Rethinking the Ancient Druids

• Relevance of the religious beliefs and practices of past European societies can enhance understanding of our own. • The popular notion of Druids is unpacked and debunked using archaeological evidence. • New research findings are shared with readers in accessible and engaging ways, enhanced by copious illustrations that weave into the text. • The book is thoroughly readable and tells stories of the past in a deeply compelling manner.

This book presents a new exploration of an ancient European Druids, people who could foretell the will of the gods and who left revealing archaeological evidence of their rites and beliefs.Ancient Classical authors have painted the Druids in a bad light, defining them as a barbaric priesthood, who 2,000 years ago perpetrated savage and blood rites in ancient Britain and Gaul in the name of their gods. Archaeology tells a different and more complicated story of this enigmatic priesthood, a theocracy with immense political and sacred power. This book explores the tangible 'footprint' the Druids have left behind: in sacred spaces, art, ritual equipment, images of the gods, strange burial rites and human sacrifice. Their material culture indicates how close was the relationship between Druids and the spirit-world, which evidence suggests they accessed through drug-induced trance.