WARRI
Authors: Edoardo Albert and Paul Gethi
Publisher: Granta Books Price: £18.99
Released: 19 September 2019ARCHAEOLOGY AND DRAMATIC HISTORIC NARRATIVEA
TOGETHER, AS THE DISCOVERY OF AN ASTONISHINGBU
UNRAVELS LIFE AND WAR IN ANGLO-SAXON ENGLANDREVIEWS
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REFUSED
URIALSITEArchaeology, the study of human history through the excavation of
artefacts and human remains, has long held the interest of the British
public. In recent decades we have been treated to TV programs such
as Channel 4’s long running Time Team, BBC Four’s Meet The Ancestors
and the more recent Digging For Britain. If this wasn’t enough, who can
forget how the discovery of the remains of Richard III, near the former
Greyfriars Friary Church in Leicester, gripped the nation back in 2012?
There are many other less well-known examples of archaeological
finds in Britain that are no less fascinating. Such an example can
be seen in the discovery in the late 1990s of an Anglo-Saxon man
buried in the graveyard of Bamburgh Castle in Northumberland, itself
a fortress palace of Anglo-Saxon kings. The subsequent painstaking
and meticulous study of this long-forgotten warrior revealed a wealth of
information on the violent and bloody life he led.
Paul Gething, the lead archaeologist of the Bamburgh Castle dig, has
teamed up with London-based author Edoardo Albert to bring us the
intriguing story of this nameless Anglo-Saxon warrior and the world he
lived in. They explore virtually every aspect of the man’s life, such as
where he may have come from, what kind of food he may have eaten,
how he would have fought in battle, and, of course, how he likely died.
Warrior is an engrossing tale of Anglo-Saxon Britain that will appeal to
those interested in the period or archaeology in general. MS
Bamburgh Castle and reflection in Bamburgh Beach
tidal pools, Northumberland, England
“WARRIOR IS AN ENGROSSING TALE OFANGLO-SAXON BRITAIN THAT WILL APPEAL
TO THOSE INTERESTED IN THE PERIOD”
Image: Alamy