'A definitive classic field guide [...] Its scope is as magnificent as our countryside itself.'
BBC Countryfile Magazine

'This book is perfect for anyone who's travelled through the countryside, scratched their head, and thought, 'what on earth is that thing?'''
Tony Robinson

Have you ever driven past a lumpy, bumpy field and wondered what made the lumps and bumps? Or walked between two lines of grand trees and wondered when and why they were planted? Entertaining and factually rigorous, Hidden Histories has the answers and will help you decipher the story of Britain's landscape through the features you can see around you.

In this spotter's guide, Mary-Ann Ochota arms amateur explorers with the crucial information needed to understand the landscape and spot the human activities that have shaped our green and pleasant land.

• Photographs and diagrams point out specific details and typical examples to help the curious spotter understand what they're looking at, or looking for.
• Specially commissioned illustrations bring to life the processes that shaped the landscape (from medieval ploughing to Roman road building).
• Stand-alone capsules explore interesting aspects of history (like the Highland Clearances or the coming of Christianity).
• Feature boxes provide definitions of jargon or handy references as required (like a glossary of what different field names mean).
• Each chapter culminates in a checklist of key details to look for, other things it might be, and gives details of where to find some of the best examples in Britain.

From lumps and bumps to stones, lines and villages, Hidden Histories is the must-have spotter's guide to the British landscape.

About the Author

Mary-Ann Ochota is a broadcaster and anthropologist who gained her MA in Archaeology and Anthropology from Cambridge University in 2002. She's a familiar face on archaeology shows including the cult show Time Team, History Channel's Ancient Impossible, BBC specials on Silbury Hill and Stonehenge, and ITV's Britain's Secret Treasures, for which she also wrote the tie-in book in association with the British Museum.
Mary-Ann writes regularly for newspapers and magazines and has presented documentaries for Animal Planet, Nat Geo, Channel 4 and BBC4. She is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, a Hillwalking Ambassador for the British Mountaineering Council and an Ordnance Survey GetOutside Champion. Find her on Twitter and Instagram @MaryAnnOchota

Book Information
ISBN 9780711236936
Author Mary-Ann Ochota
Format Paperback
Page Count 288
Imprint Frances Lincoln
Publisher Quarto Publishing PLC