Highly illustrated, THE MODERN ANTIQUARIAN is the result of an eight-year odyssey in search of prehistoric Britain. Of the countless sites visited, over 300 of the very best have been selected, their remains photographed and their relationships with the landscape explained.
Julian Cope, one of Britain's best known and much loved post-punk visionaries, takes the traveller to the first temples built on these islands in order to shine a light into the shadowy past of a modern people who have been hoodwinked into believing that their history began with the Roman conquest. In the essay section he examines our prehistoric beginnings through the evidence of our megalithic remains and their surroundings, helping us to reconcile where we are Right Now.
'Such a splendid book, splendid in both its illustrations and its prose, rare partners in the archaeological world. I shall use it, of course.' Aubrey Burl, archaeologist and author
'A remarkable fusion of scholarship, practical advice and visionary insight' The Express
'Just visiting the sites is a major achievement... if Cope can be regarded as a barometer of the wider expectations of what archaeology should be doing, and I believe he should, then we must sit up and take note of the implications of this book.' Timothy Darvill, Antiquity
'A fine balance between the academic and the personal and the poetic... Deadly serious about his chosen subject, Cope has amassed an impressive knowledge of our nation's landscape and its monumental masonry circa 3000BC' Evening Standard
'A strange and marvellous artefact - remarkable for its seriousness' The Independent