Books by Mark Olly

An utterly unique history book that attempts to chronicle the life & times of the real Robyn Hoode from the perspective of a genuine historical character & in the form of a complete journal of his life, & the lives of those around him. The result is possibly the most complete genuine framework for the investigation & discovery of a character that represents heroic resistance to powerful & corrupt authority the world over, but who appears here as a solitary mortal man with all his human failings. Utterly relevant to modern archaeological & historical investigation, this voyage of discovery reveals hidden mysteries of the true power of the north at the time of the founding of democracy through Magna Carta 800 years ago & includes a gazetteer of sites to visit & all the latest discoveries.

The Disappearing Ninth Legion puts this mysterious Roman legion firmly back on the historic map. A great deal of fiction and conjecture has appeared in books, films, and on the internet, but this book draws on actual historical and up-to-date archaeological information to paint a picture of the real legion as it was, its development, expansion, structure, assignments under the Caesars and the Roman Empire, its supposed disappearance from York, then further evidence for its survival in Europe, the East, and possibly even China, as the mighty world of the Romans gradually fell apart. Was the legion simply broken up and re-assigned or do they still march the moorlands and streets of Eastern Britain, a lost ghostly army cursed and vanquished by the Druids and Celts? Its all here written and presented in an easy and non-technical way by one of Britains best up-and-coming story tellers and presenters.