Book cover - Wales and the Sea 10,000 Years of Welsh Maritime History

Best Illustrated Maritime Book of the Year: Wales and the Sea: 10,000 Years of Welsh Maritime History

The Maritime Foundation’s prestigious Mountbatten Literary award gave a Certificate of Merit for “the superbly illustrated” Wales and the Sea: 10,000 Years of Welsh Maritime History, published by the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales.

From a strong international field of 76 books on maritime themes, Wales and the Sea was also shortlisted for the Best Book award in the 25th annual Maritime Media Awards announced on 29 October 2020.

Christopher Catling, Secretary of the Royal Commission, said:

‘As a largely coastal nation, Wales has a long and proud maritime history that we have reflected in this book through striking archive photography and numerous works of art, as well as museum objects that bring to life the stories of countless people whose lives have revolved around the sea.’

The 348-page book, published in Welsh and English versions, is illustrated with more than 300 images drawn from the vast collections of the Royal Commission’s archive, the National Library of Wales, and the National Museum of Wales.

This is the first fully comprehensive study of Wales’s maritime history and the 52 contributors, all specialists in their field, have covered every aspect of Wales’s connection with the sea, from prehistoric log boats and Bronze-Age trading vessels to the Newport ship, from naval history to seaside holidays and from lighthouses and wrecks to the lifesaving work of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.

The book deals with ocean-going vessels and the coastal shipping that supported Wales’s slate and lime quarries and its coal and copper mines. It celebrates all types of vessels: smacks and sloops, ketches, dandys and yawls, as well as tea-clippers, warships, hospital ships, submarines, cable-layers and sand-dredgers, not forgetting the humble coracle.

This long list conveys the depth and variety of the historical experience of maritime Wales, which begins with a 10,000 year-old footprint discovered in the intertidal silts of the Severn Estuary and ends with a glimpse into the future of wind and tidal power and maritime conservation schemes.

With the subtitle ‘10,000 years of maritime history’, the book aims to raise the profile of Wales’s long maritime heritage in the public consciousness and celebrate the unsung work of those who safeguard the legacy of maritime history for the nation.

Wales and the Sea: 10,000 Years of Welsh Maritime History / Cymru a’r Môr: 10,000 o flynyddoedd o Hanes y Môr is available directly from our online Bookshop price £24.99 with free packing and postage.

This award-winning book exploring Wales and the sea will make the ideal Christmas present for anyone with an interest in Welsh archaeology and history, Welsh culture and industrial heritage and all things maritime.

For further details, please contact Nicola Roberts:
nicola.roberts@rcahmw.gov.uk
tel: 01970 621248.