of the Oxford Archaeological Unit, he is a Research Fellow of the Institute of Archaeology, Oxford and a Fellow of Kellogg College, Oxford. He is a member of the Society of Antiquaries. Author of many books and articles on archaeology, he was for 10 years a columnist on The Oxford Mail & Times and broadcasts regularly on radio and TV (The Today Programme, Chronicle, Tomorrow's World).

Review :
First-rate - DAILY EXPRESS A good background book. Massively informative and earthily evocative, it does some of the preliminary workd necessary to understand, if not cure, our current identity crisis. - THE SUNDAY TIMES - Bryan Appleyard In The Tribes of Britain, [Miles] unpacks some of the chocolate box notions of what it is to be English, Welsh, Scottish, Irish or British... Miles is at his best in showing how many of the conventional views of the origins of British identities are more myth than history. - EVENING STANDARD ... a huge and fascinating subject... There is much to be learned here... - THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH Miles's copiously fascinating account... is not only highly enjoyable and instructive, but very timely. - INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY - A C Grayling ... scholarly but readable... a fascinating alternative to traditional history books. - FAMILY HISTORY MONTHLY A wonderful foray into British roots and hertiage. - GOOD BOOK GUIDE an engaging, informative and entertaining book... an excellent introduction to the complexities of British history and prehistory. - BRITISH ARCHAEOLOGY