The Archaeology Of Celtic Britain And Ireland

This book, first published in 2006, surveys the archaeology of the Celtic-speaking areas of Britain and Ireland, AD 400 to 1200.

The term 'Dark Ages' was coined to describe a period which was seen as a period of anarchy and violence, following the collapse of civilisation. Recent discoveries by archaeologists and historians have, however, radically altered this traditional view of the Dark Ages, and the period is now seen as one of innovation and dynamic social evolution. This book reconsiders a number of traditionally accepted views. It argues, for example, that the debt of the Dark Age Celts to Rome was enormous, even in areas such as Ireland that were never occupied by Roman invaders. It also discusses the traditional chronology suggesting that the date of 'AD 400' usually taken as the start of the 'early Christian period in Britain and Ireland now has comparatively little meaning. Once this conventional framework is removed, it is possible to show how the Celtic world of the Dark Ages took shape under Roman influence in the centuries between about 200 to 800, and looked to Rome even for the immediate inspiration for its art. Such questions as the extent of British (that is, Celtic) survival in pagan Saxon England, and the Celtic and Roman contribution to early England are considered.

More wide ranging, both geographically and chronologically, than any previous study, this well-illustrated book offers a new definition of Celtic art. Tempering the much-adopted art-historical approach, D.W. Harding argues for a broader definition of Celtic art and views it within a much wider archaeological context. He re-asserts ancient Celtic identity after a decade of deconstruction in English-language archaeology. Harding argues that there were communities in Iron Age Europe that were identified historically as Celts, regarded themselves as Celtic, or who spoke Celtic languages, and that the art of these communities may reasonably be regarded as Celtic art. This study will be indispensable for those people wanting to take a fresh and innovative perspective on Celtic Art.

This book surveys the full richness of Celtic art and discusses the settlements, social structure, cultural backgrounds, foreign contacts and the technological and spiritual developments that created it. Taking into account the archaeological and historical contexts as well as the art-historical, the authors attempt to get closer to the art through the people who created, ordered, paid for and enjoyed the many treasures illustrated here, such as the Tara Brooch and the Monymusk Reliquary as well as countless less well-known items some discovered as recently as 1994.

An 1882 account of the Celtic history, etymology and ethnology in Britain, from Julius Caesar to the eleventh-century Scottish kingdoms.

Now in its second edition, this comprehensive history of the Celts draws on archaeological, historical, literary and linguistic evidence to provide a comprehensive and colourful overview from origins to the present. Divided into three parts, the first covers the continental Celts in prehistory and antiquity, complete with accounts of the Celts in Germany, France, Italy, Iberia and Asia Minor. Part Two follows the Celts from the departure of the Romans to the late Middle Ages, including the migrations to and settlements in Ireland, Wales, Scotland and Brittany. This section also includes discussions of the Celtic kingdoms and the significance of Christianisation. Part Three brings the history of the Celts up to the present, covering the assimilation of the Celts within the national cultures of Great Britain, France and Ireland. Included in this consideration are the suppression of Gaelic, the declines, revivals and survivals of languages and literatures, and the histories of Celtic culture. The book concludes with a discussion of the recent history of the meaning of 'Celtic' and an examination of the cultural legacy of the Celts in the modern era.

This book reveals how the Celts came to Britain in the sense of how the term 'Celtic' first became associated with the British Isles in the eighteenth century and then gradually took on its modern popular meaning towards the end of the nineteenth. The role of the druids and the importance of craniology in this process is emphasised.