The Modern Antiquarian

Julian Cope has come a long way since the Teardrop Explodes. For eight years he has researched Britain's megalithic heritage in order to write about its inspirational and mythic importance.The Modern Antiquarian is quite an achievement, in which the singing space cadet once more reconciles himself to Earth. Book One is a series of ten essays reconstructing British paganism prior to the muscular intervention of Christianity. Seriously subjective, frequently wayward, they collectively seek to recover the Great Goddess, and restore a sense of femininity and spirituality to our landscape, dotted with its long barrows and standing stones. 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. Cope's own infectious vision is, understandably, more circular, if not exactly rounded. It would be easy to mock, with its amateur snaps (sometimes including a variously coiffed Cope or family, for scale, one presumes), and homespun New Age philosophy. However, Book Two, a rainbow-indexed gazetteer to over 300 prehistoric sites in Britain, is tremendous. Each entry combines a photograph, Ordnance Survey directions, a paragraph of geo-historical significance, and a personal observational note of Cope's. Occasional poetry surfaces--"Atop Knap Hill I eat my snot/For 'tis the only food I got"--but generally the absurdities are kept at bay, as St Julian leads us on a pilgrimage. There are even charming guidelines for those who use the gazetteer properly, including the invaluable tip to keep a plastic bag down your sock to collect rubbish in (Julian does). 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. --David Vincent

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Much-loved book, brilliant - Rated
This book is brilliantly practical - maps, photos, field notes. You can take it with you on weekends away, holidays - find places you would never have thought of otherwise. And Cope acknowledges the spiritual power of the places - is infectiously enthusiastic and committed about the whole experience. The design of the book is special too - bright orange cover, with blue shiny bits, and an outer casing - it's a good object, not just content. Worth the price.

I can't believe I haven't reviewed this book already! - Rated
My title says it all, I have had it for eons and forgot to tell anybody what I thought about it, how selfish. Simply I think this is a MUST READ for prehistory monument geeks like myself who want to make that spiritual contact with the ancestors in the ancient world. (You know who you are) It is written in the most user-friendly style I have ever come across in this kind of subject area, that is an immediate attraction for myself. A refreshing change from all the more serious academic stuff I have had to endure. I would like to meet Julian Cope someday just to say thanks for opening this door, saw him at a Leeds (supporting a Queen gig) once under less endearing circumstances, would like to apologise for that as well and thank him for such an amazing piece of work. Read it please and grow in your knowledge.

Arch Drude - Rated
This book is bloody brilliant. Everyone should own a copy.
Apart from the fact that it will make you visit some excellent sites never thought about in your wildest dreams, it is enlightening, and most thoughtful.
Julian Cope is a great writer, and were in not for this book I would never have visited Castlerigg - which has to be the best stone circle in the UK.....A real killer of a book!

Nearly...but not quite - Rated
Julian Cope spent eight years writing this. You would think that with eight years he might have figured out a better system of presenting his work. I am constantly perplexed by his geographical groupings of sites and his brief notes on them. Don't get me wrong - I am grateful that he has spent so much time on a subject he clearly loves as much as I do but; he could have made a guide that gives the reader more in-depth detail along with a structure based on a geography that doesn't lump vast areas into one section. Perhaps the best thing to come out of this book is the related web-site which gives the enthusiast more sites of interest and therefore makes this subject more accessible.

Overall, do buy this book as a taster; do not expect it to be exhaustive in its coverage - get out there and experience the mystery of prehistoric Britain for yourself.

Paranormal in the West Country, and beyond - Rated
Our Passionate Friend Julian Cope surprised us all in the 1990's by suddenly coming out as a megalithomaniac. The Modern Antiquarian is partly Julian's very personal take on ancient Britain and how the church and those pesky Romans ballsed it all up for us and partly a gazetteer of ancient sites around Britain, complete with directions, maps, idle jottings and some marvellous photographs.

The gazetteer is arranged geographically with each section colour-coded for ease of reference. Unfortunately some of the background colours are so dense that the print becomes difficult to read. In part one in particular there are some garishly photoshopped images laid out in various eccentric styles so that no two pages look quite the same. But these add to the charm of the book and what it might lack in academic rigour it makes up for in sheer enthusiasm. The binding of the book has come in for some criticism although my own copy is still all in one piece despite constant reference for 4 years or so now.

Cope lists many sites I would never have known about let alone have visited were it not for The Modern Antiquarian. The bizarre Figsbury Ring, near Salisbury, is a good example. There are some other sites listed and described here that I may have been put off from visiting had I not double-checked elsewhere.

Some of the material is already quite dated and some is just downright inaccurate. The entry on Stoney Littleton really needs to be updated as things have improved immeasurably at this site. The information on The Chestnuts in Kent needs some revising and correction. I'm sure there are many others besides.

But whatever the imperfections this is a marvellous and very worthwhile book, funny, informative, at times angry and passionate, always opinionated and all the better for that.

I believe a follow-up, looking at sites across Europe, is now being written; maybe this will carry some updates and corrections. But either way I look forward to it and recommend The Modern Antiquarian to you without hesitation.