The debatable land : the lost world between Scotland and England
(Book)

Includes bibliographical references (pages [271]-316) and index.

"Best-selling author Graham Robb finds that the 2,000-year-old map of Ptolemy unlocks a central mystery of British history. Two years ago, Graham Robb moved to a place of legend called the Debatable Land, an independent territory that once served as a buffer between Scotland and England. The oldest detectable territorial division in Great Britain, the Debatable Land was once the bloodiest region in the country. After most of its population was slaughtered or deported, it became the last part of Great Britain to be conquered by England and Scotland. Today, it has vanished from the map and its boundaries are matters of myth and generational memories. Under the spell of a powerful curiosity, Robb began a journey--on foot, by bicycle, and into the past. After correcting the grid of Ptolemy's map, Robb located lost towns and roads and discovered the true history of this maligned patch of land. These personal and scholarly adventures reveal an epic tale of Roman, medieval, and present-day Britain. Rich in detail and epic in scope, The Debatable Land takes us from a time when neither England nor Scotland existed to the present day, when contemporary nationalism and political turmoil threaten to unsettle the cross-border community once more. With his customary charm, wit, and literary grace, Graham Robb proves the Debatable Land to be a crucial, missing piece in the puzzle of British history."--,Provided by publisher.