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The Ancient Celts, Second Edition

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The Ancient Celts, Second Edition

By: Barry Cunliffe
Narrated by: Julian Elfer
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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. For 2,500 years, they have continued to fascinate those who have come into contact with them, yet their origins have remained a mystery and even today are the subject of heated debate among historians and archaeologists.

Barry Cunliffe's classic study of the ancient Celtic world was first published in 1997. Since then, huge advances have taken place in our knowledge: new finds, new ways of using DNA records to understand Celtic origins, new ideas about the proto-urban nature of early chieftains' strongholds. All these developments are part of this fully updated and completely redesigned edition.

Cunliffe explores the archaeological reality of these bold warriors and skilled craftsmen of barbarian Europe who inspired fear in both the Greeks and the Romans. From the picture that emerges, we are crucially able to distinguish between the original Celts and those tribes which were "Celtized", giving us an invaluable insight into the true identity of this ancient people.

©2018 Barry Cunliffe (P)2019 Tantor Ancient Archaeology Egypt Europe Middle East Ancient History Ancient Greece Africa Ancient Egypt Mythology Greek Mythology Middle Ages Celtic Mythology
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This is a thorough review of the material, thus discovered. Obviously, museums and warehouses full of Celtic artefacts have given us an insight into this fascinating people, but an overview of the data, which this book is, gives us a clearer picture. However, every now and then, some insecure Anglo-Saxon tries to claim that the Celts as a linguistic cultural race never existed.
These vexed and anxious denials of Europe's first identifable truely European race smacks of classic English imperialism. Fortunately, Celtic language forms, art, and musical rhythms continue to influence European culture to this day. Imagine if Anglo-Saxon Germanic music was Europe's base rhythm, we would be singing and listening to thumping umpapa to this day. Sorry, EU, but your anthem fits that bill. Hardly the Beatles, is it? Obviously composed when Beethoven was suffering severe hearing loss.
The book is dense in its research and is a wonderful reference source. It is also well read and, importantly, not boring. An accompanying pdf map of the various locations and timelines would be helpful as these ancient locations mostly fall within modern urban areas.

Dense but interesting

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Spoilt only by absence of pdf maps and photos in the audio edition. Otherwise excellent.

A Comprehensive Well-balanced Survey

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