The World of Formative Europe

The World of Formative Europe provides an up-to-date account of historical, linguistic, art historical and archaeological research for this key period in European history. The book proposes that that this period was formative; it gave us the countries we have today. In diverse ways, these countries were each compounded from their Iron Age roots, the legacy of Rome, the movement of peoples, the absorption of Christianity, the construction of alliances and the creation of composite cultures.

The World of Formative Europe begins with a set of agenda-setting overviews, continues with studies of documented peoples, then moves to the heart of the book: studies of the changing environment, demography, settlement, ritual and culture of territories of Europe. The volume concludes with a series of syntheses, intended to chronicle change in various key topics and leads to a re-assessment of the significance of the period as a whole.

Whilst providing and up-to-date survey of the period The World of Formative Europe acts as a jumping off point for new research, sowing the seeds of ideas that will inspire future research. Contributions are provided by leading experts in the field and the volume will lead to a re-assessment of the significance of the period as a whole.

Martin Carver is a free-lance writer on archaeology, Editor of Antiquity and Professor Emeritus of Archaeology at the University of York.

Madeleine Hummler is Deputy Editor of Antiquity and a freelance archaeologist and translator.