David T. Yeomans 
The Development of Timber as a Structural Material [PDF ebook] 

Woodworking has been one of the most important technologies from the earliest times. Carpentry was important for buildings and bridges and as an integral part of most construction processes. The history of this subject has been explored by a variety of scholars, from archaeologists who have studied medieval timber techniques to engineers who have been interested in the development of bridges. The different studies have explored the methods of carpentry, the behaviour of the structures that were built and even the economic and social histories behind the development of carpentry techniques. This book collects together a number of papers representing this full range of scholarship as well as providing a general review of work in the field.