Description
Book SynopsisAncient Classical authors have painted the Druids in a bad light, defining them as a barbaric priesthood, who 2,000 years ago perpetrated savage and blood rites in ancient Britain and Gaul in the name of their gods. Archaeology tells a different and more complicated story of this enigmatic priesthood, a theocracy with immense political and sacred power. This book explores the tangible 'footprint' the Druids have left behind: in sacred spaces, art, ritual equipment, images of the gods, strange burial rites and human sacrifice. Their material culture indicates how close was the relationship between Druids and the spirit-world, which evidence suggests they accessed through drug-induced trance.
Table of ContentsACKNOWLEDGEMENTS LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Preface PROLOGUE: The untouched Cave CH. 1: Time and Space: contextualizing Druids in the ancient world CH. 2: Barbarians and Wise Men: rethinking Classical texts CH. 3: Spiritual Spaces: rites and beliefs in Iron Age Britain and Gaul CH. 4: Images and Symbols: sacred art and the Druids CH. 5: Welsh Connections: spotlight on Druidic Wales CH. 6: A Holy War: Boudica and the Druids against Rome CH. 7: Reading Runes and Telling Spoons: divining the divine CH. 8: Druids and Deities: changing spirits in Roman Gaul and Britain CH. 9: Ideas of Afterlife: death, burial and reincarnation EPILOGUE: The Untouched Cave Revisited BIBLIOGRAPHY
