I've just finished <I>The Silbury Treasure</I>, and it was an amazing book. I definitely don't believe all of Dames' theories to be true, but some of his observations are very appealing. I reckons there's a lot of scope for non-archaeologists like him and Julian to see things that the people with the trowels overlook. There's certainly more scope for publishing theories that require a leap of faith if you're not an academic trying to uphold a reputation as an empiricist.

Also, I was extremely struck by the similarity between Julian's approach in TMA and Dames'. I'm not suggesting that Julian ripped him off, but Dames must have been a major influence on him. The emphasis on etymology, and the projection of modern folk traditions onto the activities of prehistoric 'man' were certainly echoed in TMA. Neither Cope or Dames is scared of joining the dots in the wrong order, which is what stops the academics from exploring the spiritual elements of prehistory.

In short, I reckon <I>The Silbury Treasure</I> is a darned good read!

Kammer x