David Miles was the Director of the Oxford Archaeological Unit for many years, and worked on projects in Britain, France, Greece and the West Indies. In 1999 he became Chief Archaeologist at English Heritage, where he developed a maritime archaeology unit and a project to study the impact of slavery in England. He has written many books on archaeology, particularly on the Roman and Migration periods in Britain, and one on the origins of the British, The Tribes of Britain.

'Illuminating … As layered as the strata of an archaeological dig, this is a moving portrait of a people at a cultural and technological tipping point' - Nature

• Preface • Prologue: A gift from the past • Part One: The Emergence of Humans • Part Two: The First Farmers • Part Three: Crossing the Water to Britain

David Miles was the Director of the Oxford Archaeological Unit for many years, and worked on projects in Britain, France, Greece and the West Indies. In 1999 he became Chief Archaeologist at English Heritage, where he developed a maritime archaeology unit and a project to study the impact of slavery in England. He has written many books on archaeology, particularly on the Roman and Migration periods in Britain, and one on the origins of the British, The Tribes of Britain.

'Illuminating … As layered as the strata of an archaeological dig, this is a moving portrait of a people at a cultural and technological tipping point' - Nature

• Preface • Prologue: A gift from the past • Part One: The Emergence of Humans • Part Two: The First Farmers • Part Three: Crossing the Water to Britain