Ritchie, Graham

2019-02-15T14:18:27Z

2019-02-15T14:18:27Z

1968

This thesis is concerned with the defensive armour of the Celtic tribes on the continent of Europe (exclusive of Iberia and much of Italy) from the 5th to approximately the 1st century B.C., or to the date of their subjugation to Roman authority. British helmets, shields and examples of body armour are, wherever possible, discussed in this context and their continental analogies noted. The evidence provided by the arms themselves has been complemented by an examination of the representations of barbarian weaponry in classical sculpture and of the descriptions by Greek and Roman writers of battles with the Celts.

The helmets are divided into three main groups; the first consists of the conical helmets of La Tene I date which may owe their origin to local Bronze Age types. The second, which includes the types here labelled Castelrotto and Batina, dates mainly to the 3rd and 2nd centuries B.C., and the armourers appear to have adapted Italian helmet types current during the Celtic invasions of Northern Italy. The third group is of 1st century B.C. to 1st century A.D. date and consists of helmets of the Men and Coolus types, the former found in Southern Prance, the Alps and in Slovenia, and the latter in Eastern Prance and Rhineland Germany. Some of the helmets of Agen type may show a number of features which may be compared to Roman pieces of Haguenau-Weisenau types; other features, such as the use of enamel are more distinctly Celtic. The lack of associated finds makes it difficult to date the Coolus type firmly, but it is important because it is the class with which the British helmets have most affinity, although each British example is unique in some respect. Finally horned helmets are shown to be much rarer than was previously thought, and it is suggested that some of them were not intended for the battle-field.

The adoption of the shield also appears to result from the experience of the Celts in Italy and shields are found North of the Alps only from about 300 B.C. The diversity of the surviving remains of shields does not allow such a useful division into types as was possible in the case of helmets, and the chronological groupings are also less clear-cut. The British shields, because of their frequent use of elaborate bronze decoration, are distinct from the continental examples, but an examination of the structural features of these shields and of the art styles of their decoration has made possible their inclusion into the general European framework. The representations of barbarian shields on Roman auxiliary grave stelai of the 1st century A.D. show that the long oval shape seems to have been the most common form of practical shield at this time. From the 2nd century A. D., however, in North Britain a new group of shields, more rectangular in shape with a round central boss, is isolated here for the first time; the adoption of this type may be due to the influence of both Roman and Belgic ideas.

Three types of body armour are found in Celtic contexts, namely mail shirts, leather cuirasses and bronze corslets. Both mail shirts and cuirasses have the same shape and seem to have been secured by shoulder straps, decorated by some form of knob. The frequency with which this type of decoration appears on sculpture and figurines might make it possible to interpret the small decorated roundels found at the shoulders.

Warriors in this light. Because of the use of perishable materials for the inner linings and crests of helmets, for shields and for many types of body armour, a number of features, such as the painted decoration on shields, can only tentatively be discussed. But the use of leather was probably much more widespread than the surviving evidence suggests. It is clear however, from the small number of helmets and of traces of body armour that the wearing of such arms was the prerogative of the chieftains and the leaders of the bands of warriors.

http://hdl.handle.net/1842/33692

The University of Edinburgh

Annexe Thesis Digitisation Project 2019 Block 22

Celtic defensive weaponry in Britain: and its continental background

Thesis or Dissertation

Doctoral

PhD Doctor of Philosophy