A superbly written work that covers a history all but ignored in conventional historical surveys, Ancient Europe, 8,000 B.C.-A.D. 1,000 features 212 essays written for a general readership by 131 contributors.

The span of years covered by the set is explained in the introduction of the first section: "The beginning is marked by the freeing of Europe from glacial ice . . and the end is determined by the spread of Christianity across northern and eastern Europe and the establishment of many European states that persist into the present." Many of the contributors are archaeologists, and the set is focused accordingly.