Product Description

David Corio has sytematically photographed the megalithic sites of England and Wales with the eye of a great landscape photographer as well as with the passion of an explorer in the ruins of an ancient culture. These photographs go to the heart of prehistoric England and reveal a profound sense of "place". They point to the beginning of architecture itself in Britain, with the suggestion of both sacred and secular function, layered in the fabulous tales of popular imagination. The photographs are accompanied by text by Lai Ngan Corio, which describes the legends surrounding each megalith site, highlighting the folklore tradition, then addressing the mathematical and astronomical significance of the major sites such as Stonehendge.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #324621 in Books
• Published on: 2003-09-11
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 180 pages

Amateur Photographer, September 2003
'This book is probably the most visually appealing of any I've seen on the same subject'

British Journal of Photography, August 2003
'When sated with David's sumptuous photography, one is drawn to Lai Ngan's finely-honed monographs'

Royal Photographic Society Journal, October 2003
'This fascinating book...sets itself a seemingly overwhelming brief and well lives up to the challenge'

Customer Reviews

Megaliths
A haunting study of the megalithic sites of England and Wales, David Corio's b&w photographs, reminiscent of the landscapes of Ansel Adams, manage to be both epic is scale while offering an intimate portrait of many of Britain's extraordinary prehistoric ruins, including a fresh take on the most famous of them all - Stonehenge.

The comprehensive photographic survey is accompanied with richly illuminating texts by Lai Ngan Corio, who explores the multitude of myths, legends and some of the more wild interpretations the megaliths have evoked through the millennia.

Stunning photographs and a lot of entertaining information
On the one hand this book is an important photographic work. Over 20 years Corio has recorded our ancient sites in a series of spectacular black and white images which portray each site within its own distinct landscape. These range from an otherworldly longshot of Dartmoor to an intimate portrait of a stone in Wales which just happens to be in a little old lady's back garden.

On the other hand the book is an often hilarious summary of the personal history of each of the stones - the stones being the characters in an picaresque romp around ancient Britain. As you metaphorically rattle around in the back of your tour guides' Transit van visiting site after site in a marathon that makes the "Three Peaks" challenge seem like a walk in the park, Lai Ngan entertains and educates with a never-ending stream of anecdote, myth and folklore.

Megaliths:The Ancient Stone Monuments of England and Wales
Fantastically beautiful photographs and an incredible and fascinating collection of folklore related to the Stones and their locality. I've visited some of the more well known sites like Avebury, Stonehenge and some lesser known ones like The Devil's Den and Swinside - the photos are so atmospheric and have captured the aura and mystery around the stones. And the stories of the local legends gave me alot more insight and appreciation of the sites. Makes me want to go "stone-hunting" again!!!