The Modern Antiquarian

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In fact, Cope tells the reader, Stonehenge is unrepresentative, a late add-on -- "a fashioned Bronze Age power statement" erected "centuries after the height of megalithic building. Over time, Cope wrote the book he wanted to read and condensed his knowledge to create a new pathway through the subject.

Julian Cope presents Head Heritage | Welcome Julian Cope presents Head Heritage | Welcome

And: "Each Site Visited and Verified by the Author" (so the copy on the slipcase -- we're not quite sure what "verifying" a site might involve and, come to think of it, we probably don't want to know). In the process, Cope introduces imaginative etymosophies [sic] and some wonderful chapter headings, such as "Why the Romans were so Heavy", and "Ur Indoors", while indulging his distaste for cities and his love of Roman-bashing, for their corruption of collective folk memory, and the straightness of their roads. His engagement with etymology and symbolism is particularly revealing, as he demonstrates the links between our own contemporary language and Goddess culture. Beyond the Channel, there are countless examples of European sites that connect our shared pre-Christian culture. When I visited the site in 2003, the Danes’ tendency to exaggerate the distances between their islands obliged me to leave my cosy hotel on the Isle of Fyn at 3am, only to huddle in a freezing hired hatchback for two full hours, awaiting the 8 o’clock sunrise.Also on display is a massive hoard of over 150 devotional objects fished out of Anglesey’s Llyn Cerrig Bach during the second world war. However, my interest was piqued, as I had recently devoured a copy of Head-On and thought perhaps there was something of interest in what the Arch Drude had to say. It represents a change in my own personal perception, when I began to take an interest in literature and history, eventually going on to study classics and theology in a formal setting many years later. At the time of its publication, there was rarely any indication from the roadside that these sites existed; the ‘brown signs’ of English Heritage weren’t common, so it was frequently left for the intrepid walker to find the sites of Bronze Age and Neolithic Britain through Ordnance maps or word of mouth. And heaven forbid that Celtic historians should ever fall into the kind of squabbling that has plagued much UK archaeology in recent times (when some argued quite seriously that Stonehenge was not really a henge at all.

Modern Antiquarian by Julian Cope - AbeBooks Modern Antiquarian by Julian Cope - AbeBooks

For all ebook purchases, you will be prompted to create an account or login with your existing HarperCollins username and password. Additional to his own work as a musician, Cope remains an avid champion of obscure and underground music. Like Burl, Cope’s observations from the fringe gave him unique insight, and although partly a scholarly work of essays and footnotes, The Modern Antiquarian is not bogged down with dry fact. it even had me picking up my pen for verse, which i will finish soon after i cross my trilithons and dot my cursuses!This book shines a powerful light onto the past of a nation hoodwinked into believing that its history began with the Roman conquest. There are few frontmen who can lay claim to being invited to deliver a lecture on Odin at the British Museum, such is the respect he is accorded.

Julian Cope presents Head Heritage | Merchandiser | Julian Julian Cope presents Head Heritage | Merchandiser | Julian

In contrast to the formality of ancient history, there is an enduring appeal to Cope’s musical career that stretches beyond conventional audiences. As one of his personal heroes, Gurdjieff, once wrote: “Awakening begins when a man realises that he is going nowhere and does not know where to go. Splendidly eccentric, impossible not to enjoy, and as much a map of the errant genius of Cope as the land with which he so passionately communes. The Modern Antiquarian: A Pre-Millennial Odyssey Through Megalithic Britain is a guide book written by Julian Cope, published in 1998. Cope is sensitive to the sacred energy of these places, writing: “It would be immoral for them to be signposted or treated like official heritage sites.The Gazetteer provides a page or so on each of some 300 sites, each generally with a picture or two of the site, a short description or overview of the site and its significance, as well as brief notes made by Cope when he visited. Again, this 5ft-long sandstone monolith stands way outside accepted Celtic regions, right at the edge of the ancient Norse world. This had culminated in him spending most of the previous eight years traipsing around windy landscapes creating this new guide to the forgotten megalithic sites of Britain that were first constructed in the late Neolithic period. His great skill is to make convincing arguments on whatever he happens to be enthusiastic about at the time.

The Modern Antiquarian: A Pre-Millennial Odyssey Through

Cope impresses with his familiarity (well, he did visit all the sites) and the connections he is able to make. And the truth, as we see it in Britain, has been – at least since our civil war led to the rise of democracy – not “fixed” but “always becoming”. Cope is also a recognised authority on Neolithic culture, an outspoken political and cultural activist, and a fierce critic of contemporary Western society (with a noted and public interest in occultism, paganism and Goddess worship).Of the countless sites visited, Cope has selected over 300 of the very best; photographing their remains and explaining fully their relationships with the landscape. Some of the most striking are small circles -- or larger arrangements that can only be fully appreciated at a distance.