A History of Ancient Britain: Celtic Britain [DVD]

Shopping with Geology, Geography and Archaeology, ancient history really fits in well with this subject matter and this series is no exception; a must watch for history enthusiast.

Very Good History Documentary by the BBCThis short four part (4 hours) history series follows on from Neil's previous show about Britain's prehistoric past: A history of Ancient Britain which starts off from ice age through to bronze age Britain. This series starts off in Iron age Britain and goes through our age of Celtic warriors, the age of Roman invasion and finally age of Roman Occupied Britain which completes Britain's prehistoric pastNeil Oliver presents the show very well and is informative, enthusiastic which kept me captivated through start to finish. Unlike many other history programs which are full of reenactments and cgi recreations, Neil Oliver takes the viewer through by talking to the experts, visiting the ancient sites and showing and explaining artifacts.Many scenes also just feature random camera pans of British Towns and cities as well as Neil walking whilst narrating, this may sound overbearingly dull, however Neil Oliver's Narration remains completely captivating and leaves the viewer wanting to find out more about our Nations rich past.The Background Music works very throughout the show too and Ty Unwin's music creates really intrigue and a sense of mystery. In short this is really interesting show and I discovered a great deal about my country's past.

Neil Oliver's second DVD in the `History of Ancient Britain' series - usefully sold separately for those with little interest in earlier times - continues his chronological narrative into the age of Celtic and Roman Britain. Its style, however, is a carbon copy of the first volume.The four hour-long episodes here are: 1. Age of Iron, in which we learn of more agricultural revolutions and of the problematic `gap' between the Bronze and Iron Ages; 2. Age of Warriors, in which the status of fighters and defenders increases as the land fills up; 3. Age of Invasion, the arrival of the Romans; and 4. Age of Romans, in which he reviews many aspects of Roman life in Britain.The DVD ends at this point. One would have hoped that Oliver might have continued with another series into the Dark Ages, but instead his latest interest (at the time of writing) is the Vikings.As well as archaeology, Oliver brings into discussion issues such as kingship, the `religion' of the druids, language, and culture, concluding that there is no evidence of a Celtic ethnic or racial identity; rather, theirs was `just' a common heritage.Again, along his travels, Oliver gets to handle and drool over some seminal archaeological exhibits. He also engages with some of the greatest experts on the period, such as Barry Cunliffe, Niall Sharples, Miranda Green, and Phil Crummy.There are also, of course, a lot of ponderables and unanswerable questions to be chewed over and digested along the way, as well as plenty of `perhapses' and `it's as thoughs'. But often Oliver's thrust of argument is too assured, and he can be careless with details, such that the Antonine Wall was the furthest north that the Romans reached (there are forts in Perthshire), or that the wearer of a Chi-Ro ring must have been a Christian (the wearer may have just liked the pattern). There are some strange statements: for instance that the Britons could never have conceived of gladiatorial combat.But these criticisms are minor compared to the amazing story that Oliver tells about the inhabitants who lived and died in Britain over a period of just over a thousand years.

I bought this as my daughter is taking a Classical Civilisation GCSE and I thought it would provide a nice overview of Roman and pre-Roman Britain. There are two discs, the first one dealing with the Bronze and Iron ages and the second talking about the Celts and the invasion of Britain, and Britain in Roman times.It was most enjoyable and I don't know how I missed it as a TV series. Neil Oliver is an engaging presenter, enthusiastic about his subject and a minefield of knowledge. He visits lots of places in Britain and really brings the history he is describing to life. He looks at lots of artefacts but this is never dull. Rather, he describes their backgrounds vividly and you can really imagine the people of the time. If he'd been my history teacher I'd have definitely gone beyond O level! My 14 year old daughter also enjoyed it immensely.We both found Neil Oliver rather attractive - in 14 year old speak, "he's hot". (I'm far more his age, anyway).

The title of this series 'Celtic Britain, should really be called 'Ancient Britain Part 2, as it is a direct follow on from Neil Oliver's previous series. Picking up from the end of the Bronze Age we learn about Iron Age Britons and the impact of the Roman invasions on british society. If you liked the first series then you should like this, with Mr Oliver continuing to exude almost over the top enthusiasm for his subject matter. Other reviewers have said that the 'ancient/celtic britain programmes are a lazy form of learning and this is very true but these documentaries are introductions. If you want to delve deeper then you can always read a book on the subject.Perhaps Neil Oliver will make one more series. "A History of Dark Age Britain" starting with Post-Roman Britain and ending with the Norman Invasion. That would be a great way to round off the series.