Recorded only by dotted lines on an Ordnance Survey map, sometimes marked by a half-forgotten mossy boundary stones, parish boundaries are a fascinating part of our landscape heritage, often preserving the memory of events which happened centuries ago. Local historians, geographers & archaeologists now believe that many are of great antiquity & that the network of parish boundaries has been one of the most enduring elements in the landscape. This book is conceived as a practical handbook: a guide to where to start a study of local territorial boundaries, what questions to ask & how to assess the significance of a particular boundary pattern in historical & archaeological terms. It provides for the first time an introduction to a subject which is attracting the attention of increasingly large numbers of local historians & landscape archaeologists throughout Britain. ...

Do you know where ` The George & Dragon` derives from? Probably. How about ` The Gloucester Flying Machine`? Probably not. Some pub names pop up time & again, others have a unique story to tell. This book untangles the meanings behind Britain`s extraordinary variety of often strange pub names & signs. Providing enlightenment for the local historian & pub enthusiast, ” Discovering Pub Names & Signs” explores a unique aspect if a classic British pastime & all its quirks. ...

Discovering Qatar evolved from a series of features on the archaeology, natural history & traditional life of Qatar that Frances Gillespie began publishing in a national newspaper in the late 1990s. There was little available on these subjects for the general reader, & many people, especially those involved in education, asked for them to be compiled into a book. The author had no idea at that time what the demand would be, & hoped that, perhaps, a few hundred copies might find a market. Two reprints & 12, 000 copies later, the time has come for a thoroughly updated edition of the book, with new & enhanced illustrations, & including the latest information on such fascinating topics as the whale sharks which congregate in large numbers in an off-shore oil field, the presence of which had not been noted by scientists when Discovering Qatar was first published in 2006. Research into Qatar s past by teams of archaeologists has made huge progress in the last decade, culminating in the old pearling & trading settlement of Zubara being inscribed as a Word Heritage Site in 2013. During the 30 years Frances Gillespie lived in Qatar, the country made a gigantic leap forward in development, with a modern capital to rival any in the region. As a freelance journalist & writer she has the freedom to concentrate on subjects that interest her. Discovering Qatar reflects this, & the author & publisher hope that readers will share her enthusiasm & enjoy learning more about the real Qatar the Qatar that was there all the time.” ...

A comprehensive visitors' guide to Roman sites in Engl&, Scotland & Wales. The English sites are arranged by counties in alphabetical order, with a special section on Hadrian's Wall. Then follow the sites in Wales, arranged regionally, the Scottish sites, including a section on the Antoninen Wall, & finally two Roman sites in the Channel Islands. Major sites include towns, fortresses, temples & villas. Rural settlements & landscape features such as Celtic fields & roads are noted where the remains repay a visit. Less familiar items like Roman barrows, mausolea, practice camps & canals are included, as well as hillforts that were occupied during the Roman period. ...

” Scarfolk is a town in north-west England that did not progress beyond 1979. The entire decade of the 1970s loops ad infinitum. In Scarfolk children must not be seen OR heard, & everyone has to be in bed by 8 p.m. because they are perpetually running a slight fever...” Part-comedy, part-horror, part-satire, Discovering Scarfolk is the surreal account of a family trapped in the town. Through public information posters, news reports, books, tourist brochures & other ephermera, we learn about the darker side of childhood, school & society in Scarfolk. A massive cult hit online, Scarfolk re-creates with shiver-inducing accuracy & humour our most nightmarish childhood memories. ...

” Discovering the Moscow Countryside” is a fascinating voyage into the history, architecture, people, & archaeology of the country that surrounds Moscow. The towns & villages dotted around this wooded landscape are rich in associations. Wave after wave of invaders--Tatars, Poles, French, & Germans--sought to conquer Russia through these lands. Now, with the collapse of the Soviet Union, many of the beautiful monasteries & little ruined country churches are coming back to life. This is also the land of the dacha--that special haven to which all city dwellers, at the first melting of the snow, escape: whether it be to a wooden mansion or a tiny room lost in the woods. This book is a practical guide for the tourist keen to explore this fascinating area of Russia, as well as for the curious armchair traveler. ...

Although Dubai tends to capture the headlines, the transformations of Abu Dhabi, the capital, & Sharjah, the third major city, have been scarcely less dramatic. So what`s it like to live in this idiosyncratic Arab federation, where so many different cultures meet & co-exist with such apparent ease? & what lies beneath the veneer of economic success? In answering these questions, Discovering the United Arab Emirates is designed to appeal not only to students of all nationalities but also to the growing number of families who choose to make their home here. For many, the business agenda is so all-consuming & modern creature comforts so extensive that they can spend months, even years, in the United Arab Emirates without understanding anything about the region`s history & culture. But that attitude is changing. The government is vigorously promoting its culture & heritage, encouraging Emiratis, residents & tourists to visit cultural sites. Historic buildings are being renovated & opened up to the public. Meanwhile, international students are becoming increasingly interested in the region, & not just for its record-breaking buildings & economic success. Lavishly illustrated with photographs of people & places not on the tourist trail, the book offers its audience a wealth of information in an easy, accessible manner. It is also an invaluable resource to schools & teachers, & prompts the reader to investigate & explore further. ...

Discovering the Universe is the story of man`s quest through the ages to unlock the secrets of our universe & understand where we come from & where we are going. Lavishly illustrated throughout with both historic images & the latest satellite photography, it follows the journey for knowledge from the first musings of Stone Age people to the position of the stars & planets in the sky, via Galileo`s first visions of Orion through a telescope, to our first steps on the Moon, & right up to the photographs of our magnificent universe which are being sent back from the Plank telescope today. Beautifully reproduced documents make it possible for the reader to experience hands-on, & to appreciate at each stage what over ten thousand years of history astronomers were discovering, & how & why this was significant. ...

Half-timbered houses, cottages & barnes are a familiar feature of the landscape, but only rarely do we have an opportunity to see below the surface & understand how they were planned & constructed. Timber-framed buildings catch the imagination of those who work with them because of their beauty, their strength & the quality of the material of which they were made: English oak. Many thousands of buildings of all ages still remain to remind us the strength of the tradition. This book looks behind the commong image of `black & white` houses, showing how timber buildings were built & how they vary from region to region. ...

This engaging & practical travel guide takes you on a journey through the best of Tudor London, to sites built & associated with this fascinating dynasty, & to the museums & galleries that house tantalising treasures from this rich period of history. Join the author as she explores evocative historical sites, including the magnificent great hall of Eltham Palace, the most substantial surviving remnant of the medieval palace where Henry VIII spent time as a child, & the lesser-known delights of St Helen`s Church, dubbed the ` Westminster Abbey of the City` for its impressive collection of Tudor monuments. A range of photographs, maps & visitor information, together with an informative narrative, bring the most intriguing personalities & stories of the thirty plus sites across Greater London vividly to life. This a must have companion for both those planning their own ` Tudor pilgrimage` & for the armchair traveller alike. ...