These papers highlight recent archaeological work in Northern England, in the commercial, academic and community archaeology sectors, which have fundamentally changed our perspective on the Neolithic of the area. Much of this was new work (and much is still not published) has been overlooked in the national discourse. The papers cover a wide geographical area, from Lancashire north into the Scottish Lowlands, recognising the irrelevance of the England/Scotland Border. They also take abroad chronological sweep, from the Mesolithic/Neolithic transition to the introduction of Beakers into the area. The key themes are: the nature of transition; the need for a much-improved chronological framework; regional variation linked to landscape character; links within northern England and with distant places; the implications of new dating for our understanding ‘the axe trade; the changing nature of settlement and agriculture; the character early Neolithic enclosures; the need to integrate rock art into wider discourse.

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• List of Abbreviations
• List of Illustrations
• List of Tables
• Introduction
• 1. Langdale and the northern Neolithic: Richard Bradley and Aaron Watson
• 2. Stainton West: a late Mesolithic and early Neolithic site on the banks of the River Eden: Fraser Brown
• 3. The last hunter of a wise race: evidence for Neolithic practices in northern England: Seren Griffiths
• 4. ‘Weird and atypical, even degenerate’ … or then again, maybe not? Early Neolithic enclosures in the North: Al Oswald and Mark Edmonds
• 5. Documenting English rock art: a review of the‘big picture’: Kate E. Sharpe
• 6. New light on the Neolithic: a perspective from north-east England: Clive Waddington
• 7. Street House in the Neolithic period: Stephen J. Sherlock
• 8. Recent work on the Neolithic landscapes of Cumbria and North Lancashire: Helen Evans, Antony Dickson and Denise Druce
• 9. Out of the shadows: an emerging Neolithic in the Yorkshire Dales: Yvonne Luke
• 10. ‘A most noble work’, at the heart of Neolithic Britain. Some thoughts on the Long Meg complex in the light of recent fieldwork: Paul Frodsham
• 11. A view from north of the border: Alison Sheridan
• 12. Monumentality in Neolithic Britain: the case of south-west Scotland: Julian Thomas
• 13. A new survey of the Carles stone circle, Castlerigg, Cumbria: Al Oswald and Constance Durgeat
• 14. Two newly-identified possible‘hengiform’ monuments in the North Pennines: Stewart Ainsworth, David McOmish, Al Oswald and Andrew Payne
• 15. The end of the Neolithic? Early Bell Beaker groups in northern England: A.P. Fitzpatrick