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Atlantic Celts: Ancient People or Modern Invention?
The Celtic peoples of the British Isles hold a fundamental place in our national history, but some archaeologists are arguing that the ancient Celts of these islands never existed. This book examines ancient and modern ideas about the Celts.
160 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
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113 people want to read
About the author
Simon James
6 books3 followersBritish archaeologist teaching at the university of Leicester.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
May 2, 2024
After reading the disaster that was Where Troy Once Stood, I thought the end of poorly researched "scholarship" books published by "respectable" presses had come to an end. I was mistaken, as Miriam pointed me towards this shameful work. I am so glad I've read a lot of scholarship about world history and grew up in a family that educated me in all this stuff because I feel a lot of the praise that came for these two books derives from a lack of understanding of a more clear and concise world view that does explain why the consensus on these "theories" is the way it is.
"Celts as one and only ethnic group is a myth" (true, they are a diverse group of people, but the evidence provided is extremely lacking)
"For the evidence seems quite clear that no one in Britain or Ireland called themselves a 'Celt' or 'Celtic' before 1700. . . . Of course, the terms 'Celt' and 'Celtic' were used in Antiquity, by Greek and Roman authors to describe..."
"It is an eighteenth- and nineteenth-century 'reification' of a people that never existed... assembled from fragments of evidence drawn from a wide range of societies across space and time.." (almost put a Doctor Who gif here)
"'what, then, should we call the peoples of early Britain and Ireland?', the answer must be, exactly that: 'the peoples of Britain and Ireland'"
P.S. I saw a review of someone saying that after reading this "radical new idea," they now get annoyed with the word "Celtic," as if denying the unifying force and identity of many of the world's peoples today is something that should annoy someone most likely not belonging to that group. Say that to a person who identifies that way to their face, and see how they will react.
"Celts as one and only ethnic group is a myth" (true, they are a diverse group of people, but the evidence provided is extremely lacking)
"For the evidence seems quite clear that no one in Britain or Ireland called themselves a 'Celt' or 'Celtic' before 1700. . . . Of course, the terms 'Celt' and 'Celtic' were used in Antiquity, by Greek and Roman authors to describe..."
"It is an eighteenth- and nineteenth-century 'reification' of a people that never existed... assembled from fragments of evidence drawn from a wide range of societies across space and time.." (almost put a Doctor Who gif here)
"'what, then, should we call the peoples of early Britain and Ireland?', the answer must be, exactly that: 'the peoples of Britain and Ireland'"
P.S. I saw a review of someone saying that after reading this "radical new idea," they now get annoyed with the word "Celtic," as if denying the unifying force and identity of many of the world's peoples today is something that should annoy someone most likely not belonging to that group. Say that to a person who identifies that way to their face, and see how they will react.
October 28, 2007
Extremely poor scholarship by someone who for some reason wants to prove there are no Celtic people, but who doesn't seem to know anything about formation of race or ethnicity, or construction of group identities. (Main argument: ancient people did not use the term "Celt" so there must not have been any.)
July 17, 2016
As summer reading for a Uni Module in the coming semester, I had high expectations. Students can’t be too greedy and demand that every text book be engaging, but they should at least be accessible and well-written… Unfortunately, Simon James has fallen a little far of this mark.
I should have guessed from the title ‘Or Modern Invention’ that this book would not be presenting the archaeological pro and con evidence I expected. Written in 1999, that the ‘Celts’ as a unified culture did NOT exist is NOT a new or radical idea – but now a long established tradition outside of popular culture. Whilst it does reference, in brief, evidence to support itself, James prefers to stick to the theoretical side of his argument.
In six chapters, what really could have been condensed into one long article, James walks the readers through the understanding of ethnic groups, their origins and evolutions; the bias of hindsight, proto-nationalism (although he never articulates this directly) and the why/how of wholesale romanticising of the mosaic of the past into one ‘golden age’ Celtic façade; and the history of the British Isles, from the time of these ‘Atlantic Celts’ through to modern day. He shows, historically, the fluctuations in culture during this massive time period – cementing the idea that the people to whom we reflect this identity upon would not have recognised themselves as such, nor have considered themselves to be culturally unified.
Frustratingly, for the academic audience, this popular publication has no in-text referencing – it would have been nice to know precisely where his argument was collated from for further reading. The bibliography feels far too short to cover the scope of this publication and, whilst a canny eye can pick out most of where it may have come from, this is arduous guess-work when outside of your own reading/knowledge. The index too, after a quick review, is going to be unhelpful at a later date for gleaming information back out of the book for essay notes.
HOWEVER! I have to say, I wish more people would have a look at this book; especially Chapter Five. People forget too easily that the history of the British Isles is composed of many enriching fluctuations of people from elsewhere – those grumbling about immigrants and asylum-seekers need to review their history and the philosophy of cultural stagnation (some of the bigoted statements these people make! Argh!!!). It is a good theory book with which to touch base on these ideas, and is rife with multiple examples of how modern audiences (like the concept of a Celtic Culture) adopt, re-use and evolve ideas for their own purposes…
All in: better for a first year, rather than third year student, as it is too gentle a stroll through the concept with little regard for the details of the scenery!
I should have guessed from the title ‘Or Modern Invention’ that this book would not be presenting the archaeological pro and con evidence I expected. Written in 1999, that the ‘Celts’ as a unified culture did NOT exist is NOT a new or radical idea – but now a long established tradition outside of popular culture. Whilst it does reference, in brief, evidence to support itself, James prefers to stick to the theoretical side of his argument.
In six chapters, what really could have been condensed into one long article, James walks the readers through the understanding of ethnic groups, their origins and evolutions; the bias of hindsight, proto-nationalism (although he never articulates this directly) and the why/how of wholesale romanticising of the mosaic of the past into one ‘golden age’ Celtic façade; and the history of the British Isles, from the time of these ‘Atlantic Celts’ through to modern day. He shows, historically, the fluctuations in culture during this massive time period – cementing the idea that the people to whom we reflect this identity upon would not have recognised themselves as such, nor have considered themselves to be culturally unified.
Frustratingly, for the academic audience, this popular publication has no in-text referencing – it would have been nice to know precisely where his argument was collated from for further reading. The bibliography feels far too short to cover the scope of this publication and, whilst a canny eye can pick out most of where it may have come from, this is arduous guess-work when outside of your own reading/knowledge. The index too, after a quick review, is going to be unhelpful at a later date for gleaming information back out of the book for essay notes.
HOWEVER! I have to say, I wish more people would have a look at this book; especially Chapter Five. People forget too easily that the history of the British Isles is composed of many enriching fluctuations of people from elsewhere – those grumbling about immigrants and asylum-seekers need to review their history and the philosophy of cultural stagnation (some of the bigoted statements these people make! Argh!!!). It is a good theory book with which to touch base on these ideas, and is rife with multiple examples of how modern audiences (like the concept of a Celtic Culture) adopt, re-use and evolve ideas for their own purposes…
All in: better for a first year, rather than third year student, as it is too gentle a stroll through the concept with little regard for the details of the scenery!
January 21, 2014
"For the evidence seems quite clear that no one in Britain or Ireland called themselves a 'Celt' or 'Celtic' before 1700. . . . Of course, the terms 'Celt' and 'Celtic' were used in Antiquity, by Greek and Roman authors to describe certain 'barbarian' neighbours and in less certain ways by some such people of themselves. But they were used strictly of continental peoples; the islanders had different names. . . . No early Irish or Welsh source, nor any Greek or Roman author before them, ever calls the peoples of the isles 'Celts'. . . .
"The idea of a race, nation or ethnic group called Celts in Ancient Britain and Ireland is indeed a modern invention. It is an eighteenth- and nineteenth-century 'reification' of a people that never existed, a factoid (a theoretical construct masquerading as fact) assembled from fragments of evidence drawn from a wide range of societies across space and time. . . .
"The peoples in question organized themselves in a diversity of ways, made and used material culture in many different ways, and, it seems, spoke a variety of languages and dialects, which were not all mutually intelligible. The undoubted similarities and relations between them are best explained in terms of parallel development of many societies in intimate contact, rather than of radiation from a recent single common origin. It is inappropriate to give them a single, shared name, whether 'Celts' or any other; if they had clear group identities at all, these were manifold and changing. To the question, 'what, then, should we call the peoples of early Britain and Ireland?', the answer must be, exactly that: 'the peoples of Britain and Ireland'" (17, 33, 136-137).
"The idea of a race, nation or ethnic group called Celts in Ancient Britain and Ireland is indeed a modern invention. It is an eighteenth- and nineteenth-century 'reification' of a people that never existed, a factoid (a theoretical construct masquerading as fact) assembled from fragments of evidence drawn from a wide range of societies across space and time. . . .
"The peoples in question organized themselves in a diversity of ways, made and used material culture in many different ways, and, it seems, spoke a variety of languages and dialects, which were not all mutually intelligible. The undoubted similarities and relations between them are best explained in terms of parallel development of many societies in intimate contact, rather than of radiation from a recent single common origin. It is inappropriate to give them a single, shared name, whether 'Celts' or any other; if they had clear group identities at all, these were manifold and changing. To the question, 'what, then, should we call the peoples of early Britain and Ireland?', the answer must be, exactly that: 'the peoples of Britain and Ireland'" (17, 33, 136-137).
March 4, 2015
I read this because I want to write a paper on the hypotheses of the origins of the "Celts", and I honestly am confused on what Simon James is trying to say in this book.
- The Celts as a people are a myth...duh? The people who speak a Celtic language come from different tribes and lands...
- Not all the people who spoke a Celtic language had the same cultural art style...again duh? See my comment above.
- While the Ancient Celts are a myth, the people who now consider themselves Celts are just as valid as people who consider themselves English, French or German...ummmm
Confused Maya is very Confused.
- The Celts as a people are a myth...duh? The people who speak a Celtic language come from different tribes and lands...
- Not all the people who spoke a Celtic language had the same cultural art style...again duh? See my comment above.
- While the Ancient Celts are a myth, the people who now consider themselves Celts are just as valid as people who consider themselves English, French or German...ummmm
Confused Maya is very Confused.
December 31, 2007
I had started this book once before and came back to it as the ideas were something I wanted to learn more about. Anyone who is seriously interested in the Celts, both the historical and archaeological aspects should read this book. I thought the argument was sound but I was disappointed there was not a more concrete solution offered. It left me wanting the conversation to continue.
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September 24, 2015A popular and controversial book which argues that "Celtic" as an identity is a creation of modern historians.
January 28, 2021
A brilliant little tome drawing on post-structural notions of identity and anthropological / sociological / intercultural concepts of social identity and how “Otherness” co-creates group identity; a stick of dynamite in the dusty old “invasion” based field of traditional Iron and Dark Age Britain archaeology.
July 2, 2021
An important book analysing how ethnic identity are constructed through the development of myths supported by selective readings of the past. Written in 1999 it provides a somewhat prescient view of our present 2021 reality. Highly recommended
January 4, 2026
An interesting analysis of ethnogenesis in Britain and Ireland from the Iron Age through the 20th century. Exploring the question of the reality of ancient Celtic culture embodied in modern day Ireland, Scotland and Wales gives the book a stated purpose and unifying thread.
April 10, 2024
Se c'è un successo indiscutibile che ha avuto questo libro, è quello di dimostrare che è assolutamente impossibile sperare di fare divulgazione storica su temi controversi adottando il consueto stile del divulgatore storico un po' caciarone che non ha bisogno di inserire un apparato critico a piè di pagina perché tanto il pubblico si fida di lui e che quindi mette nero su bianco le sue affermazioni facendosi forza della sua indiscussa autorevolezza.
Ecco: grazie Simon per averci mostrato a tue spese che, no, questa tattica non funziona proprio per niente. Il 90% delle critiche che il grande pubblico ha sentito di dover fare a questo libro sarebbero facilmente state tacitate da una serie ben studiata di note a piè di pagina. Pubblicare un libro così, su questi temi, e senza mettercele, equivale un po' a spararsi da soli alle gambe.
Ecco: grazie Simon per averci mostrato a tue spese che, no, questa tattica non funziona proprio per niente. Il 90% delle critiche che il grande pubblico ha sentito di dover fare a questo libro sarebbero facilmente state tacitate da una serie ben studiata di note a piè di pagina. Pubblicare un libro così, su questi temi, e senza mettercele, equivale un po' a spararsi da soli alle gambe.
Read
July 27, 2011Seems like a radical new idea, but it makes a lot of sense given what I know. This book could have been far longer.
Bad effect: I am now mildly annoyed whenever I hear the word Celtic.
Bad effect: I am now mildly annoyed whenever I hear the word Celtic.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews