Book #24 for 2023: Grounded by James Canton
Grounded: A Journey into the Landscapes of Our Ancestors by James Canton
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
James Canton's book is an attempt to assess how ancient Britons used to live, based on the evidence left behind, ranging from ancient artefacts, buildings and even landscapes. He even clarifies that much of what he mentions is his own imagining. As he notes:
"At the heart of the matter was a simple, universal and personal desire to connect with the lives of others who had lived before".
Canton carried out most of his research, and visits to the places the book discusses during the Coronavirus lockdowns of 2020 and 2021, noting about how nature effectively "took over" during those months when we all had to stay at home.
I liked the fact that this book didn't focus on obvious remnants from ancient peoples like Stonehenge, but more obscure examples. The primary message of his book seems to be that almost everything had its roots in pagan rituals, but he also compares people today with our ancient ancestors.
So, there is one chapter based on how we have always been attracted to fire, from its original discovery to how most people still light one in their homes today. He mentions stone circles a lot, including the myth behind Oxfordshire's Rollright Stones (involving soldiers being turned to stone by a witch). There are even chapters about ancient burial rites, and our need to commemorate our ancestors, and also sacred offerings, including some of the ancient idols that have been unearthed.
One of the main conclusions that the book draws is that our ancestors were more "grounded" and connected with the earth, but our need for technology made us less pagan, and less grounded in the landscapes.
I really enjoyed this book; I could tell it was painstakingly researched, but I particularly enjoyed the author's own accounts of his visits to the places that he writes about, and his observations about how they appear today. It made me realise how little I know about what life was like several millennia ago.
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