Barry W. Cunliffe

A sensational, interdisciplinary work which entirely reorients our understanding of Europe from 10,000 BC to the time of the Vikings In this magnificent book, distinguished archaeologist Barry Cunliffe reframes our entire conception of early European history, from prehistory through the ancient world to the medieval Viking period. Cunliffe views Europe not in terms of states and shifting political land boundaries but as a geographical niche particularly favored in facing many seas. These seas, and Europe’s great transpeninsular rivers, ensured a rich diversity of natural resources while also encouraging the dynamic interaction of peoples across networks of communication and exchange. The development of these early Europeans is rooted in complex interplays, shifting balances, and geographic and demographic fluidity. Drawing on archaeology, anthropology, and history, Cunliffe has produced an interdisciplinary tour de force. His is a bold book of exceptional scholarship, erudite and engaging, and it heralds an entirely new understanding of Old Europe.

"Around 330 B.C., a remarkable man named Pytheas set out from the Greek colony of Massalia (now Marseille) on the Mediterranean Sea to explore the fabled, terrifying lands of northern Europe - a mysterious, largely conjectural zone which, according to Greek science, was too cold to sustain human life, and yet they knew somehow was the source of precious commodities such as tin, amber, and gold. The Extraordinary Voyage of Pytheas the Greek is the chronicle of this astonishing journey that captivated the ancient world.". "Whether Pytheas headed an expedition or traveled alone is not known. He was, nonetheless, the first literate man to visit the British Isles and the coasts of France and Denmark, and there is convincing evidence that he traveled on to Iceland and the edge of the ice pack. Pytheas's own account of the voyage, titled On the Ocean and published in about 320 B.C., has not survived (it was probably destroyed in the burning of the Great Library at Alexandria), however, it echoes in the works on ancient historians like Polybius and Strabo, and was clearly discussed throughout the Mediterranean. Their references to his voyage represent the beginnings of northwest European history and underscore how much of a pioneer Pytheas was, for Britiain remained without further known explorers until Julius Caesar and his legions landed there almost 300 years later.". "Archaeologist Barry Cunliffe knows perhaps more than anyone about the world through which Pytheas traveled, and has carefully re-created his staggering journey. Beginning with an invaluable pocket history of early Mediterranean civilization, Cunliffe illuminates what Pytheas would have seen and experienced - the route he likely took to reach first Brittany, then Britain, Iceland, and Denmark, the tin mining and, even then, evidence of ancient cultures he would have witnessed on shore; the challenge of sailing in a skin boat; the magic of amber and the trade routes by which it reached the Mediterranean. In telling this story, Barry Cunliffe has chronicled an essential chapter in the history of civilization."--BOOK JACKET.

Fierce warriors and skilled craftsmen, the Celts were famous throughout the Ancient Mediterranean World. They were the archetypal barbarians from the north and were feared by both Greeks and Romans. For two and a half thousand years they have continued to fascinate those who have come into contact with them, yet their origins have remained a mystery and even today are the subject of heated debate among historians and archaeologists. Barry Cunliffe's classic study of the ancient Celtic world was first published in 1997. Since then huge advances have taken place in our knowledge: new finds, new ways of using DNA records to understand Celtic origins, new ideas about the proto-urban nature of early chieftains' strongholds, All these developments are part of this fully updated , and completely redesigned edition. Cunliffe explores the archaeological reality of these bold warriors and skilled craftsmen of barbarian Europe who inspired fear in both the Greeks and the Romans. He investigates the texts of the classical writers and contrasts their view of the Celts with current archaeological findings. Tracing the emergence of chiefdoms and the fifth- to third-century migrations as far as Bosnia and the Czech Republic, he assesses the disparity between the traditional story and the most recent historical and archaeological evidence on the Celts. Other aspects of Celtic identity such as the cultural diversity of the tribes, their social and religious systems, art, language and law, are also examined. From the picture that emerges, we are - crucially - able to distinguish between the original Celts, and those tribes which were 'Celtized', giving us an invaluable insight into the true identity of this ancient people.

Far more than a history, this brilliantly illustrated volume offers a reconstruction in human terms of the many facets of Rome's extraordinary legacy. The Romans speak to us here through their splendid achievements and their tragic failures, their monuments and their tastes, to give us an understanding of the spirit behind these dramatic events. From village to Empire, for nearly a millennium Rome kept up a dizzying pace of change and expansion. Stirring victories over Hannibal, the Gauls, the Britons alternated with peaceful intervals of cultural development under Augustus and Marcus Aurelius, until the final days of chaos and decline. Those thousand years take shape on the pages of Professor Cunliffe's beautiful book to give us a gradually unfolding vision of a people who once lived and of a resplendent world now in ruins. Instead of a textbook, he has virtually recreated Rome itself, a world opening up, maintaining its brief, fragile balance, and then collapsing. The whole dynamic nature of the process is evoked here by the use of historical passages alternating with concise analytical views of daily life. "The rise and fall of a great empire," Professor Cunliffe writes, "cannot fail to fascinate us, for we can see in such a story something of our own time. But of all the empires that have come or gone, none has a more immediate appeal than the Empire of Rome. It pervades our lives today.". The sheer vastness of the Empire was staggering. At its height, it extended across 2,600 miles east to west, and 2,000 miles north to south. But these figures mean little. Even understood as reaching from the north of Britain to Africa, and engulfing Spain, Germany, and lands as far as the Persian Gulf, Rome does not come alive until captured - as in this book - through glimpses of shops and villas, the voices of people, the echoing theaters, baths, temples, and slums. And Professor Cunliffe provides them for the reader. Along with the history of Rome's growth and dominion, he has added a careful history of her changing political, social, and cultural institutions. But above all, the Romans themselves speak. Cicero, Seneca, and Petronius seize the flavour of the Roman experience. Marius, Pompey, and Caesar use the urban mob as a pawn in their power games. Livy pieces together the city's origins from folklore. Even the coins transmit news and instill piety, ultimately becoming devices for propaganda. Tombstones, monuments, bawdy and political graffiti, and private letters miraculously preserved give us a wealth of human details - the voices that gave life to Rome and her Empire... A young soldier writes home to Egypt: "Dear mother, I hope this finds you well. When you get this letter, I will be much obliged if you will send me some money....". On a wooden tablet from London written by a master to his servant in Rome: "I believe you know I am very well. If you have made the list, please send. See that you turn the slave girl into cash...." Lucretius the Epicurean explains natural phenomena in terms of philosophical concepts; Vitruvius lays down the rules of architecture; the poets and playwrights all help enrich the fabric - and our heightened understanding - of Roman life. In this handsome book, such materials provide readers with the eloquent testament and indestructible evidence of a city that emerged from obscurity in 500 B.C. and directed the civilized world until the birth of Constantinople in 500 A.D. Featured among the volume's 1,000 illustrations, of which half are in full color, are superb photographs by former Life correspondent Brian Brake and by Leonard von Matt. These stunning works are augmented by additional photographs, reproductions, portraits, engravings, maps, and drawings that capture even more of the gifts that have been handed down to us by the Romans.

Describes what the work of archaeologists has revealed about the Roman armies and the "barbarians" from Northern Europe whom they fought in the period of approximately 150 B.C. to 150 A.D.