The Modern Antiquarian

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Curators Farley and Weetch are refreshingly defiant in defining the Celt as inclusively as possible – at pains throughout to provide maps and more maps of the Celtic worldview as its truth has migrated down the centuries. We moderns may too-often suffer from a mixing up of historical sequences, but better that, surely, than risk raising a population that is entirely not-arsed about its past. The proliferation of armchair archaeologists across the UK attests to the continued fascination that the ways of our ancestors invoke in so many of us. By keeping steadfastly to their inclusive vision of all things Celt, Farley and Weetch are helping to instil in future generations the kind of open-mindedness that has enabled our democracy to thrive. Keep it in your car if you've got a big glove compartment and are very clean and tidy. Otherwise, treat it like a sacred object and pass it down through the generations like a family bible. One piece -- "The Book of Ur" -- includes a detailed etymosophy (your guess is as good as ours) of words such as "Ur" and "Koeur". Here at the museum is the greatest Celtic find of all: the legendary Gundestrup cauldron. It’s my all-time favourite prehistoric artefact: huge, silver, magnificent. Wonderful castings of Norse gods, men, animals and mythological beasts festoon its sides, while a recumbent bull guards its basin. The cauldron is striking for its characters and stories (most Celtic art is non-figurative) but I long ago decided it was pointless trying to itemise these snake-gripping figures, as the Celts had so many local pantheons.

The Modern Antiquarian: A Pre-Millennial Odyssey Through The Modern Antiquarian: A Pre-Millennial Odyssey Through

within that transformed the assumed banality of the English landscape into something magical and eternally compelling. The business has expanded considerably since then, and our main emphasis is on high quality highly sought after books in various fields - art; photography; modern 1st's; motoring and other niche/underground obsessions! Julian Cope studies William Stukeley’s book at the Celts exhibition. Photograph: Linda Nylind/The Guardian Forgotten the title or the author of a book? Our BookSleuth is specially designed for you. Visit BookSleuthAh me, what Stukeley started! For this Lincolnshire rector was the most successful antiquary of the mid-1700s. His books – grandly illustrated publications every one – were lapped up by the population. To watch the migration of Stukeley’s thoughts from 1723’s overly Romanised Itinerarium Curiosum – via Stonehenge and Abury – to his posthumous (and entirely megalithically revisioned) Itinerarium of 1776 is to view at first-hand the manner in which the Celts have seduced the romantic imagination. His voice was rich, velvety and ever so slightly posh; Cope was unlike anyone I had ever seen or heard before. In the grim meat-and-potatoes land of late-90s fashion, he looked like he had landed from outer space. And not in a contrived way either, though truth be told he did look like a bit of a berk. What he said that night connected with me on a superficial level. Why would we travel halfway around the world to visit the Nazca Lines or Chichén Itzá, when there were equal treasures on our doorstep, he asked. Easy for you to say that, I thought to myself, when I could barely afford the bus fare into town that night, never mind a trip to the Isle of Lewis to look at some old stones. However, my interest was piqued, as I had recently devoured a copy of Head-On and thought perhaps there was something of interest in what the Arch Drude had to say. According to Cope, Avebury, in the Marlborough Downs, was as culturally significant as The Stooges, which gave me cause to investigate his claims further, and even now, 22 years later, I am still chipping away at this idea. Compelling too is the St Peter’s Kirk Pictish-symbol stone discovered on the north-east coast of South Ronaldsay. Again, this 5ft-long sandstone monolith stands way outside accepted Celtic regions, right at the edge of the ancient Norse world. The Papil Stone, removed from the grounds of a Shetland monastery close to the Viking stronghold of Jarlshof, is another artefact brought from outside perceived Celtic realms, but this always-thorough exhibition shows us Viking jewellery directly influenced – nay, copied – from its Celtic neighbours. On display is one very large Viking 10th-century open-ring brooch discovered on Orkney’s glorious Bay of Skaill. In the exhibition cabinet, this huge brash silver artefact – originally dug up near the Neolithic village of Skara Brae – dominates its far earlier Celtic neighbour like some overly chromed 1950s Cadillac parked up next to an Austin Allegro. My all-time favourite prehistoric artefact’: the silver Gundestrup cauldron, uncovered in 1891 in Denmark. Photograph: British Museum I wanted to bring it all together: pictures, maps, illustrations and practicality in a Gazetteer, along with an overview of the big picture in an Essays section.

Modern Antiquarian by Julian Cope - AbeBooks Modern Antiquarian by Julian Cope - AbeBooks

Most people are familiar with Stonehenge, but unaware that this is only the tip of the ice...er, stone-berg, as it were. I enjoyed this immensely. I found his arguments convincing and it fired my enthusiasm for visiting more of these places. Schneider, Martin (16 June 2017). " 'THE MODERN ANTIQUARIAN': JULIAN COPE'S GUIDED TOUR OF THE MEGALITHS OF BRITAIN". Dangerous Minds. Cope is also a recognised authority on Neolithic culture, an outspoken political and cultural activist, and a fierce critic of contemporary Western society (with a noted and public interest in occultism, paganism and Goddess worship). This is a big and utterly beautiful and fantastic book that everyone should have instead of a coffee table. I love Cope's attitude and ideas and his early writings about walks along neolithic routes were very inspiring to me. This led me off on a long walk along the Ridgeway to Avebury and got me out walking the streets of London, making notes and drawings.

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An encyclopedia full of maps and fabulous photographs with descriptions of Megalithic Stones all over the UK. Dissatisfied with the guidebooks (and coffee table books) available he decided to put together his own handbook: A visit to Avebury got him hooked on megalithic Britain and he determined to find out what he could about this pre-historic phenomenon.

Julian Cope presents Head Heritage | Welcome Julian Cope presents Head Heritage | Welcome

No narrowness of definition here, dear me no. For, although the Ancient Greek term Keltoi initially aimed only to define itself as a geographical catch-all label for those mysterious barbarian tribes to their west, the British Museum has chosen to revision the Celt and all things Celtic not for what they once were known, but for what those emotive terms have, down the recent centuries, come to be known. Cope’s innovative gazetteer opened up the landscape to a whole new generation of walkers, psychonauts and amateur historians. Unlike many archaeological accounts, there is no concrete conclusion, as it is a work that explores suggestion, albeit with a frequently esoteric angle. The Modern Antiquarian by Julian Cope is published by Thorsons. In October 2004ce Julian Cope published The Megalithic European, a landmark guide to the stones of ancient Europe. Julian Cope is one of Britain’s best known and most-celebrated post-punk visionaries. In this historical masterpiece, he takes us on an unforgettable journey across the British Isles, uncovering the first temples ever built and their myriad descendants, the relics of which can still be seen today. He may be a weird character, and maybe he doesn't shower enough, but he's put out a lot of fine music, and his memoirs are a load of fun.

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Eery and unlikely arrangements, precariously balanced and perched stones, odd alignments, sadly broken and toppled remnants, huge barrows -- and all of it ancient and storied. The Megalithic European by Julian Cope". The Independent. 24 October 2004. Archived from the original on 18 June 2022 . Retrieved 5 July 2020.

Modern Antiquarian - Cope, Julian: 9780722535998 - AbeBooks The Modern Antiquarian - Cope, Julian: 9780722535998 - AbeBooks

An ornate silver, gold and amber brooch found in Hunterston, Scotland, from 700-800AD. Photograph: National Museums Scotland

Some of it sounds fairly nutty, but Cope has done his research and his opinions are at least well-founded.