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The Ancient Celts
 
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The Ancient Celts (Hardcover)

by Barry Cunliffe (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 360 pages
  • Publisher: Oxford University Press (4 Sep 1997)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0198150105
  • ISBN-13: 978-0198150107
  • Product Dimensions: 24.8 x 18.5 x 2.7 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 403,709 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
  • See Complete Table of Contents

Product Description

Product Description
Fierce warriors and skilled craftsmen, the Celts were famous throughout the Ancient Mediterranean World. They were the archetypal barbarians from the north and were feared by both Greeks and Romans. Napoleon III spent much time and money searching for the ancestral Gauls, and the concept of the Celt has been used many times by the nations fringing the Atlantic in their search for identity. In this fascinating new volume Barry Cunliffe explores the true nature of the Celtic identity and presents the first thorough and up-to-date account of a people whose origins still provoke heated debate. Examining the archaeological reality of the Iron Age inhabitants of barbarian Europe, he traces the emergence of chiefdoms, patterns of expansion and migration, and the development of a mature urbanized society, thus assessing the disparity between the traditional vision of the Celts and the archaeological evidence. Through his consideration of cultural diversity, social and religious systems, art, language, law, and oral traditions, Cunliffe is able to draw a distinction between societies which conform to an ethnic `Celtic' model and those subjected to `Celtization', and tease out a fascinating new picture of the identity of the Celts. This book is intended for scholars and students of European archaeology and prehistory.

About the Author
Barry Cunliffe is Professor of European Archaeology at the University of Oxford and Fellow of Keble College. An expert in European archaeology, he has written over forty books, and is editor of The Oxford Illustrated Prehistory of Europe.

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4 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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22 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars A passable account, but definitely not the best, 19 Nov 2001
By A Customer
Cunliffe's 'The Ancient Celts' is better than many things that are written about the Celts, but then that's not very hard. This book is fine as an introduction for someone that's never read anything about the Celts before, but it should also not be the only thing that one reads about them.

For a much, much better overview try John Collis' 'The European Iron Age.' It's a far more informative account and it focuses on the archaeological evidence in a reasoned, scientific manner. It has fewer glossy pictures and is more technical, but it is also very rewarding.

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13 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The treasures of a lost society, 9 Jan 2005
By Stephen A. Haines (Ottawa, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The Ancient Celts (Paperback)
An informative and comprehensive overview of the history of Celtic Eurasia. Cunliffe's status as a leading scholar in this field is well deserved. This volume exhibits the result of many years of work. The wealth and breadth, in both time and space, of the material preclude Cunliffe engaging in flowery rhetoric or idle speculations. Using archaeology as the basis for his presentation, he provides both textual and graphic information. The result is a thorough examination of the development and movements of the Celtic peoples. Their impact on the geopolitics of Europe is great, he reminds us. Place names, artistic styles, and numerous practical elements, many of which have been downplayed or ignored during the Christian centuries, remain as a legacy of their presence and influence.

Given the paucity of Celtic written records, Cunliffe begins with a early archaeological efforts and snippets of Greco-Roman observations. What the Celts thought of themselves must remain a mystery. Those observing them found a warrior society, highly sophisticated in that realm from both aggressive and defensive standpoints. Highly mobile, the Celts established societies from Western Asia to the British Isles. In their settlements, which became increasingly organized and administered over the centuries, they laid the foundations of many modern communities. Cunliffe's accounts of these settlements, particularly those in the Iberian peninsula is likely to offer fresh information for many students.

Cunliffe gives us overviews of the "barbarian" migrations and their impact on European society. The most important result of Celtic movements, of course, was the counter expansion of Rome. Celtic domination of the trans-Alpine region drew Rome into Europe proper. Rome's choice of land routes for armies instead of sea routes for trade meant occupation or dominance of Celtic holdings. These counterforces had far-reaching results in all areas of European life. Even religion, which was normally viewed tolerantly by Rome, came under assault when the Celtic Druids became the force organizing resistance to Roman rule. Cunliffe traces these interactions with a scholar's precision, relating it all in a crisp narration.

The author's long career in this field has provided him with a storehouse of resources. Aside from the fine bibliographic essay, he enhances the main text with excellent maps, illustrations and photographs, many in colour. These cultural images impart a graphic sense of how misleading the term "barbarian" is applied to these people. Their rich heritage, eroded by Rome and virtually eliminated by Christianity is revived by Cunliffe's superb recounting of their world. This book is valuable at many levels and well worth the investment. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

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18 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Probably the best book of the celts this century assembled, 8 Oct 2001
This review is from: The Ancient Celts (Paperback)
This book has been one of the most inspiring books that i have ever read. It gives us very detailed information on how the celts lived and how they came about. It gives us a great insight into how the celts lived, it describes the social, political and religious way of life that the celts had. It shows us where the celts originated from and gives us a great overview of the way of the celts. When reading this we get a great sense of what the celts were about. It describes in great detail the way of life and the customs that the celts had. It shows great emphasises on where the celts travelled to and where their place of origin was.
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5.0 out of 5 stars Barry Cunliffe's The Celts
Barry Cunliffe was Professor of European Archaeology at Oxford from 1972 until he retired recently. He has spent at least thirty years conducting excavations at numerous Iron Age... Read more
Published 11 months ago by D. Evans

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