Hidden Histories: A Spotter's Guide to the British Landscape (Paperback) - Mary-Ann Ochota

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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 and was shortlisted for Current Archaeology’s Book of the Year Award.


'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


Broadcaster and anthropologist Mary-Ann Ochota is a familiar face on TV archaeology programmes, including Time Team, History Channel’s Ancient Impossible, and the Smithsonian Channel hit Mystic Britain.

She’s written two other popular archaeology books, including Secret Britain: Unearthing Our Mysterious Past. Mary-Ann also writes regularly for newspapers and magazines on outdoor adventures, anthropology and archaeology, presents documentaries on BBC radio, gives guided walks and performs archaeological storytelling. She’s a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, a hillwalking ambassador for the British Mountaineering Council and she holds an MA from Cambridge University in Archaeology and Anthropology.


Additional Details:

  • Paperback: 288 pages
  • Product dimensions: 17.65 x 3.05 x 22.23 cm
  • Publisher: Quarto Publishing PLC, Frances Lincoln; Reprint edition (5 April 2018)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN: 9780711236936

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