Swaledale Museum | Review | Making One’s Way in the World, Martin Bell

Martin Bell is professor of archaeological science at the University of Reading and a noted specialist in using earth sciences, such as geography, geology, and geophysics, to inform archaeological research. His book is the culmination of 14 years of study into prehistoric routeways and will surely be acknowledged in future as a seminal work on the subject.

It is a serious academic work and at up to £50 it is priced accordingly. But it might be considered essential reading for anyone looking for a single and comprehensive source of all the currently accumulated knowledge on what Bell describes as a much-neglected area of archaeological study. His investigation spans western Europe and North America but with a special emphasis on the British Isles.

He makes a strong case that better understanding the routeways will enlighten understanding of the places and prehistoric sites they must inevitably link. He urges scholars to consider routeway studies as a way of approaching environmental and landscape archaeology with a ‘greater emphasis on connectivity than the current preoccupation with sites.’

He challenges the long-accepted wisdom, expressed in 1979 by Christopher Taylor, that all but a few prehistoric tracks in Britain are impossible to date (Taylor, Roads and Tracks of Britain). Bell lauds Taylor as the ‘greatest landscape archaeologist of his generation’, but explains that since his time specialists have developed a ‘new and imaginative range of concepts and techniques’ that can now be used to identify and date prehistoric routeways.

He makes several references to studies conducted in Wales and Devon by landscape archaeologist professor Andrew Fleming, who is known in Swaledale for his extensive work with Tim Laurie in the 1990s, culminating in his book Swaledale: Valley of the Wild River (1998). Bell cites the Swaledale book as highlighting an example of hollow ways created by erosion. He outlines the growing level of interest in hollow ways among archaeologists across Europe and he provides a detailed and illustrated explanation of how they can now be dated using modern soil-erosion study techniques.

Perhaps Bell’s book could inspire renewed professional archaeological interest in Swaledale and Arkengarthdale, where the widespread absence of modern development might allow the discovery of datable evidence of networks of prehistoric routeways.

« Back to Main Page

Making One’s Way in the World: The footprints and trackways of prehistoric people, by Martin Bell published by Oxbow Books, 2020. ISBN 978-1-78925-402-0. Hardback 320pp, 106 illustrations. H246 x W189 (mm). £50 ISBN 978-1-78925-403-7 (ePub). Digital edition. Available widely. Martin Bell is professor of archaeological science at the University of Reading and a noted specialist in using earth sciences, such as geography, geology, and geophysics, to inform archaeological research. His book is the culmination of 14 years of study into prehistoric routeways and will surely be acknowledged in future as a seminal work on the subject. It is a serious academic work and at up to £50 it is priced accordingly. But it might be considered essential reading for anyone looking for a single and comprehensive source of all the currently accumulated knowledge on what Bell describes as a much-neglected area of archaeological study. His investigation spans western Europe and North America but with a special emphasis on the British Isles. He makes a strong case that better understanding the routeways will enlighten understanding of the places and prehistoric sites they must inevitably link. He urges scholars to consider routeway studies as a way of approaching environmental and landscape archaeology with a ‘greater emphasis on connectivity than the current preoccupation with sites.’ He challenges the long-accepted wisdom, expressed in 1979 by Christopher Taylor, that all but a few prehistoric tracks in Britain are impossible to date (Taylor, Roads and Tracks of Britain). Bell lauds Taylor as the ‘greatest landscape archaeologist of his generation’, but explains that since his time specialists have developed a ‘new and imaginative range of concepts and techniques’ that can now be used to identify and date prehistoric routeways. He makes several references to studies conducted in Wales and Devon by landscape archaeologist professor Andrew Fleming, who is known in Swaledale for his extensive work with Tim Laurie in the 1990s, culminating in his book Swaledale: Valley of the Wild River (1998). Bell cites the Swaledale book as highlighting an example of hollow ways created by erosion. He outlines the growing level of interest in hollow ways among archaeologists across Europe and he provides a detailed and illustrated explanation of how they can now be dated using modern soil-erosion study techniques. Perhaps Bell’s book could inspire renewed professional archaeological interest in Swaledale and Arkengarthdale, where the widespread absence of modern development might allow the discovery of datable evidence of networks of prehistoric routeways. Will Swales, Jun 2020.