Iron age gold jewellery goes on display in Edinburgh

From the BBC:

A hoard of Iron Age jewellery found by a treasure hunter in Stirlingshire has gone on display in Edinburgh.

The four solid gold neck ornaments, or torcs, could be more than 2,000 years old.

They were found in a field by safari park manager David Booth, who was using a metal detector for the first time.

They are now owned by the Crown and have been placed on public view at the National Museum of Scotland for the next three weeks.

Fraser Hunter, the museum's curator, said "These four gold torcs are very beautiful, very displayable objects.

"They have many stories to tell."

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“A New Approach to Early Celtic Art” – Journal Article

Archaeologists date artifacts via both scientific carbon dating methods and sometimes using typology (relative chronological sequence – to match an artifact already documented within a well-established typological scheme) in order to determine its specific period. The most useful is of course radiocarbon (C14), although it does have its limitations, especially with regard to accuracy (due to poor sampling measures and thus contamination, as well as careless interpretation). On the whole, however, it does offer a broad pattern with similar types of finds being found relative to particular time periods. With regard to studies of Iron Age Celtic art, a great emphasis is still put onto the work of Paul Jacobsthal, which was carried out more than six decades ago. Four main styles were identified in his classic Early Celtic Art (1944) that are now generally accepted for the La Tène period: the Early Style, the Waldalgesheim Style, the Plastic Style, and the Sword Style. However, since that study, there have been numerous new and unusual finds and it is important to discuss further the implications of such unearthings. There is an interesting paper (published in 2004) that discusses this issue, although you will have to register to gain access to the full journal article. It is, however, possible to view the abstract without any prior registration and I have also pasted relevant information below for ease of access:

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“A New Approach to Early Celtic Art” from the Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy – Volume 104, 2004, Pages 107-129: http://bit.ly/UMr6F

Publisher The Royal Irish Academy
ISSN 0035-8991 (Print) 2009-0048 (Online)
Issue Volume 104, Volume 104 / 2004
DOI 10.3318/PRIC.2004.104.1.107
Pages 107-129
Online Date Friday, August 24, 2007

PDF (1.1 MB) Authors Otto–Herman Frey Abstract All modern studies of early Celtic art begin with the work of Paul Jacobsthal. In the sixty years since his magisterial study, however, there have been many new discoveries and there has been much discussion concerning the deeper meaning of Celtic art. Particularly significant in this regard are the two recently discovered Early La Tène burial mounds on the Glauberg in Hesse in Germany. Not only did these burials yield bronzes of major significance, but a unique, almost life-sized human carving displaying weapons and personal ornaments was also found. The finds from the Glauberg shed much new light on the nature of early Celtic art. The influence of the Estrucans of north Italy is especially evident.

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Paul Jacobsthal’s work, “Early Celtic Art”, may be obtained by following this link: http://bit.ly/1NxOk9, although I must inform you that it is a little on the expensive side now that it has become a collector’s item.

Museum artefacts to go on public display for first time

From Northampton Chronicle & Echo:

New items including 3,000-year-old bronze axe heads have gone on display to the public at Daventry Town Council Museum.

The museum is showing the items among many from the Moot Hall Museum Store, taken over recently by the town council.

The store houses most of the items previously owned by Daventry District Council's Moot Hall Museum, however, many of the artefacts have not been on display before. Pieces on display this weekend include artwork completed for the 1991 Daventry Arts Festival, Celtic bronze axe heads dating from 1,000BC found on Borough Hill and mosaic pieces discovered in the town.

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This is “KNOT” Celtic Art? What does the term “Celtic Art” mean to you?

Many people refer to Celtic art in the belief that the term relates to a homogeneous form of art. However, it is important to recognize that it was actually quite varied and that it changed over a considerable period of time. For instance, an object that was made around 500 BC would have been somewhat different from something created around the birth of Christ.

To add further complication to the name, today there appears to be a great deal of political correctness concerning what actually constitutes being Celtic. There are numerous descriptions of the currently very popular “Celtic knotwork”, “Celtic interlace” or “Celtic Christian art”, a form that consists of the complex interweaving of lines, curves and geometric patterns, as well as minutely detailed “Celtic letters”. Such work relates to the substantially later Christian art style and illuminated gospels from Ireland that was produced in the 6th century AD by Saxon Christian monks. Although it is very attractive, it is quite different from the art produced by the ancient Celts who actually left few written records. Such art did, however, arise in the context of existing artistic traditions with roots firmly embedded within ancient Iron Age artistic design.

The label is also frequently applied to the elaborate spiral, concentric circle, and curve designs and motifs that were carved into the rocks by earlier Neolithic megalith builders in Britain. Prehistoric megalithic art can be found in many parts of west and northwest Europe (particularly in Ireland, Brittany and Iberia) and the practice continued into the Bronze Age. Like early Celtic art, it tends to be highly abstract, with relatively few representations of identifiable objects (for instance, the decorated stones in the chambered tomb at Newgrange even boasts a triple-spiral image). However, megalithic art existed long before the Celtic culture had even arrived.

Nowadays, we also see a great deal of jewellery and even tattoos being produced in distinctive and extravagant knotwork style that incorporates animal shapes. There are numerous websites offering Celtic clip art with “gripping beasts”. These, however, show strong Viking influence and are certainly not Celtic in its original sense.

“Early Celtic art” is essentially used to represent a group of distinctly decorated artifacts found across a great part of Europe during the later Iron Age and early Roman periods (although it also continued to influence other artistic designs). This art relates to the Hallstatt (around the 8^th century BC) and, later, La Tène (5^th Century BC) styles, which are named after two sites of major Celtic archaeological finds, in modern-day Austria and Switzerland, respectively. Celtic peoples north of the Alps transformed imported classical designs from Italy and Greece into something new. The fusion of formulaic classical design with indigenous Celtic patterns led to wonderful abstract art with intricate curvilinear motifs. La Tène art was basically an extension of the Hallstatt stylized figurative style, but it included bolder and more abstract designs. Four main styles that were identified by Paul Jacobsthal in his classic Early Celtic Art (1944) are now generally accepted for the La Tène period: the Early Style, the Waldalgesheim Style, the Plastic Style, and the Sword Style. Celtic art has been found on various objects from household utensils and jewellery to warrior equipment. It is present primarily on metal artifacts but also on some pottery, and only occasionally on stone. For more information, please click here.

The term “Celtic art” is without a doubt problematical to define, as it seems to encompass a vastness of time, geography and cultures. I realize (and am delighted) that today’s artists interested in Celtic art need to add their own creativity and interpretation into producing something that is attractive for today’s market. But should the term Celtic art really be applied to this more modern phenomenon or should it be reserved solely for the ancient Celts? Ought there be a more appropriate term to use for later representations that will still acknowledge its connection to ancient Celtic forms? Or is the term better applied to all art – both old and new - that has some relation to its ancient form? What do you think? Comments are very welcome.

Export ban on rare Celtic mirror

A rare Iron Age Celtic mirror and two brooches have been made the subject of a temporary export ban in a bid to keep the items in the UK.

The 19cm high copper-alloy mirror, which is engraved and has a looped handle, dates back to about 75BC.

It was discovered in a shallow cremation grave at Chilham Castle, Kent, in 1993, along with two brooches.

Culture Minister Barbara Follett has placed a ban on the items leaving the UK. The ban will be reviewed in May.

The ruling follows a recommendation by the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest, administered by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA).

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Who Were the Ancient Celts?

The ancient Celts were Iron Age communities of western and central Europe that existed around the eighth century BC to first century AD. It is difficult to describe the Celts precisely, not just because of the fragmentary evidence that exists, but because there was so much cultural and regional variability from one time to another. Furthermore, their world was full of contrast. On one hand they had a desire for battle and warfare, and on the other they produced sophisticated and beautiful artwork. Additionally, the Celts left few written records and the majority of the literary evidence for them is provided from the classical world. The Greeks and Romans viewed the Celts as primitive peoples. Unlike the literate and civilized societies of the eastern Mediterranean, the Celts never formed an empire but were essentially a tribal people who lived mainly by farming. They built no great architecture, lacked the gift of the written word, and their religious practices were considered macabre, involving animal and even sometimes human sacrifices.

In the fourth century BC the Greek historian, Ephorus, stated that four barbarian peoples existed at that time: the Libyans of Africa; the Persians to the East; the Scythians in the European Balkans; and what he termed as the “Keltoi” (or Celts) in the northwest of Europe. It is thought that the Celts originated in central Europe, in the basin of the Danube, but around the fifth century BC onwards they spread into northern Italy, Spain and Portugal. They also moved into the area of modern-day Denmark and swept southeast into Greece and the Balkans. This period also marks the likely appearance of the Celts in the British Isles. This was an enormous territorial expansion. At their broadest expanse, the Celts had settled lands scaling from what is now Ireland to Turkey and Scotland to Spain.

Although the Celtic Iron Age period can be distinguished by much cultural and regional diversity in time and space, the defining characteristics of the Iron Age Celts relate to their use of the Hallstatt and, later, La Tène artistic styles, which are named after two sites of major Celtic archaeological finds. The origins of Celtic art stem from the time when objects were traded and exchanged between Celtic peoples north of the Alps and the Mediterranean world. The Celts began to imitate the very elegant and formal classical style produced by the Greeks and Romans, but essentially it developed into something completely different. This fusion of formulaic classical design with indigenous Celtic patterns led to wonderful abstract art with intricate curvilinear motifs. Archaeological excavations have recovered enormous numbers of Iron Age Celtic objects in many parts of Europe. The types of artifacts found include weapons such as swords, shields and spears, drinking cups and storage vessels, bronze cauldrons, sculptures, mirrors and massive hoards of jewellery.

The ancient Celts also shared many other common traits, namely an Indo-European language and a firm social structure. Their social structure was extremely hierarchical. At the top were the ruling kings/queens/chiefs. Below this was a class of nobles, which included both the priesthood and warriors. Beneath this were the commoners (or free people), such as farmers, tradesmen and craftsmen, and at the very bottom were the slaves. Nobles, such as bards and druids, were important to Celtic society and acted as the priests, judges, historians, healers, and poets to their community. Celtic women had a great deal more freedom and status than those in contemporary classical societies, and it was possible to attain high office in their own rights.

Celtic religious practices varied from region to region, and different tribes worshipped different deities. However, it is possible to recognize universal features within the complex Celtic belief system. The Celts worshipped many gods, both male and female, and these were perceived to be all around them and to permeate all aspects of life. The Celts particularly saw spiritual associations in water (such as lakes, springs, rivers and marshes), which was thought to possess healing powers. Animals and plants were also considered sacred. The Celts had a tradition of burying valuable objects in the ground or in water as gifts to the gods, in order to appease them in return for a blessing. In fact, today’s custom of tossing a coin into a well may actually stem from this ancient tradition.

Although in part a nation of farmers, classical writings and archaeological remains, such weapons and fortified hillforts, would indicate that warfare was vital to Celtic society. Being a great warrior was considered to be a prestigious quality, and each warrior wanted to achieve as much glory for himself as possible. There are many accounts of Romans being terrified of Celtic warriors not only because of their apparently flamboyant and boisterous nature in battle, but also due to their remarkable skills in chariot warfare.

Despite the progressive Romanisation of the Iron Age Celts, they nevertheless left their mark on European culture, which still seems to resonate throughout the world today. Although often regarded as a modern political agenda in order to promote identity, some scholars would nevertheless be as bold as to say that the ancient Celts were the first Europeans.


I would love to hear your ideas about any particular ancient Celtic issue that you would like me to address in future posts. Please share your comments!