Bob Trubshaw, editor and publisher of At the Edge, said that this periodical was launched as a 40+ page A4 magazine in February 1996. The final issue, No.10, appeared in June 1998. The aim was to 'walk on the cracks' between archaeology, mythology and folklore and provide accessible insights for all with an interest in the latest and most innovative ideas about past and place. Contributions came from both academics and 'non-professional' researchers. (1)
In 1998, At the Edge merged with the periodical, 3rd Stone , and Bob gave the following background and reasons for the merger: "Allow me to reminisce. In the autumn of 1995 I was planning the transition from Mercian Mysteries to At the Edge. The aim was to 'walk on the cracks' between archaeology, folklore and mythology to provide an up-to-date insight into new interpretations of past and place. A secondary aim was to encourage more academic contributions and to make 'earth mysteries' just one among several approaches to past and place. At this time Paul Devereux was editing The Ley Hunter and Danny and Jo-Anne Sullivan were producing 3rd Stone. However, soon after At the Edge was launched, Paul handed over TLH to Danny, and Danny asked Neil Mortimer and Hilary Schraft to handle 3rd Stone. Neil and Hilary hit the ground running and expanded on the editorial standard set by the previous editors of 3rd Stone. As a result, Neil has been able to dramatically increase the number of subscribers for 3rd Stone. However, Neil's editorial approach to 3rd Stonemeant that the content was much closer to the scope of At the Edge than had been the case when Danny and Jo-Anne were editing. Inescapably, At the Edge was now competing with 3rd Stone for both subscribers and contributors. This seemed to be entirely unnecessary as both Neil and myself recognised that collaboration would be far more fruitful. (2)
"Despite much head-scratching to come up with a nifty new title, Neil and I have decided that the combined magazine should retain the title 3rd Stone. Existing 3rd Stonereaders will find that they are exposed to more folklore and mythology than has been normal since Neil took over; At the Edge readers will find that they get even more archaeological content.
What about me, you might be thinking? To be honest, after nearly eight years of producing a new issue of Mercian Mysteries or At the Edge every three months, I will be grateful for the chance to step off the treadmill! Nevertheless, I will still have an active involvement in 3rd Stone as part of the editorial team supporting Neil Mortimer. And there is still a backlog of Heart of Albionpublications to get out - hopefully most of these will appear within the next year. After that perhaps I should 'get a life'! The reality is more probably that my day job will become increasingly demanding, although I hope to have enough 'spare time' to take Heart of Albion further into pioneering 'short run' electronic publishing." (2)
References: