Britain BC

[Tegernacus]

Britain BC
Francis Pryor

isbn: 000712693X
£6.99 on Amazon

I found this book fascinating, anyone else read it? Of all the book I have on pagan religions, this is the one I treasure most - and it isn't even about pagan religions, per-se.

Basically, Francis hypothesises an unbroken line of belief and people from the ice-age until the Roman invasion. Bear in mind, Francis is an archaeologist, not an historian. But he is a specialist in the Bronze and Iron age, and as such, you should definitely put this on your to-do list.

[Craig]

Interesting chap, might be worth a look. Any chance of a more in-depth review Teggie?

[suelittleowl]

I've got this on my Amazon wish list but have such a lot of unread stuff at present I have left it (and lots of other) stuff on there.

Is this the chap who did the BBC 2-parter on this subject?

[Tegernacus]

yeah, was it BBC or Channel 4? anyhow, the adaption was an good overview, but the book is much more indepth.

a review? I'll have a go

[Sìle]

There are reviews here and here.

[Tegernacus]

wheew, saved by the Webwitch thanks

this review just about sums it up too:

tamaranth.blogspot.com/2006/04/34-britain-bc-francis-pryor.html

Its a mass of material (Neolithic to Iron Age is a looooong time), with dozens of threads that all join up. Its a book that really needs to be read as a whole, rather than grabbing bits from.

[Midori]

I have it, but only read the bits associated with the Bronze Age so far.

[redraven]

I have seen the TV series, it gets shown on the documentary channels every now and then.
What I like about Francis Prior is that he doesn't follow "accepted wisdom" when it comes to studying the British Isles, he tends to try to look from a different perspective, so he should be ok on here!! ;D
Speaking of TV, did anyone see the recent series about the barbarians on the docu channels, this was not the Richard Rudgley series but one that seemed to have its origins in the US, seeing as the "Experts" where all North Americans with positions in different universities. They were doing histories of the many tribes present at the end of the roman empire, such as the Lombards, the Franks and the Gauls.
RR

[redraven]

Apologies. I am not meaning to hi-jack the thread, just interested if any one else saw the series!
RR

[Tegernacus]

this one?
www.thehistorychannel.co.uk/site/tv_guide/HD_full_details/Ancient_history/programme_3467.php

I think I caught a couple of them. I seem to remember them being very condensed, but well worth watching, considering they paid attention to detail, such as speaking in the language they would have spoken, instead of BBC English.

There are some fantastic programs on the History Channel these days, I wish I still had a recordable DVD box.

They're reshowing that Lost Treasures series at the moment:

www.thehistorychannel.co.uk/site/tv_guide/full_details/British_history/programme_2945.php

[littleraven]

aliguana said:

I think I caught a couple of them, they were on about a month ago? I seem to remember them being very condensed, but well worth watching. There are some fantastic programs on the History Channel these days, I wish I still had a recordable DVD box.

They're reshowing that Lost Treasures series at the moment:

www.thehistorychannel.co.uk/site/tv_guide/full_details/British_history/programme_2945.php

I love Lost Treasures, you should really watch it, *all* of you.

I insist .....

I saw a short part of the Barbarians series, the one on Saxons I think it was. It had the most truly appalling re-construction of a Saxon raid where the 'Romano-British' were all wearing classic period armour (lorica segmentata). I lost all interest at that point.

[redraven]

I have a recordable dvd box, if there is anything you want, pm me and if I have time I will record for you if you want!
RR

[Tegernacus]

awesome. I was thinking about getting a video capture card, but I'm not sure how to pipe the satellite into the computer. Maybe we could start up a Caer Feddwyd video library, not sure about the legalities of that though...

LR, to be fair, that Barbarians series (or anything on the History channel) isn't preaching to the converted, I enjoyed it when taken for what it was.

Back to the subject, if they show the Britain BC two-parter again I'll post up the times etc on here. Like I said, its 30% content 70% pretty pictures, but gives a good overview of the themes in the book. (The three-part Britain AD is worth watching too)

[Brochfael]

I too like this book immensely. Francis is an avowed Christian but, I think, a tolerant and fairly respectful one. He had a confrontation with Druids (from the Glastonbury order I think) over the exavation of the Holme-next-the-sea timber circle (Dubbed Seahenge by the press). He remarked on TV that in future he would like to work alongside the pagan community rather than against us since we, at least, care about the past. He remarked that archaeology is threatened by those who do not.

[suelittleowl]

littleraven said:

I love Lost Treasures, you should really watch it, *all* of you.

I insist .....

Ah, yes *very* big coat.

[Tegernacus]

to be fair to Francis, the decision to remove Seahenge wasn't his, it was down to English Heritage. He was brought in because the Flag Fen centre had the best facilities for preserving it or something. If they had left it there it wouldn't have lasted very long, so the Druids should have been helping them, not hindering.

English Heritage's stance on Seahenge was interesting, if you compare it to the Long Man kerfuffle. For example:

The site should be treated with respect.
The site was sacred to the people who created it.
It remains sacred to a large number of people today.
The site contains a lot of information that can be shared, from archaeological to geomantic, and this should be shared.
The beach is profoundly vulnerable.
The current trend of visitor numbers will irrevocably damage the site.
That the damage done to the site by visitors will result in the death of birds by starvation and exhaustion, and of a decline in their numbers because they will be unable to breed.
That any ritual or ceremony to mark the removal of each timber or the deconsecration of the entire site, dependent on the will of the protesters, will be welcome.

So they didn't just rip it out.

I'm a fan of Francis work. Dunno, something about his writing strikes a chord with me (I don't find myself saying "aarrghhh noooo" every other page like I do with some writers. It feels right.

[jez]

aliguana said:

If they had left it (Seahenge) there it wouldn't have lasted very long, so the Druids should have been helping them, not hindering.

According to the people I spoke with who live around there, similar, though not so well-preserved, features come out of the sand, are visible for a while, and then get covered again on infrequent but not rare occasions.

But when they removed it, I got the chance to actually touch it, at Flag Fen, so I am selfishly poleased they took it away.

However, I would have also loved to have the chance to experience the reconstructed version made by the Time Team crew, and would also love to have the chance to help make a similar thing - and be excarnated on it one day in the future...

--

Jez - who is otherwise going to be lightly cremated and buried with grave goods in a replica urn of the type found on her local hills...

[Blackbird]

I went to see Seahenge in situ, just after the news of its discovery broke. There was me, me Ma and me Grandma all walking along a deserted Norfolk beach looking for the thing. The papers had talked about a 'stonehenge of the sea', but seahenge was so tiny that we nearly fell over it before we saw it

It was a wonderful thing to have seen. I too spoke to locals who said that some of the older folk remembered it appearing before, and I've since heard that other such things appear periodically from the sea.

I'm really in two minds about the whole thing. It was handled insensitively, which didn't help, but I can see that it was an unmissable chance to study something so old and rare. On the other hand, the romantic side to my nature wishes that it had been left to go back to the sea - some things should be left mysterious.

Re. Francis Pryor, I've not read the book, nor seen any of his TV programmes, so can't comment. Personal knowledge leads me to think he's a bit of a media-whore, but then ambition isn't a crime...