Grounded: A Journey into the Landscapes of Our Ancestors

by James Canton

For thousands of years, our ancestors held a close connection with the landscapes they lived in. They imbued it with meaning: stone monuments, sacred groves, places of pilgrimage. In our modern world we have rather lost that enchantment and intimate knowledge of place.

James Canton takes us on a journey through England seeking to see through more ancient eyes, to understand what landscape meant to those that came before us. We visit stone circles, the West Kennet long barrow, a Crusader round church and sites of religious visions. We meet the Dagenham Idol and the intricately carved Lion Man figure. We find artefacts buried in farmers' fields. There is history and meaning encoded into the lands and places we live in, if only we take the time to look.

Our natural world has never been under more threat. If we relocate our sense of wonder, veneration and awe in the landscapes we live in, we might just be better at saving it.

Genres: Nonfiction, Nature, History, Memoir, Natural History

272 pages, Hardcover

Published February 2, 2023

About the author

James Canton teaches the Wild Writing MA course at the University of Essex, exploring the fascinating ties between literature and the landscape of East Anglia. He has run workshops to encourage writing on nature and landscape and is the author of Out of Essex: Re-Imagining a Literary Landscape, which was inspired by rural wanderings in the county.

Reviews

[Louise MacAllister · Rating 2 out of 5]

Vastly overprivileged bloke gads about in churches with random posh friends. He appears to have published his self congratulatory personal diary thereof, interspersed with 'look at me' reflections.
Unbearable privilege drips off the pages.
Two stars rather than one as the topic is interesting. But the writing is v cringe. To read in the cover of the author's university position was both a shock, and a reminder of the easy ride white cis het men have in academia.

[Sam Worby · Rating 2 out of 5]

A few interesting snippets of knowledge / ideas about prehistory, a lot of padding and quasi spiritual or wannabe profound meanderings. Not really what I was hoping for.

And minus points for the author’s nasty snobbish digs at children from Dagenham.

Just not that interesting.

[Randi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel bad giving this two stars ("it was ok"), because I think it's a beautiful book. I was just quite bored by the "reflective research memoir" style in which it was written. I also suspect I would have enjoyed it more as a print book rather than an audiobook -- the narrator's voice was more annoying than soothing to me for some reason. Nonetheless, I kept listening because I genuinely wanted to hear about the sacred places and ancient people he was exploring.

[Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite a pleasant meandering through historical ideas and evidence of place. Never delves particularly deeply, but has a decent bibliography to go through on the topics that I do want to hear from the experts on. I learnt a little bit, and it was otherwise nice to see someone exploring their own connection to the world around them by studying ancient people. Slightly bizzare how high the mentions of the author eating cereal were though.

[Shweta Ganesh Kumar · Rating 2 out of 5]

I learnt a few things along the way but this book was tough to get into. It reminded me of the days of blogging in the early 2000s. I would have probably gotten into it better as a blog or even a podcast with the author actually speaking to the people he talks with in the book. I just couldn’t find the appeal in its current rent form though.
It’s also a very personal journey in some ways without really disclosing the emotions behind it.
This wasn’t for me.

[Gavin Felgate · Rating 5 out of 5]

James Canton's book is an attempt to assess how ancient Britons used to live, based on the evidence left behind, ranging from ancient artefacts, buildings and even landscapes. He even clarifies that much of what he mentions is his own imagining. As he notes:

"At the heart of the matter was a simple, universal and personal desire to connect with the lives of others who had lived before".

Canton carried out most of his research, and visits to the places the book discusses during the Coronavirus lockdowns of 2020 and 2021, noting about how nature effectively "took over" during those months when we all had to stay at home.

I liked the fact that this book didn't focus on obvious remnants from ancient peoples like Stonehenge, but more obscure examples. The primary message of his book seems to be that almost everything had its roots in pagan rituals, but he also compares people today with our ancient ancestors.

So, there is one chapter based on how we have always been attracted to fire, from its original discovery to how most people still light one in their homes today. He mentions stone circles a lot, including the myth behind Oxfordshire's Rollright Stones (involving soldiers being turned to stone by a witch). There are even chapters about ancient burial rites, and our need to commemorate our ancestors, and also sacred offerings, including some of the ancient idols that have been unearthed.

One of the main conclusions that the book draws is that our ancestors were more "grounded" and connected with the earth, but our need for technology made us less pagan, and less grounded in the landscapes.

I really enjoyed this book; I could tell it was painstakingly researched, but I particularly enjoyed the author's own accounts of his visits to the places that he writes about, and his observations about how they appear today. It made me realise how little I know about what life was like several millennia ago.

[Ivan Monckton · Rating 2 out of 5]

I should be more careful in my book purchases and more mindful of my own reviews! I bought this based on the cover, and its’ subtitle: A Journey into the Landscape of Our Ancestors. Five pages in I recognised the irritating writing style, checked the author on Goodreads and realised he had written ‘The Oak Papers’ which I gave a scathing review of last year…
This book is completely devoid of substance, full of the most banal conversations with the myriad of the author’s friends, cringeworthy interviews with experts he somehow cons into speaking to him (eg imagine travelling to ask an archaeologist about a particular excavation and having to admit you’ve not read the published report). It is far too reliant on quick Google searches, too ready to offer the author’s solutions to questions that have taxed experts for decades, in short, has a cocksuredness that is completely undeserved.

[Tracy Blanchard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had no idea what to expect when I bought this book on a whim, based entirely on the title. This is a strange and delightful book. I can't possibly even explain what I mean by that. The author's style is not like any I've ever encountered and I was lulled into a very dreamy space while reading it. It's ignited a big interest in me around the neolithic that I wasn't expecting, for sure. The author is a professor of "Wild Writing" at Uni of Sussex -- who knew such a job description even existed?! How cool is that?! It was definitely a wild headspace. I know I'm doing a lousy job of describing this book, but it kind of defies description. If you have any interest in what Mesolithic or Neolithic man might have been doing in the British Isles, read the book. If you have any interest in sacred sites in the landscape, read this book. If you have any interest in a different kind of writing, read this book. If you have any interest in spending a week or so in a very dreamy place, read this book.

Just read the book.

[Christine Rolls · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very readable and interesting book about the relationship our ancient ancestors had with the natural landscape. Stone circles, votive offerings, remains of ancient feasts - James Canton discusses the mysteries of these sacred places and what we can learn about how our ancestors viewed the world around them. 'Grounded' is a beautiful book that shows us that we should not lose touch with the natural world.

[Emily Rozmus · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was very excited to read this book, and the history in it is awesome. But I couldn’t engage with the style of delivery, using dialogue and daily tasks to convey the facts. I will go back and highlight the place I want to visit, though! Namely the site of the man who was burned alive, but gave his shoes away first.

[Derek Baldwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some nice stories rather blandly stitched together with a lockdown narrative and long sections of quite implausible conversations. A few basic Buddhist notions, reveries about Hunter gatherers, the possible gender of wooden relics. Francis Pryor does this kind of speculative anthropology way way better. Not a bad book though.

[Aimee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finished this book in a dream-like state, staying in a log cabin over the Easter long weekend. A journey into connection with the land and to the people who have created lives and meaning for time immemorial.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

Felt like reading a personal diary at times, a witness statement at others, more musings than information but a soothing read nonetheless. Life-affirming to have our connection with the landscape articulated as the central theme. Of particular interest to people in Suffolk.

[Jack Stacy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting subject matter.
Unfortunately, not such an interesting writing style.
Makes you think. Makes you wonder. Makes you look at the world around you with a different view. Definitely worth a look.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting subject matter, but I found the informal, conversational style of writing to be less than absorbing at times.

[Nel Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

Second half is better than the first, I’m now going to watch old time team episodes

[Camilla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Different and interesting.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some interesting bits of theory and information but not a style of writing I found easy to embrace.

[Dianne Tanner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't want to think about Lockdown or a man eating cereal as much as this book turned out to involve honestly but some interesting stuff about sacred places

[Mark Ames · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed one man's journey into a better understanding of old landscapes not always visible and their relationships to the present. A study in how to use history, archeology, and geology to enrich the experience of place. Elsewhere this might be called deep time.