The Celtic encyclopedia

Drawing on myth, written history and archaeology, this work follows the peoples who spread across Europe and parts of Asia Minor after the Aryan-speaking population left its homeland north of the Black Sea in the fourth millennium BC. It tracks how the Q-Celtic and P-Celtic speaking groups developed and moved, covering the period from the third millennium BC until the Roman conquest of Celtic Europe, with particular attention to the Bronze and Iron Ages.

The book is arranged as an alphabetical reference. It lists more than 50 sub-cultures, 260 tribes and some 1,000 figures, including deities, heroes and warriors. Separate chapters address religious practice, customs, social organisation and related subjects, and the entries point readers to relevant museum collections and archaeological sites. The prose is plain and direct, so the material can be consulted quickly.

The work is issued as a complete five-volume set, with the ISBNs 1581128894 (Vol I), 1581128908 (Vol II), 1581128916 (Vol III), 1581128924 (Vol IV) and 1581128932 (Vol V), plus 1581128940 for the set.