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A Celtic Spring
Llygadwy
21 January 2001
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Websites
Llygadwy site survey and assessment
www.geocities.com/landz_end/index.htm
In late 1999, William B Barr and Associates of Batesburg-Leesville, South Carolina, was commissioned by the Celtic Legacy Foundation of Wimberley, Texas, to perform a site survey and assessment of the five-acre site at Llygadwy. The report is available here in its entirety and makes fascinating reading, even if its approach to the archaeology is rather less rigorously critical than that of Time Team!
Archaeological Forgeries
www.syntac.net/hoax/archforg.php
The history of archaeology is punctuated with hoaxes and fakes. This site takes you through some of the most famous (and a few lesser known) examples, from Piltdown Man to the Cardiff Giant (see below), when New York cigar-maker George Hull engineered the creation of a stone man and buried the statue on a farm in upstate New York.
The Art of the Fake
www.ipl.org/exhibit/kelsey/exhibit.html
Few museums have not found themselves in possession of archaeological fakes at one time or another. But the Kelsey Museum of Archeology has produced an online exhibition of selected Egyptian artifacts – both real and fake. In it, you can learn how and why museums come to acquire forgeries, and what experts mean when they talk about different kinds of fakes. You even have a chance to compare some of these forgeries with the genuine article.
Museum of Unnatural Mystery: A Collection of Odd Archaeology
www.unmuseum.org/odd.htm
An interesting tour around some of the unexplained puzzles and oddities of archaeology, with a section on archaeological hoaxes, including the Newark Decalogue, a small stone carving of the Ten Commandments in ancient Hebrew found on a Native American mound near Newark, Ohio, in the USA.
The Great Cardiff Giant Hoax
www.cardiffgiant.com
The Cardiff Giant, discovered in October 1869, has been referred to as 'America's Greatest Hoax'. Initially believed to be a petrified man or an ancient aboriginal sculpture, the Giant was actually the creation of New York cigar-maker George Hull. This website tells the full story.
Piltdown Man
http://home.tiac.net/~cri/piltdown/piltdown.html
An extensive, text-only account of the Piltdown Man hoax, with a full range of supporting resources and links. Apparently found in 1912, the Piltdown skull and jaw were supposed to be from a previously unknown hominid – the 'missing link' between man and the apes. In fact, it was a clever forgery, combing the jaw of an orangu-tan with a modern human skull. Chemical tests finally proved it to be a fake in 1953, since when it has remained the most famous scientific hoax of all time.
La Tène Culture
www.accesscom.com/~wangbick/latene.html
Brief, basic introduction (as part of a website dealing more widely with the Celts) to the La Tène culture, which produced the sword found at Llygadwy. Located on the northern edge of Lake Neuchâtel in Switzerland, La Tène was identified as an archaeological site in 1857 when amateur archaeologist Hansli Kopp found some ancient iron weapons and timber piles driven into the bed of the lake. Draining and dredging the section of the lake in the 1860s and 1880s revealed an exceptional wealth of artefacts, including human remains, swords, spearheads, tools, and shields.
Further reading
 Ian Stead, who was called in by Time Team for his expertise on early swords and scabbards, is a Fellow of the British Academy and was, until his recent retirement, Deputy Keeper in the Department of Prehistoric and Romano–British Antiquities at the British Museum. His many books include:
The Salisbury Hoard by Ian Stead (Tempus, 2000) £12.99 ISBN: 0752414720
A real-life story of archaeological detection, leading to a unique prehistoric hoard. The Salisbury Hoard is the most remarkable hoard of prehistoric metalwork ever found in Britain, but knowledge of it was almost lost with artefacts scattered by metal-detectorists, dealers, auction houses and collectors. Thanks, however, to the dogged persistence of Dr Stead well over half the hoard has now been recovered and acquired by the British Museum, where it will be displayed as one of the most important finds of the century.
Celts by Susan Youngs and Ian Stead (British Museum Press, 1996) £4.99 ISBN: 0714121029
One in a series of works inspired by the collections of the British Museum, this pocket treasury presents a visual introduction to the chosen theme of the Celts. A short text accompanies each image which relates its origin, puts it in context, and explains why it is important.
 Miranda Green, who was used by Time Team for this programme for her expertise on the Celts and Celtic ritual, has written several books on the subject. These include:
The Celtic Worldby Miranda J Green (Routledge, 1996) hardback £37.50 ISBN: 0415146275
This study of the Celts ranges from the first evidence of them in the archaeological and historical record to the early post-Roman period. It looks at archaeology, language, literature, towns, warfare, rural life, art, religion and myth, trade and industry, political organisations, society and technology. Material from all over pagan Celtic Europe is drawn together, and there are contributions from British, European and American scholars. The book addresses some important issues – who were the ancient Celts? Can we speak of them as the first Europeans? In what form does the Celtic identity exist today and how does this relate to the ancient Celts?
Exploring the World of the Druids by Miranda J Green (Thames and Hudson, 1997) hardback £17.95 ISBN: 050005083X
In this rich and fascinating account, lavishly supported by beautiful illustrations, Miranda Green unravels the truth about the Druids. Examining the archaeological evidence, Classical commentaries and early Welsh and Irish myths, she shows that the Druids were fully integrated into Celtic society as judges, teachers, healers, magicians, philosophers, religious leaders and fomenters of rebellion. Special features cover the celebrity Druids, ranging from Winston Churchill, to William Blake, to William Wordsworth. Complete with timeline and a gazetteer, this meticulously researched book should appeal to scholars, 'New Age' enthusiasts and all those who are fascinated by the Druids and their world.
Guy de la Bédoyère is Time Team's regular Roman expert. Among his books is:
The Finds of Roman Britain by Guy de la Bédoyère (Batsford, 1989) paperback £14.99
Written in non-specialist English, this is a well-illustrated guide to the various Roman finds from sites across the country, placing them within their social context.
Other books on the Celts
The Ancient Celts by Barry Cunliffe (Oxford University Press, 1997) paperback ISBN 0 19 969051 0
With a subject as wide ranging as a good thousand years of prehistory in Europe, this master of the subject explores in some considerable depth the archaeological evidence in a superbly illustrated book which also contains copious maps. One of the tricks of archaeological writing is not only to know your subject, but to be able to explain it as well, and this is just what the author is able to do.
The Pagan Celts by Anne Ross (John Jones Publishing, 1998) £8.99 ISBN: 1871083613
The author is a major figure in Celtic studies. This book tells the story of the everyday lives of these powerful, mysterious people.
The Celts, new edition ed Nora Chadwick (Penguin original, 1971; new edition, 1997) paperback £8.99 ISBN 014 02 5074 3
The original academic, rather than fanciful, book on the Celts in both Britain and Europe. Don't let the 'academic' description put you off, though. Now updated (with a new chapter by Barry Cunliffe) this remains one of the prime descriptions of the Celtic peoples, however you ascribe them (which is another matter, hotly debated).
Britain and the Celtic Iron Age by Simon James and Valerie Rigby (British Museum Press, 1997) paperback £9.99.
Excellent introduction to the Celts; marvellously illustrated with lots of pictures of sites and artefacts and chapters on people, economy, settlement, society, ritual and communications.
Celtic Myths and Legends by Thomas Rolleston (Senate, 1994) £2.99 ISBN 1859580068
An antidote to Victorian romanticism about the Celts. The illustrations say it all about how the Celts were viewed: warriors bearded and fearsome, women in long but clinging dresses – Victorian pseudo-eroticism!
Celtic Art in Pagan and Christian Times by J Romilly Allen (Senate, 1997; original edition, 1904) £2.99 ISBN 1858585019
Presents an illustrated account of the origins and development of Celtic art in Britain and Ireland, an art that can be divided into two distinct periods – Pagan and Christian. An analytical rather than incurably romantic view – at least there are references to the Iron Age and some chronology!
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