ABSTRACT

Atlantic Europe is the zone par excellence of megalithic monuments, which encompass a wide range of earthen and stone constructions from inpressive stone circles to modest chambered tombs. A single basic concept lies behind this volume - that the intrinsic qualities encountered within the diverse landscapes pf Atlantic Europe both informed the settings chosen for the monuments and played a role in determining their form and visual appearance. Monuments and Landscape in Atlantic Europe goes significantly beyond the limits of existing debate by inviting archaeologists from different countries with the Atlantic zone (including Britain, France, Ireland, Spain and Sweden) to examine the relationship between landscape features and prehistoric monuments in their specialist regions. By placing the issue within a broader regional and intellectual context, the authors illustrate the diversity of current archaeological ideas and approaches converging around this central theme.

chapter 1|14 pages

Introduction: situating monuments

The dialogue between built form and landform in Atlantic Europe
ByChris Scarre

part |2 pages

PART I Atlantic Iberia

chapter 2|19 pages

Standing stones and natural outcrops

The role of ritual monuments in the Neolithic transition of the Central Alentejo
ByManuel Calado

chapter 3|15 pages

Castanheiro do Vento and the significance of monumental Copper and Bronze Age sites in northern Portugal

ByVítor Oliveira Jorge, João Muralha Cardoso

chapter 4|19 pages

The architecture of the natural world: rock art in western Iberia

ByLara Bacelar Alves

part |2 pages

PART II Atlantic France

chapter 5|11 pages

The perception of space and geometry

Megalithic monuments of west-central France in their relationship to the landscape
ByLuc Laporte, Roger Joussaume, Chris Scarre

chapter 6|19 pages

Coast and cosmos

The Neolithic monuments of northern Brittany
ByChris Scarre

chapter |3 pages

PART III Britain and Ireland

chapter 7|15 pages

All cultural things

Actual and conceptual monuments in the Neolithic of western Britain
ByVicki Cummings

chapter 8|17 pages

The land, the sky and the Scottish stone circle

ByRichard Bradley

chapter 9|13 pages

Knocknarea: the ultimate monument

Megaliths and mountains in Neolithic Cúil Irra, north-west Ireland
ByStefan Bergh

chapter 10|25 pages

Megaliths in a mythologised landscape

South-west Ireland in the Iron Age
ByWilliam O’Brien

part |2 pages

PART IV Scandinavia

chapter 11|13 pages

Visible intentions?

Viewshed analysis of Bronze Age burial mounds in western Scania, Sweden
ByKarin Ericson Lagerås