An Atlas for Celtic Studies is a unique and comprehensive reference book that presents a huge amount of information on what is known about the Celts in Europe in the form of detailed maps. It combines thousands of Celtic place- and group names, as well as Celtic inscriptions and other mappable linguistic evidence. Moving away from a narrative story of the Celts, the aim of this ground-breaking publication is to empower the reader with a wide range of evidence, lucidly presented, to show the geographic relationship of Celtic-language and non-linguistic cultural evidence, allowing individual interpretation. The Atlas has 64 large format pages of colour maps alongside pages of explanatory text, theoretical discussion, map details, bibliography, and index. This will be an essential work for anyone studying the Celts.
This book provides a comprehensive history of the Celts, supported by accurate, detailed maps demonstrating the movements of the people and the major military campaigns and conflicts of the Celts, with engaging, informative text. The Celts made a significant contribution to the world's art and culture, and many European cultures continue to be influenced by their Celtic origins, with Celtic languages still spoken in parts of the British Isles, Ireland, and France.
Discusses important archeological finds from the Celts' past and reveals how archaeologists use the latest technology to discover clues to ancient Celtic civilization.
From the best-selling author of The Seven Daughters of Eve, a perfect book for anyone interested in the genetic history of Britain, Ireland, and America. One of the world's leading geneticists, Bryan Sykes has helped thousands find their ancestry in the British Isles. Saxons, Vikings, and Celts, which resulted from a systematic ten-year DNA survey of more than 10,000 volunteers, traces the true genetic makeup of the British Isles and its descendants, taking readers from the Pontnewydd cave in North Wales to the resting place of the Red Lady of Paviland and the tomb of King Arthur. This illuminating guide provides a much-needed introduction to the genetic history of the people of the British Isles and their descendants throughout the world.
A visual history of the many peoples who’ve inhabited and shaped Britain, from hunter-gatherers to Celts, Vikings, Normans, and modern immigrants. This atlas covers the history of the British Isles from earliest times to the present day. The first hunter-gatherers, who crossed into what would become the United Kingdom by the land-bridge, and later followed by more familiar peoples the Celts, Angles, Saxons, Vikings, and Normans, who together would create Britain’s unique history. Each of these groups contributed ideas that shaped the lands, languages, and thoughts at the core of British identity. This story is illustrated with 150 full-color maps and plans that range across many topics, such as agricultural, political, and industrial revolutions. The expansion of the islands’ peoples across the oceans left a lasting legacy on the world, and on Britain itself. The book shows the fluctuating fortunes of the states by which Britain currently identifies itself, from an Anglo-Scottish imperium to devolved power, independence, and the often-painful process by which the modern map evolved. The forces of history and religion have often divided the islands’ peoples, but DNA unites them much more than most would realize as they continue to embrace new cultures arriving in search of refuge, opportunity, and equality.
An essential new history of ancient Ireland and the Irish, written as an engrossing detective story About eighty million people today can trace their descent back to the occupants of Ireland. But where did the occupants of the island themselves come from and what do we even mean by “Irish” in the first place? This is the first major attempt to deal with the core issues of how the Irish came into being. J. P. Mallory emphasizes that the Irish did not have a single origin, but are a product of multiple influences that can only be tracked by employing the disciplines of archaeology, genetics, geology, linguistics, and mythology. Beginning with the collision that fused the two halves of Ireland together, the book traces Ireland’s long journey through space and time to become an island. The origins of its first farmers and their monumental impact on the island is followed by an exploration of how metallurgists in copper, bronze, and iron brought Ireland into increasingly wider orbits of European culture. Assessments of traditional explanations of Irish origins are combined with the very latest genetic research into the biological origins of the Irish.
"Intriguing and stimulating." —Jane Smiley, Harper's In this real-life historical treasure hunt, bestselling author Graham Robb—"one of the more unusual and appealing historians currently striding the planet (New York Times)"—reveals the mapping of ancient Gaul as a reflection of the heavens, demonstrates the lasting influence of Druid science and recharts the exploration of the world and the spread of Christianity. This "fascinating" (Los Angeles Times) history offers nothing less than an entirely new understanding of the birth of modern Europe.
Graham Robb's The Ancient Paths will change the way you see European civilization. Inspired by a chance discovery, Robb became fascinated with the world of the Celts: their gods, their art, and, most of all, their sophisticated knowledge of science. His investigations gradually revealed something extraordinary: a lost map, of an empire constructed with precision and beauty across vast tracts of Europe. The map had been forgotten for almost two millennia and its implications were astonishing. Minutely researched and rich in revelations, The Ancient Paths brings to life centuries of our distant history and reinterprets pre-Roman Europe. Told with all of Robb's grace and verve, it is a dazzling, unforgettable book.