Star quality: first book from White Rose University Press
The book about the award-winning archaeological research at Star Carr in North Yorkshire is open access and available now.
Star Carr is the first book from White Rose University Press, showcasing the incredible rare artefact finds from Stone Age Britain made by the award-winning archaeology team at the Star Carr dig in North Yorkshire.
The two volume work is the culmination of decades of archaeological investigation at one of the most important Mesolithic sites in Europe. Discovered in the late 1940s, the site has become famous in the archaeological world for the wealth of rare organic remains uncovered. From 2003 to 2015, excavations explored in depth how the site was used. The findings show that Star Carr is much larger and more complex than ever imagined. Published by White Rose University Press and funded by Historic England, this publication is free to read online and download or in printed versions.
“The publication of this monograph focussed on one of the UK’s most significant archaeological sites marks a significant milestone for the White Rose University Press. Open access publishing for monographs is still in development and we are delighted to be breaking new ground in making such important academic work accessible to all”.
Stella Butler, University of Leeds Librarian and Chair of the Management Board of the WRUP
The Star Carr volumes showcase the award-winning team’s research and their findings, taking full advantage of the digital format to share high-quality images, videos and comprehensive data. Co-author Nicky Milner said:
“We are thrilled to see the publication of this book. The project has been very important to a great number of people. We feel that publishing our findings in digital format will allow readers to engage with the material in a way they can’t with a printed volume. The project has already prompted interest from all over the world so we’re absolutely thrilled to finally share all the data, photographs, videos and state-of- the-art scientific techniques employed to interpret and reconstruct the lives of people who lived 11,000 years ago.”
The digital archive of the project has also been made available for free via The Archaeology Data Service, also funded by Historic England, allowing people to examine the data and records for themselves: Star Carr and Lake Flixton archives.
White Rose University Press is a collaboration between the Universities of York, Leeds and Sheffield, committed to supporting open access publishing. The Press already publishes journals through the White Rose University Press portal.
Two further books, one on the poetry of Tristan Corbiere and one a translation of the Occupation diaries of Madeleine Blaess, will be released in the coming months.
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