The author of this book sets out to investigate two fundamental issues: how was the remote past of Britain imagined in the 18th and 19th centuries and what part did visual arts play in the process?

The antiquarians and artists of the 18th and 19th centuries had an important influence on modern ideas surrounding Ancient Britain, and the way that it is popularly pictured. Whilst many of their ideas have been superseded by modern archaeological excavation many of their myths and images, particularly that of the Druid, survive today.