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  • The Ancient Celts, Second Edition

  • By: Barry Cunliffe
  • Narrated by: Julian Elfer
  • Length: 10 hrs and 53 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (73 ratings)

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The Ancient Celts, Second Edition

By: Barry Cunliffe
Narrated by: Julian Elfer
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Summary

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
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History
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What listeners say about The Ancient Celts, Second Edition

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Quite boring

Well narrated as you might expect from Julian, however the content is quite dry and classical.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent history, somewhat marred by narration

A detailed and very clearly presented history, discussing distribution, migration, war, trade, religion and culture from the earliest known origins of Celtic peoples to the modern Celtic revival. Historical sources are judiciously used, giving each its due allowance for bias. I would have liked more about the everyday life of "ordinary" Celts but that's a personal preference. The narrator was a bit disappointing, reading in a rapid monotone (I had to play it at 90% speed) and apparently without taking much notice of what he was reading so emphasis was often misplaced, sometimes leaving a sentence hard to follow. Occasionally even common words were misread, eg AXes of trade instread of axES of trade. A book well worth having but if there's a third edition then it might benefit from a new narrator.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

informative but dense

as a layman I found it pretty dense but very authoritative. A pre existing knowledge of the locations of major European rivers and mountain ranges is useful as they are referred to frequently.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Robotic!

The content of this title is undoubtedly excellent. The reading however is robotic, and sucks the life out of the subject. It includes many mispronunciations, even including some common English words that should be well within the vocabulary of most native speakers, including the narrator. For the first time, I chose to return the book.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

overall excellent but pronunciation annoying

An audio version of a highly regarded text of the Ancient Celts is I think a bit of an odd match. Lacking as it does the copious maps and photographs of the traditional book it is in many ways a poor substitute for the written work. However, listened to in combination with a written copy I found it reinforced the message. The main niggle I had is with the narrator’s pronunciation of place names when he slipped into a foreign accent .... the fact that he didn’t consistently do this made it more annoying.

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3 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent, both in content and performance

Fascinating review of both the archeology and the historical sources for a “Celtic” culture. Written with a wry wit and a brisk pace this book cannot fail to inthrall an armchair historian.

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6 people found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

old school history an in my opinion probably wrong

author seems to struggle with the concepts of migration and violence. Thus he blinds himself to reality. His suggestions as to the roots of the celts and indo european languages in europe is almost certainly wrong as DNA is showing.

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