More wide ranging, both geographically and chronologically, than any previous study, this well-illustrated book offers a new definition of Celtic art. Tempering the much-adopted art-historical approach, D.W. Harding argues for a broader definition of Celtic art and views it within a much wider archaeological context. He re-asserts ancient Celtic identity after a decade of deconstruction in English-language archaeology. Harding argues that there were communities in Iron Age Europe that were identified historically as Celts, regarded themselves as Celtic, or who spoke Celtic languages, and that the art of these communities may reasonably be regarded as Celtic art. This study will be indispensable for those people wanting to take a fresh and innovative perspective on Celtic Art.

This electronic version has been made available under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-ND) open access license. The ‘bog bodies’ of north-western Europe have captured the imaginations of poets and archaeologists alike, allowing us to come face-to-face with individuals from the past. Their exceptional preservation permits us to examine minute details of their lives and deaths, making us reflect poignantly on our own mortality. But, as this book argues, the bodies must be resituated within a turbulent world of endemic violence and change. Reinterpreting the latest continental research and new discoveries, and featuring a ground-breaking ‘cold case’ forensic study of Worsley Man, Manchester Museum’s ‘bog head’, it brings the bogs to life through both natural history and folklore, revealing them as places that were rich and fertile yet dangerous. The book also argues that these remains do not just pose practical conservation problems but also philosophical dilemmas, compounded by the critical debate on if – and how – they should be displayed.

The Llyn Cerrig Bach assemblage is one of the most important collections of La Tene metalwork discovered in the British Isles. It came to light during construction in 1942 at RAF Valley in north-west Anglesey, when it was disturbed during the extraction of peat from the Cors yr Ynys bog located on the southern margin of Llyn Cerrig Bach. A total of 181 iron and copper alloy artefacts are known to have been recovered, of which all but four are in the collection of the National Museums and Galleries of Wales.This book incorporates a catalog and discussion of the copper alloy artefacts in the collection. In addition to a typological study of this internationally important collection of Iron Age metalwork, the volume includes discussions of metalwork and insular La Te""ne are chronology, fieldwork at the site, and metallurgical analysis of the assemblage. The site is evaluated in its British and wider context and a revised interpretation of the character and chronology of the deposition is proposed, which sheds light upon both Iron Age Anglesey and the Roman invasion of Wales."