tour 2 of 15
Enlightenment: The Birth of Archaeology
Antiquaries
Antiquaries
investigated the past by collecting and studying ancient coins,
pottery, metalwork and monuments. In interpreting these things,
British antiquaries of the late-seventeenth and early eighteenth
centuries generally relied on the accounts found in the works of
Caesar, Livy and other Roman historians
During the eighteenth
century, however, many scholars began to look in more detail at the
artefacts themselves and at the places where they were found. Some
antiquaries realized that newly discovered weapons and ornaments
were from a native British culture established before the Roman
conquest of the first century AD. These early Britons did not
appear in ancient written
accounts.
Encouraged by a
growing sense of nationalism, antiquaries sought to learn about the
first Britons. So they began to search for ancient graves and
occupation sites in order to unearth new objects and evidence. They
also shared their findings through local and national societies,
notably the Society of
Antiquaries.