JULIAN COPE ...THE MODERN ANTIQUARIAN ...ANCIENT BRITAIN

The Modern Antiquarian: A Pre-Millennial Odyssey Through Megalithic Britain is a book written by Julian Cope, published in 1998. It explores a number of sites of Britain's megalithic heritage, including Stonehenge and Avebury. Many guides only deal with stone circles, whereas the Modern Antiquarian includes other megalithic monuments, hill forts, barrows and unusual places.

In the introduction Cope explains how a visit to Avebury Stone Circle inspired his enthusiasm for the subject. He was disappointed with the quality of available guidebooks, so decided to write his own. He visited and researched hundreds of sites over eight years, selecting about 300 of the most significant for the book.

The book is divided into two sections, the first being ten essays by Cope about various aspects of megalithic British culture. The second section and the bulk of the book is a geographically arranged gazetteer of the sites. Each entry includes an essay, directions to the site, map references, Cope's own account of his visit, photographs, drawings and (sometimes) poems.