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Splendidly readable stuff

Customer Rating:

Well researched and very readable account of the archaeology of pre-Roman Britain. I found the early chapters especially interesting, e.g. the Boxgrove site showing the earliest evidence of human habitation in Britain 500,000 years ago, and the remarkable inventiveness of early hunter-gatherers. It did get a bit dry and technical at times in discussing the details of Neolithic and later monuments. The author also sometimes gets a little carried away in describing his or others' theories which seem to me perhaps a bit simplistic, e.g. the wood=life and stone=death theory of late Neolithic/early Bronze age monuments, verging on interpreting facts to fit the theory; the design of Iron age roundhouses mirroring the rising and setting sun also sounded too rigid to me. The author is quite convincing in dismissing the idea of a mass invasion of Neolithic farmers and prefers the theory that it was the idea of farming that swept across Europe to Britain. He cites as evidence DNA from Palaeolithic bones in Cheddar Gorge natching DNA from some modern inhabitants of the same area; on the other hand, there is also DNA evidence from the descendants of "Jasmine, the younger daughter of Eve" from Syria making up a sizeable slice of the British farming population in Neolithic and later society. All in all, a wonderful read that could get almost anyone interested in archaeology and pre-history.

informative but................	Customer Rating:
enjoyed this book as far as it went BUT in to many chapters it is a celebration of Priors own field of expertise i.e. Flag Fen -whilst I appreciate that one has to write about what one knows best the constant referals to Flag Fen and its surroundings detracted from the overall read

At last, honest History.

Customer Rating:

The author gives an unbiased account of what IMO our pre-history is all about. One reviewer said 'this is an attempt to air brush the celts out' not so if if actually took the time to study what he is saying, if anyone is guilty of air brushing it was the Victorians who ignored pre-history altogether and there is the fact he starts off by saying celtic traders from the Basque region in Spain were likely to have been the first people to come to our shores. There is a lot of rubbish about the Celts and Saxons of course which is really questioned and in my view very believable. The term 'Celts' was not used to mean people here untill 400 years or so ago so there are a few myths to be questioned and thrown out. Coupled with the Britain AD book this is compelling stuff, unless of course you like romantic stuff like some other reviewers.

Interesting Read

Customer Rating:

Britain BC: Life in Britain and Ireland Before the Romans is a good read. As are all of the books written by Francis Pryor. It is possible to see how keen the author is for his subject, that comes across clearly. By beening so keen the reader does also start to feel the same away about this history, which is the history of all peoples of these Islands. One comment is that I was taught and have always understood that the Romans never really visited Ireland.

why the antagonism?

Customer Rating:

This is a landmark book in terms of understanding Britain(ie the British Islands) in prehistory. All this talk of "missing celts" and "making Britain = England" is kind of missing the point somewhat. There WERE no celts in this period. No Welsh. No Scottish. No Cornish. Just BRITONS. Just lots of tribes and family groups living on this island. It wasn't until the Romans shut the Northern Britons off behind Hadrians wall that you get a notion of a "Scottish" country, land of the Picts. It wasn't until later again when the Saxons forced the Britons into the west, that you get a notion of Wales (Walas included modern-day Wales, Cumbria and Cornwall back then). As such, the notion of "celts" is a subject for Britain AD. They simply didn't exist in Britain BC. "Celt" is style of art of the period, found all across Europe. Not a type of people. Francis has, and is doing, brilliant work in this field, this book should be required reading for anyone doing British history and/or archaeology. Also should be read by anyone with an interest in "celtic" spirituality and religion - everything the ancient Britons do has a religious aspect, and Francis is making the connections no-one else seems to be making (even though they seem obvious after he explains them)