Heritage under pressure - threats and solutions. Studies of agency and soft power in the historic environment

Abstract

and for what purpose, although the volume would amply repay such attention. There is no single perfect method of presentation however, with the advantages of each mirroring the disadvantages of the other, and the thematic approach seems to have a robust logic and suits the site’s evidence. The book contains many useful and attractive illustrations; the prose is beautifully clear, conveying granular stratigraphic detail and complex and nuanced interpretive ideas with admirable concision. Some minor gripes: following the account of the lifespans of the site’s boundaries and other features would have been easier if the group or context numbers by which they are described in the text had been reproduced on the site plans. The volume employs a slightly cumbersome two-step system of citation, probably especially irritating for a readership growing, if not grown, accustomed to hyperlinks. The remains discovered during the campus expansion make a substantial addition to the data available from York’s hinterland and shift the archaeological focus from the deep strata of the city’s urban core to equally valid stories rooted in its surrounding fields. The quality of this publication matches the significance of the landscape it concerns.