Tolkien readily admitted that the concept of Middle-Earth was not his own invention but was drawn from Anglo-Saxon and Norse mythology. But now there is another remarkable story to be told: the magical world of Middle-earth was more than a concept - it really existed.

Drawing on the latest historical and archaeological research, Professor Brian Bates shows that, stretching from Old England to Scandenavia and across to western Europe, from the Celts through the Anglo-Saxons and Vikings, there arose about two thousand years ago a largely forgotten civilisation which foreshadowed Tolkien's imagined world.

To those people of the real Middle-earth, the landscape took on a whole new meaning. Elvish spirits populated the trees, streams and stones, dwarves forged magical weapons, giants menaced from their mountains, and fire-breathing dragons slumbered under hills, guarding treasure which carried the fate of whole civilizations. Real wizards cast spells and flew on eight-legged horses, berserker warriors battled as shapeshifting bears, and seeresses foretold the future. A life force enchanted everything.

People understood their universe as held together by an interlaced web of golden threads visible only to the wizards. And at its centre by Middle-earth, the realm inhabited by people and suffused with a magical power.

In today's scientific age, we tend to approach our lives from a more rational perspective. And yet the huge interest in fantasy books and films confirms our hunger to reconnect with the imagination of our ancestors. Bringing back to life a largely forgotten civilization, The Real Middle-Earth is a compelling account of an historical culture as magical and enchanting as Tolkien's fictional version.