Wales and the Sea

An incredibly comprehensive history of every aspect of Wales’ connection with the sea, from the creation of the land mass to the present day. Archaeological finds from Wales – including Bronze-Age boats, Roman ships and their cargoes, the medieval Newport ship and the seventeenth-century royal yacht Mary – testify to the long history of Wales as a seafaring nation. Wales and the Sea, written by some of Wales’ foremost historians and archaeologists, reminds us of this long and hugely important maritime legacy. Fully illustrated throughout, the book tells the story of prehistoric, Roman, medieval and more recent maritime history. It evokes the impact of the sea on the artistic imagination through naval paintings, seascapes, poetry, song and popular seaside souvenirs. Archive photographs from the National Monuments Record of Wales, the National Library of Wales and National Museum Wales bring to life the age of the ocean-going liner, the cable-laying ships that connected Wales to the rest of the world, the pleasure steamers, racing yachts and the seaside piers as well as the busy docks that supplied slate, coal, iron and steel to the world. Comprehensive, up-to-date, rooted in scholarship but written to be enjoyed by the general reader, Wales and the Sea is packed with stories and pictures that remind us of the vital role that the sea has played in the creation of Wales’ distinctive history.