Plants and animals, wild and domestic, provided food and other products. The main crops of prehistoric Europe from the 6th millennium BC. e. there was wheat and barley, and then oats and rye, more resistant to cold and humid climates, developed from the weed mixture of the original cereals, were added to them. Legumes such as peas and beans were planted on purpose, although many wild plants were harvested and made into cereals and stews. Of course, nuts and edible fruits of trees, wild or lightly cultivated, such as apples, were also eaten. The dense forests provided an endless supply of material for builders of shelters and defensive structures, for carpenters and chariots, coopers and shipbuilders, and also served as the basis for the manufacture of fences and huts. Reed and thatch were excellent materials for roofs and beds. Fabrics were made from flax and nettle fibers. Some special references from classical authors suggest that, like most agricultural peoples, the Celtic priests used herbs as medicines. Various types of beer were brewed from cereals, but the wine was imported from the Mediterranean countries. It was an expensive drink, a luxury item.
Domestic animals included cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and horses (more precisely, ponies, because their height was somewhere around 10-11 palms). Wild animals were hunted: rounds, deer, roe deer, bears, wild boars and birds (and in southern Europe, fallow deer). The waters supplied abundant food in the form of lacustrine, river and sea fish and crayfish, as well as seals and cetaceans. All this together constituted a group of natural resources providing not only direct food (meat, fish, milk and cheese), but also skins, hides, furs, rawhide ropes, feathers for arrows, feathers for headpieces, bone, teeth and horns for carvers. wool for weavers and manure to fertilize the soil. Bees, wild and tamed, provided honey to sweeten food and prepare intoxicating drinks, as well as wax, especially needed for metal castings.
In short, the natural resources that the Celtic peoples mastered and used almost coincided with the set of resources that the peoples of Northwestern Europe used during the early Middle Ages. The way they were used was also almost the same. The economy that they provided throughout the Celtic world was based on a mixed type of agriculture (cattle breeding and farming at a relatively high level). The basic structure of such an agricultural economy existed in the south and east of prehistoric Europe for five millennia, and in the north and west of Europe for almost four thousand years. A drag plow, not a primitive hoe or digging stick, was used in Britain from the 3rd, and in Northern Europe from the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC. e. The four-field farming system was widespread in Britain from the middle of the 1st millennium or a little earlier, that is, during the last few centuries before the Roman conquest, it was already widespread in southern England.
In the British Isles (northwest Britain and Ireland), we see evidence that the economy of the early Celtic Iron Age was based on livestock raising, meaning that a large number of domestic animals was considered wealth, not arable land. From classical sources it can be understood that in some parts of Europe nomadic herding was widespread, especially among the Germans. However, in the areas where the Celts lived, there was a semblance of a certain farming system, which included leaving part of the fields fallow and fertilizing them, that is, the application of measures against the rapid depletion of the soil. This was also facilitated by the regular transfer of settlements to a new location.
The settlement unit on the European continent was a village, but in the British Isles it was more often considered a farm or a small manor. Dwellings were usually built of wood, sometimes of stone without mortar, and covered with reeds. They were scattered throughout the settlement, following a tradition dating back to the early agricultural communities of Europe and sharply different from the crowded, densely built towns and villages of the Mediterranean. In Gaul, by the time of its conquest by Caesar, the tendency of a certain rural imitation of the classical urban development was clearly defined. This can be seen from the plan of some tribal settlements, as, for example, in Bibrakta with its "winding streets and houses, poorly reminiscent of the structure of the Mediterranean, the architectural features of which were, however, limited."Houses in most of Europe were rectangular and usually consisted of one room, sometimes with small partitions. But in Iberia and throughout the British Isles, houses were built round, so that they should have met in Gaul. The fortifications and estates were mostly not fenced off or somehow seriously protected. However, sometimes they were surrounded by palisades, earthen ramparts or stone fences of various sizes, from a light fence to massive fortress walls.from a light fence to massive fortress walls.from a light fence to massive fortress walls.
Fortresses perched atop hills or in the middle of a plain are a recurring and sad feature of the Celtic world at the time.
They bear witness to wars, raids, and disagreements between small political groups, as confirmed by classical written sources and legends. But at the same time, they pose us many questions regarding the social structure reflected in their architecture, as well as population, status in relation to other settlements and estates, political centers, tribes and personalities known to us from history. Some settlements, especially in Gaul and adjacent territories, can with sufficient confidence be attributed to places of permanent settlement, as it were, the capitals of the tribes, "oppids", such as Bibrakta, the capital of the Edue tribe, Alesia, the capital of the Mandubs, or Manching, the capital of the Windeliks …
The most important elements of Celtic martial art and weapons are known to us from archaeological finds and later sculptural images, as well as swords, spears, shields, sometimes armor and helmets, as well as chariots, which, apparently, are of eastern origin. They were an integral part of military equipment, as reflected in the documents about the battles at Sentinum (295 BC), Clastidium (222 BC), among the Averns (121 BC) … Posidonius, who wrote mainly about the 2nd century BC. e., describes the use of military chariots in battle, as a typical Gallic custom. But by the time of Caesar's reign, that is, from 58 BC. e., and further on the continent, this custom was forgotten. This was probably due to the desire of the Celts to master defensive measures that were better suited to the Roman technique of warfare. However, Caesar still had to,much to his surprise, to collide with chariots in 56 BC. e. in the south of Britain. The art of chariot fighting survived until the 3rd century AD. e. I of Caledonia, a description of chariots was included in the early Irish legends about the heroes of a later time.
Promotional video:
The strategy of wars and incessant small skirmishes between families, clans and tribes of the same type that survived in the highlands of Scotland until the middle of the 18th century included the practice of duels, ritual nudity in battles, headhunting, battle cries and chants, and a whole range of exciting little things. heroes so dear to the hearts. It was a world much more rude and disorderly reckless than is told in the epic that has come down to us, even if the bard thickly glows and embellishes unsightly events in which blood and rust grind and ulcerate cruel iron.
We are faced with a barbaric society with an economy based on agriculture and pastoralism, which prevailed in most of the Celtic world. The structure of society, divided into various social strata, as we know from written sources, is confirmed by archaeological finds: not only by the presence of luxurious burials with rich offerings, but also by the art of decorating noble warriors, their women, horses and chariots. These decorations are made in intertwining and interpenetrating traditions, merged into the distinctive art of the Celts. He is rightfully called one of the greatest in the non-classical arts of Europe. From archaeological evidence, we can conclude that the structure of such a society dates back to primitive Europe, which existed at least from the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. e. That is, we look directly into the heroic age,similar, on the one hand, to the age of Homer or the Rig Veda, and on the other, to the age of heroic legends about Beowulf. Behind the back of this society, supporting it, there is a world extremely close to the world described in Hesiod's "Works and Days".
Let's take a closer look at the structure of Celtic society. We are dealing here with the second Hawkes stage, when only on the basis of archaeological data it is reasonable to assume that we have a model of the economy of consumption (this is also confirmed by written sources). As we can see, according to the old model (we are talking about the idea of "three centuries", gold, silver and iron) the Celts were in the Iron Age, as they used this metal for cutting tools and weapons, just like their classical contemporaries and medieval successors.
More importantly, archeology paints us a picture of a primitive society that is barbaric and uncivilized in its essence, despite the veneer that may have acquired some exceptional individuals or communities, for example in Gaul. And she draws this conclusion, without using texts, only due to finds in rural estates and peasant huts, in fortifications and strongholds of tribal leaders, due to information about the barbaric setting of parades and wars, even, as will be seen later, data on rituals, including human sacrifice and bounty hunting. Moreover, the correctness of our conclusions, made only on the basis of archaeological evidence, is fully confirmed by written sources.
Thus, we have before us a barbaric economy that uses iron, based on agriculture, as well as on the breeding of animals and poultry, with a military aristocracy, skilled artists and artisans and, of course, horse breeders and profiteers to provide chariots with specially trained ponies. It is an economy aimed at self-sufficiency, but producing a product in excess, so that it was enough for trade with the civilized world. This was especially true of wine and luxury goods. Apparently, the merchant class began to develop for the first time in Gaul.
This was the world of meat-eaters (in contrast to the Mediterranean tradition, where vegetables were preferred), who feasted at their open hearths "in a true lion's custom, bringing whole hams to their mouths with both hands and biting off meat directly from them." The Celts had iron coasters for firewood in the hearth, and spits, and huge cauldrons suspended from elaborate chains. They preferred boiled pork, homemade meads and beer, and they drank imported wine without dilution, not like the moderate Greeks and Romans. Their architectural achievements were limited to log buildings or huts, and in the north, in the forest jungle, rough stone houses. Thanks to the invaluable help of literary sources, we can go further and realize something that cannot be understood using data obtained using only archaeological methods, namely the social structure of the Celtic world,his language and literature, finally, his rituals, magic and religious beliefs, among which the most important place belongs to the Druids.
