The Ancient Celts

Rating:
Summary: Nice
Review: 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]

Rating:
Summary: The treasures of a lost society
Review: 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]

Rating:
Summary: Old-fashioned and uninteresting
Review: Cunlife's work, though a good introduction to the Celts, is elementary and old-fashioned. He doesn't address the real issues in Celtic archaeology. I would recommend 'The Celtic World,' with its variety of authors and subjects, as a much better synthesis of modern archaeology for the serious student.

Rating:
Summary: Old-fashioned and uninteresting
Review: Cunliffe finds a solid ground between Iron Age archaeologists (many of whom are questioning the validity of the whole idea of a "Celtic" culture) and linguists and literary scholars (who can't help but see connections beyond the scope of coincidence between medieval, Insular texts and Iron Age, continental material remains). He both shows the complexity of the European Iron Age cultures and advances convincing hypotheses for similarity *and* variation among them, over space and over time. Anyone who is interested in the reality of the Celtic world should read this book.

Rating:
Summary: Best book on the subject in the last decade
Review: Cunliffe finds a solid ground between Iron Age archaeologists (many of whom are questioning the validity of the whole idea of a "Celtic" culture) and linguists and literary scholars (who can't help but see connections beyond the scope of coincidence between medieval, Insular texts and Iron Age, continental material remains). He both shows the complexity of the European Iron Age cultures and advances convincing hypotheses for similarity *and* variation among them, over space and over time. Anyone who is interested in the reality of the Celtic world should read this book.

Rating:
Summary: A solid introductory work
Review: I have grown to appreciate this book over the past five years. Although I do not use it myself much anymore, I do assign it to my Archaeology 1 tutorial students. It's an easier read than 'The European Iron Age' (John Collis), and I prefer the layout and illlustrations of 'The Ancient Celts' to 'Exploring the World of the Celts' (Simon James).

I would very much recommend this as a first text for those who are interested in the archaeology of the Celts. It's very well-written, and the illustrations are highly evocative.

However, as with any single-author account covering such a wide geographic area over such a span of time, there are disagreements over some aspects of Cunliffe's interpretations. Because of this, I would suggest that 'The Ancient Celts' is probably best read in conjuntion with either of the two books mentioned above.

Rating:
Summary: Very Detailed and Informative
Review: Let me start by saying I am nowhere near an expert on this subject. I read this book because I wanted to learn more about the Celts. Although I found this book to be a bit academic for my liking it was obviously scrupulously researched. My biggest complaint was the use of archaic names for ancient geographical locations without providing an approximate modern reference point; the same holds true for the mention of many long extinct cultural groups. The numerous maps which were included did not to my mind provide much clarification, plus they were all clustered together at the end of the book which made it cumbersome to keep flipping back and forth. Perhaps it was the author's intent to target a more scholarly audience which would explain my frustration with the content; hence, the 4 stars.