Archaeologist Brian Fagan understands the virtues of the first-hand account.
He’s edited a wonderful collection in EyeWitness to Discovery (Oxford University
Press, £19.99/$39.95, ISBN 0 19 508141 2) that conveys the
excitement and serendipity of archaeology. In Thailand, a Buddhist abbot wanted
to save some trees and suggested that archaeologists dug nearby, rather than cut
them down. Digging the site he chose revealed the rich burial of a prehistoric
potter, nicknamed the princess.
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