Britain has a rich past, with incredible archaeology. Every day, new discoveries transform our understanding of its history. Most are made not by professional archaeologists, but by ordinary members of the public. Some are chance finds; others are recovered by the thousands of fieldwalkers, mudlarks, and metal detectorists who scour Britain’s countryside and waterways looking for artifacts and coins. Beneath Our Feet is a celebration of this growing public involvement in archaeology, and of the groundbreaking work of the Portable Antiquities Scheme managed by the British Museum in England and Amgueddfa Cymru in Wales. Its mission is collaboration with public finders, encouraging them to report their discoveries so they can be recorded on a national database and shared with archaeologists, historians, and everyone with an interest in the past buried beneath our feet. From the 3,500-year-old Ringlemere Cup to the Anglo-Saxon Staffordshire Hoard, a heart pendant connected to Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, and a jar of American gold coins buried by a Jewish refugee fleeing the Nazis, these are the stories of more than fifty astonishing treasures, the people who found them, and how they are reshaping British history.
Reviews
The authors celebrate both British Isles history and collaborative partnerships between the professionals and nonprofessionals investigating it.
— Choice
A spectacular overview of extraordinary finds, dug up by ordinary people… Will dazzle readers poring over the hundreds of crisp images… Most of the text describes efforts to find, extract, clean, reassemble, decipher, and interpret long-buried relics.
— Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
An impressive and exquisitely illustrated tribute to [archaeology]… The reader learns not only about rare objects discovered in Britain but also about the treasure hunters and everyday people who found them, including metal detectorists, mudlarkers, fieldwalkers, and gardeners… Readers will savor this mostly sunny view of archaeological adventuring.
— Publishers Weekly
Contributors
Michael Lewis
Author
Michael Lewis is head of portable antiquities and treasure at the British Museum and a visiting professor at the University of Reading and the University of Helsinki. He is known for his research on medieval finds associated with religion and everyday life, and is coauthor of Beneath Our Feet: Everyday Discoveries Reshaping History (with Ian Richardson).
Ian Richardson
Author
Ian Richardson is the senior treasure registrar at the British Museum and secretary to the treasure valuation committee. He has a particular interest in postmedieval archaeology— and especially vervels!
Mackenzie Crook
Foreword By
Mackenzie Crook is the writer, director, and star of the BAFTA-winning television series Detectorists.
