PREFACE
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The Celts have long been the subject of intense interest and speculation not only in
Britain, Ireland and the European continent, but worldwide. The purpose of this
book is to present a collection of contributions by people who are currently in the
forefront of Celtic research. With forty authors from all over the world, there is
inevitably a diversity of approach, methodology and treatment which, to my mind,
enriches and enlivens the subject: scholars from varied disciplines examine aspects of
Celtic culture from the differing perspectives of archaeology, language, literature and
anthropology.
The book is divided into twelve main sections, each comprising a major theme;
every section is subdivided into chapters. Part I explores the origins of the conti-
nental Celts and the spread of their traditions over most of non-Mediterranean
Europe. Miranda Green's introductory chapter examines the problems of how Celtic
culture may be identified; David Ellis Evans looks at the evidence of early Celtic
languages; and David Rankin discusses the way in which the Celts of the late first
millennium BC are depicted through the media of classical art and literature.
Parts II-VIII are thematic in approach: in Part II, Graham and William Ritchie
and Ian Ralston present the evidence for Celtic warfare, in terms of both the way
armies functioned, and the different forms of defensive installation employed. In Part
III, Timothy Champion discusses political organization and the hierarchical nature
of society, while Glenys Lloyd-Morgan takes a closer look at the Celts themselves,
the stereotype and reality of their appearance, and aspects of daily life. Barry
Burnham's analysis shows how Celtic and Roman cultures interacted and merged to
become a new, hybrid society. Parts IV and V explore environment, rural and urban
settlement, trade and industry: Martin Bell sets the environmental scene and shows
how it changed through time; John Collis examines the emergence of urban centres
in the second and first centuries BC; and Peter Reynolds discusses rural life and
its agricultural base. The latter chapter leads naturally to consideration of economic
themes. Here, in Part V, Peter Wells contributes two chapters on the closely related
subjects of resources, industry and trade; Daphne Nash Briggs examines the use of
coinage both as a trading tool and as an indicator of the evolving relationship
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