British Archaeology, no 30, December 1997: Reviews

SCOTTISH CATHEDRALS
Richard Fawcett
Batsford, £15.99
ISBN 0-7134-8188-9 pb

We never think of Scotland as a land of cathedrals, and so this book throws up two big surprises: the sheer number - 13 where substantial medieval fabric survives - and the fact that this is the first comprehensive survey. The cathedrals range from the great surviving structures such as Glasgow, to the great ruins such as St Andrews (which, the author tells us, was in the European front rank, in terms of scale), through to the tiny 14th century cathedral of Lismore, the failed focus of the diocese of Argyll.

The book charts the development of these churches, with large sections covering the 13th century up to the Reformation. A chapter on the life of the cathedrals provides a fascinating glimpse into the interaction between these buildings, the clergy and ordinary worshipers.

Fawcett, a Principal Inspector at Historic Scotland, explains the 13th century outburst of cathedral building in relation to improvements in funding; contrasted with the retrenchments of the following century attributed to prolonged war. The extent to which the cathedrals were caught up in the Wars of Independence is illustrated by the story of the Bishop of Glasgow, who diverted timbers intended for his cathedral to building siege engines. At this point Fawcett touches on the delicate subject of the degree to which Scottish cathedral architecture was influenced by the English before the Wars. Political debate today about the origins of Scottish cultural identity includes arguments concerning the Scottishness of Scottish medieval architecture. Fawcett indicates that from the later 14th century Scottish architecture developed a more indigenous architectural language, in parallel with absorption of ideas from the Continent.

One attractive aspect of the book is the clarity of the explanations of architectural terminology, which are incorporated into the main text rather than banished to a glossary. The clarity of the text belies Fawcett’s magisterial knowledge of his subject, and he has thus produced three books in one - a textbook for the serious student, an informative read for the armchair historian, and a field guide for the hunter of ashlar.

Peter Yeoman is the Archaeologist in Fife

STUDIES IN MARITIME ARCHAEOLOGY
Seán McGrail
BAR, £53.00
ISBN 0-86054-9011-X pb

This volume consists of Seán McGrail’s own selection of some of his papers originally published in a wide range of journals and books between 1975 and 1995. In addition to leading the Archaeological Research Centre at the National Maritime Museum and professorships at the Universities of Oxford and Southampton, his career has included service in the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy as a seaman officer, and he holds a Merchant Ship Master’s Certificate of Competence.

This blend of academic and practical experience of maritime matters is evident in these studies, and has also shaped McGrail’s view of what needs to be done for maritime archaeology to thrive. The introductory section provides a robust ‘state of the nation’ overview, but the volume also demonstrates that the author practises what he preaches. McGrail advocates a multi-disciplinary approach and this is reflected in the breadth of topics covered, including sections on fixed maritime structures (such as wharfs and jetties), ethnography, classification schemes, woodworking techniques, logboats and plankboats, ship operations and experimental archaeology. The studies range from 400, 000BC to the late medieval period, but offer less in the post- medieval era within which much maritime research is now focused. Geographical coverage is mostly limited to north-west Europe.

This volume is hardly an introduction for the general reader. However, it will encourage integration of ‘maritime’ and ‘archaeological’ perspectives, and it provides convenient access to papers originally published in short-run or hard-to-obtain journals. The author clearly believes that past publications and theories, including several of his own, have received insufficient critical attention. If this volume serves a catalyst for more debate, then its production will have been worthwhile.

Ben Ferrari is a maritime specialist at the English Royal Commission

LIGHT IN THE DARK AGES
Richard Hodges
Duckworth, £40.00
ISBN 0-7156-2370-2 hb

Archaeology used to be an adventurous pursuit, and as this book suggests, it sometimes still is. Richard Hodges’ account of his excavations at the Benedictine monastery of San Vincenzo begins with the adventure of his search for a medieval crypt in a ploughed field near the monastery, in front of assembled dignitaries and live on TV. Fortunately the hunt was successful and produced not only the crypt but also a collection of wonderful frescoes.

San Vincenzo al Volturno is a medieval monastery situated high in the Apennines in the backward Italian region of Molise, but as Hodges, former Director of the British School at Rome, tells us, ‘being off the beaten track is, as far as the archaeology is concerned, an advantage’. Indeed he uses the story of the development of the monastery, and the achievements of its great Abbots, Joshua (792-817), Epyphanius (824-842) and Gerard (1076-1109), reconstructed by careful excavation, to show how archaeology can contribute to an important historical debate - whether there was continuity from the classical world in the 7th century to the 11th, or total collapse.

The book is copiously illustrated with plans and photographs, though frustratingly for a book of this price, none are in colour; this is all the more tantalising as Hodges gives descriptions of the frescoes, detailing their colour schemes. This book aims to summarise the specialist reports on the excavation, and succeeds admirably: the account of the phases of construction, and of the significance of the key finds is clear and readable, while the reconstruction drawings give a real feel for the buildings. However many of the plans and maps seem to have been lifted from other works: thus it is sometimes difficult to identify features in the text on the plans. Despite these slight shortcomings the book throws light on how a Carolingian monastery was organised, examining its workings through both historical and archaeological evidence, so that its importance goes well beyond that of the monastery of San Vincenzo itself.

Dr Mark Pearce is a specialist in Italian archaeology at the University of Nottingham

POTTERY IN THE MAKING
eds Ian Freestone and David Gaimster
British Museum, £18.99
ISBN 0-7141-1782-X pb

At first sight, this seems a splendid book. It complements an exhibition at the Museum of Mankind in London, and contains 32 essays on potterymaking traditions that range over 12,000 years of human history and 17 countries from Korea, India and Mesopotamia to Italy, Germany and Britain. Quite an assemblage - but it is the very range and diversity of this worthy enterprise that ultimately undermines it as a book.

By uniting the Museum’s diverse ceramic collections, the book attempts to show how social, economic, cultural and technological conditions have affected pottery production world-wide. Papers are grouped under headings which reflect different social systems. Thus the section ‘Early Sedentary Communities’ includes pieces on ‘Jomon Pottery in Ancient Japan’ as well as ‘Early Prehistoric Pottery in Britain’. Further sections include ‘Urbanisation’, ‘Professional Workshops’ and so on. Unfortunately, the introduction, which is neat and considered, is insufficient to provide a meaningful link between such distant traditions and apparently isolated contributors. None of the papers pays much acknowledgement to others and each essay seems to stand alone. This book is, therefore, essentially a work of reference.

Although the book is unusual in the range of ceramic traditions presented, it is also clearly limited to, and by, the pottery in the Museum’s collections. That is best revealed in the section ‘Specialised Products’ which consists of four articles about things, or by people, which it may have seemed impolitic to omit.

This is, however, an attractive book, generously illustrated and well laid out. There are text ‘boxes’ that explain certain technical details and there is also a glossary at the back.

Duncan Brown is the Curator of Archaeological Collections at Southampton City Council and a pottery specialist