National Geographic Investigates: Ancient Celts: Archaeology Unlocks the Secrets of the Celts' Past

The condition was as described. Writing scrawled throughout the book though.

This is a basic book with interesting sections, maps, photographs, illustrations, good page layout, and graphics.Elementary students would enjoy reading it and using it for research.In my opinion, it should be supplemented with other books on the Celts, showing more of their traditional knotwork designs, jewelery and metalworks.

Informative if a bit opinionated and at times derivative. Serviceable as an introduction into Celtic history, but not much else for worth. Its short and follows primarily the widely held beliefs of most archaeologists and rarely delves into the more interesting aspects. There is little on the mythology or the gods of the Celts, focusing primarily on bog bodies, pottery shards, and migration habits of the early Celts. I expected a bit more to sink my teeth into, but it is what it is.

If you are of European descent you can probably safely say you "can claim Celtic ancestry." The word Celt is a term that is a general one and is used to describe people that "share a common heritage." Because these people lived so long ago, archaeologists are critical in constructing their lives and culture, but there are still many gaps they cannot tell us about. For example, the ancient bodies uncovered in the bogs had "perfect fingernails and hair gel." Was this their way of life or were they groomed for their ultimate sacrifice to the gods?In this amazing book you will learn about the bog bodies, ancient murder mysteries surrounding some of them, the theory about "high-status" hostages taken for sacrifice, you'll read about remarkable craft work (the Gundestrup cauldron), Celtic homes, their diets, their remarkable methods of storing grains, Celtic tombs and graves, their great trading ability, their tools and weapons, international trade, the Roman conquest, you'll meet Susanne Sievers (a passionate Celtic archaeologist and you'll learn what happened to Celtic culture through archaeologists like Rosalind Niblett.This is the type of book any young person interested in archaeology will have their nose buried in when they are supposed to be doing something else. There are numerous fascinating photographs, maps, a timeline of Celtic Europe and several informative sidebars. In the back of the book there is a glossary, an index, a bibliography and additional recommended book and web site resources. If you're interested in losing yourself in the ancient world of the Celts for hours on end, this is the book you'll need to explore!