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 Scandinavia and across to western Europe, from the Celts through the Anglo-Saxons and Vikings, there arose about two thousand years ago a largely forgotten civilization which foreshadowed Tolkien's imagined world.

To these 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 the 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 lay Middle-earth, the realm inhabited by people and suffused with magical power.

I'm an avid history and archaeology freak and I'm especially interested in the first millennium of English history. That so little is really known about the Dark Ages, and with so many archaeologists dismissing sites as merely 'ritual' in nature, rather than trying to really understand the logic of the people who used them, makes the time open to wide interpretation. When Tolkien began the creation of Middle-earth what he was attempting was to create a real mythology, which England was sadly missing. He drew upon many old stories and legends, then fleshed them out to produce his incredible tales. It's nice that someone has tried to work back from Tolkien's works, in order to uncover the nuggets of reality. If I'm honest I do think it's a bit of a cashing in cheat; seeing the popularity of Tolkien right now and trying to attach the name to anything, but maybe it'll be really good and my cynicism will be proved unfounded.