Examines the changing patterns of landscape exploitation around the Severn Estuary in South West Britain. Contends that while a considerable amount of research has been carried out on the Somerset Peatland, the coastal alluvial wetlands have been neglected. Redressing that imbalance, the study discusses the origins of the present countryside and the history of wetland reclamation, and compares these physically marginal areas to the surrounding dryland landscapes. It draws on a wide range of source material, including archaeological, documentary, and sedimentological evidence. Developed from a doctoral thesis begun in 1989, and submitted in 1993. Distributed in the US by Books International. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.