The Modern Antiquarian

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Climbing aboard the 1781 bandwagon created by Iolo Morganwg’s brand new Society of the Ancient Druids, towns across Britain revived or even invented their own Celtic-styled festivals, my personal favourite being the “ancient” Cornish street theatre of Padstow’s Obby Oss, first recorded in 1803. 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.

Megalithic European: The 21st Century Traveller in Megalithic European: The 21st Century Traveller in

In fact, Cope tells the reader, Stonehenge is unrepresentative, a late add-on -- "a fashioned Bronze Age power statement" erected "centuries after the height of megalithic building." 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). A visit to Avebury got him hooked on megalithic Britain and he determined to find out what he could about this pre-historic phenomenon.

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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. 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.

Julian Cope presents Head Heritage - The Modern Antiquarian Julian Cope presents Head Heritage - The Modern Antiquarian

An ornate silver, gold and amber brooch found in Hunterston, Scotland, from 700-800AD. Photograph: National Museums Scotland Julian Cope at Silbury Hill, Wiltshire by Cat Stevens. All other photographs courtesy of Adelle Stripe The volume as a whole has over 600 photographs and illustrations (most by Cope himself), as well as "over 50 poems". 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.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.

Modern Antiquarian by Julian Cope, First Edition - AbeBooks Modern Antiquarian by Julian Cope, First Edition - AbeBooks

This book shines a powerful light onto the past of a nation hoodwinked into believing that its history began with the Roman conquest. Cope’s deft prose examines our prehistoric beginnings through the evidence of megalithic remains and their surroundings, allowing us for the first time to reconcile the tapestry of our past with modern life. 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. 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. Cope varies between narrative (of his visits) and semi-scholarly studies, and he manages to make it all quite interesting. Dissatisfied with the guidebooks (and coffee table books) available he decided to put together his own handbook:within that transformed the assumed banality of the English landscape into something magical and eternally compelling. 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. His obsessive traits seem to have served him well (although his enthusiasm for toy cars, as related in Repossessed, may be a bit much for some), and they do so again with this unexpected undertaking. Julian Cope studies William Stukeley’s book at the Celts exhibition. Photograph: Linda Nylind/The Guardian Some of the most striking are small circles -- or larger arrangements that can only be fully appreciated at a distance.