This book introduces work from the skilled hands of many ancient craftsmen whose names and circumstances will never be known. Here will be found artistic works that range from the earliest art of the cave dwellers and hunters through the Neolithic and Bronze Ages to the sophisticated metalwork of the Late Iron Age. Examples of great paintings from the caves of France and Spain, Lascaux, Altamira, Pech Merle, Les Combarelles and many others, are illustrated, as well as the spectacular gold ornaments and vessels from Ireland, Wessex and Scandinavia, and finally, the bronze, iron and gold of barbarian Europe, which reaches fantastic heights of technical accomplishment in such superb pieces as the Desborough mirror and the Battersea shield.
