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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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About this listen

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 Africa Ancient Egypt Ancient History Ancient Greece Greek Mythology Mythology Celtic Mythology

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I found this listen rather hard work - I suspect it is a book better read than listened to. The content is doubtless well-researched and authoritative, but I found my attention wandering when encountering (yet another) comparison of grave-goods and/or harness buckles and/or pottery designs from various (to my mind at least) obscure geographic locations. If reading, one might be able to refer to maps or photographs/drawings to bring this rather dry content to 'life' - but no such luxury is available when listening. Couple this with a narrator who insists on pronouncing place names in their 'native' accent (e.g. 'Paree' rather than 'Paris') and it becomes a bit of a slog.

Having said that, the content is very thorough - just not terribly engaging. Just one small example: I confess I got quite tetchy when a grave item was described at 'tri-cephalic' rather than 'three-headed'. I'm sure it's the right specific word, but it really doesn't make love the book or the experience of listening to it.

Struggled

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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.

Robotic!

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This is a thorough book that spans the full geographical area of the celts and traverses many centuries. it relies on linguistics, archaeology, anthropological theory and in my opinion, far too much on Roman sources to the point where it is almost an Asterix style boy's own adventure of battling mustacheoed Celts. This reliance on the Romans leads him down the same errors as 19th C historians in his relating of Iron Age women. 50% of the population, the female half are deemed not worth exploring, although Cartimandua and Boudica are mentioned, any assumptions made about 'Chiefs and his sons' is overwhelmingly male. The interpretation of brooches found in graves as evidence that women were traded like goods and lumped in with horses is not only a leap but also smacks of misogyny. I would still recommend this book for its impressive span but be wary of the underlying biases.

thorough but not unproblematic

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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.

Excellent history, somewhat marred by narration

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

Quite boring

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