The Modern Antiquarian

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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 on Celts: my wild romance | Exhibitions | The Julian Cope on Celts: my wild romance | Exhibitions | The

In the following years he decamped there and brought up his family in the area, where he was jokingly referred to by Coil’s John Balance as Lord Yatesbury. This prehistory maps the indigenous pagan tradition of ancient Britain, an era in which the vast landscapes of Britain, from Cornwall to North Yorkshire, Orkney and North Wales, were united by megalithic structures that were built communally by pre-feudal societies.This is a big and utterly beautiful and fantastic book that everyone should have instead of a coffee table. Alongside these football artefacts sit packs of contemporary tarot cards, atop one deck a 21st-century pewter figure of a Celtic god re-cast for the superhero age. In contrast to the formality of ancient history, there is an enduring appeal to Cope’s musical career that stretches beyond conventional audiences. 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.

Julian Cope presents Head Heritage Julian Cope presents Head Heritage

Universally praised by The Guardian, Times, Telegraph, Independent, Mail and their ilk, the first edition of 20,000 sold out in under one month! If he is the Modern Antiquarian, then we can draw links back to Francis Bacon, who in 1605 described readings of the past based on antiquities as “unperfect histories”. And: "Each Site Visited and Verified by the Author" (so the copy on the slipcase -- we're not quite sure what "verifying" a site might involve and, come to think of it, we probably don't want to know). 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. This had culminated in him spending most of the previous eight years traipsing around windy landscapes creating this new guide to the forgotten megalithic sites of Britain that were first constructed in the late Neolithic period.

Signed by Julian Cope to title page, but with several gift inscriptions to previous owner on the facing blank page, some are amusing. 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 sumptuous, expensive looking coffee table book with fabulous photos, glorious rainbow coloured pages and detailed descriptions of every stone circle, dolmen, fougou and all Megalithic sites in Britain. To access your ebook(s) after purchasing, you can download the free Glose app or read instantly on your browser by logging into Glose. 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.

The Modern Antiquarian - Google Books

Perhaps I’d just wanted by this action to remind the ancients that there still remained romantic souls for whom votive offerings could have deep meaning. The Gazetteer provides a page or so on each of some 300 sites, each generally with a picture or two of the site, a short description or overview of the site and its significance, as well as brief notes made by Cope when he visited. Stranger still, the signpost was a rough, hand-painted thing quite at odds with the huge early bronze age megalithic tomb that awaited me. 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. There are even charming guidelines for those who use the gazetteer properly, including the invaluable tip to keep a plastic bag down your sock to collect rubbish in (Julian does).

Back in 1992, in a fit of neo-Celtic fervour, I set off for a tour of prehistoric Ireland armed with a hickory-handled wood-axe on which I had carved my name in rudimentary sub-rune style letters. It is the Las Vegas of stone circles, one that was built at the end of the period, to reflect what had gone before, as opposed to the wild, futuristic vision of its predecessors. Thankfully, it’s a site for only the most committed traveller and keeps the selfie-stick brigade at bay. avebury in england and uist and grampian in scotland stand out as having the best photos/sites/stories in this section.