In his work Ancient Greece and Rome in Wars, Peter Connolly often refers to ancient authors and, in particular, Polybius. And he, in his report on the events that preceded the battle of Telamon, reports that the Gauls had 20,000 cavalry in the army and many more chariots. By the way, this is the last mention of the actions of war chariots on the territory of continental Europe. Although later they appear again, but only already in 55 BC. during Caesar's invasion of Britain. Diodorus reports that two horses were harnessed to these chariots, and they could carry a charioteer and a warrior, that is, everything similar to the chariots of the ancient Egyptians. In the course of the battle, the warrior first threw darts from it (and, apparently, he had a large supply of them there, not two or not three!), After which he descended from it to the ground and fought on foot. The story of Caesar about the chariots that he saw in Britain looks about the same. Both authors note one important detail: both there and in Europe, chariots were used against cavalry. In addition, it is obvious that fighting with chariots against infantry is possible only if they were used as skirmishers instead of the same velites among the Romans. They drove up, darts at the enemy and threw themselves to the rear! Caesar admires the art of the Gallic charioteers. He tells about the soldiers who ran along the drawbar and got up on the yoke, and they did it while moving!
Chariot re-enectors from France. What you will not go to, at least sometimes, but feel like an ancient Celtic!
As for archaeological sites, several chariot burials have been found in France. Unfortunately, most of them were dismantled before being placed in the grave, however, despite this, many metal parts have been preserved in them. Among them there are attachments for post-beams. Their length indicates that they were attached directly to the axis. It was in this position that they were found in the graves. The rings, located at the level of the horse's chest, were probably fastened to the girth and used to guide these lines. There are other details in these burials, for example, wheel checks and reins rings that were attached to the yoke. A very well-preserved yoke and one wheel with an iron rim were found in Lake La Ten. That is, the strength of the Celtic chariot wheels was at the level of our carts. Which, by the way, indicates a high level of technology development. After all, such a rim must be forged, then put on the wheel so that it does not fall off, connect (and very firmly!) Both ends! All this only seems simple, but in fact it requires practiced skills and abilities! We also found a horse mask with horns. A very interesting find, but was it only used on horses harnessed to chariots, or were they also used by riders?
Celtic horse mask with horns. Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh.
More recently, the appearance of the Celtic chariot could only be restored from the images on the coins. Moreover, it is significant that they all have side walls made up of two semicircles. But then, as Connolly reports, in Padua, in northern Italy, they found a stone tombstone with a picture of a chariot, two people on it and, in addition, a shield laid on its side. Both semicircular side walls in this relief are depicted so that they are visible in front of the shield, and this can just mean that they were on the sides and played the role of a kind of fence! Although this shape seems a little strange, archaeological finds confirm this. Although, of course, what prevented them from making a fencing of rectangular beams? The distance between the wheels in chariots from French graves is a little more than a meter. This is significantly less than that of the Cypriot chariot (from 1, 3 to 1, 7 m), on which the driver and the warrior stood side by side. And if so, it turns out that the Celtic warrior was standing in a chariot behind the driver, as is clearly seen on the coin of Hostilius. True, this also requires a longer chariot length and a longer fence of its sides. It is possible that such a length was needed in order to be able to transport a wounded soldier in a chariot, that is, to use it as a vehicle for evacuating the injured and exporting trophies ?! Interestingly, the wheels of the Celtic chariots had both seven and ten spokes, while the Egyptian ones usually had six!
Brennus burns Delphi in 279 BC. Drawing by Angus McBride. The shield is clearly small!
It is interesting that horsemen are mentioned in many nations together with chariots. But practically no attention is paid to them in the epic! Let us recall Homer's Iliad - both Odysseus and many other Achaeans are shown in it as skillful riders, but … everyone there fighting in chariots, then ascend, then descend, then cling to the fallen and dragged along the ground for the purpose of mockery. The riders do not do that, well, after all, nothing has been written about them! Horsemen are also mentioned in the much more voluminous Mahabharata, compared to the Iliad - there are thousands of them! But … all the main characters fight exclusively on chariots, and also on elephants!
Celt (left) fighting an ancient Germanic (right), c. 100 BC Drawing by Angus McBride.
The reason for this piety, apparently, is in the inertia of human consciousness. It all began with chariots, and the memory of them survived for centuries, but the horsemen at the time when these works were created were already commonplace and … did not arouse any interest among the authors!
Celtic bits. Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh.
But immediately after the conquest of Gaul by the Romans, Celtic horsemen began to play an important role in the Roman army. Although there is an opinion that the Celts did not have real cavalry, as such, and that before the battle they dismounted and fought like infantrymen. Similarly, for example, did the Celts, Spaniards and Romans at the Battle of Cannes (216 BC). Although, on the other hand, this could have had such a reason as a banal lack of space, because everyone knows how crowded this battle was. Hannibal's remark, recorded in Livy, gives reason to believe that this was not foreseen by ordinary practice: when the Carthaginian commander heard that Paul ordered his cavalry to dismount, he said that with the same success, her soldiers could be led into battle by putting on chains on them.
Celts in battle. Drawing by J. Rava
This statement of his speaks of the uselessness of the use of dismounted cavalry in battle and also that the people of that time understood this. And yes, in fact: it is difficult to imagine such a large number of cavalry dismounted for battle. And where did they do with their horses? They were taken to the shelter, as the American dragoons did in the battles with the Indians, as it is shown to us in the westerns ?! In addition, the Celtic cavalry, dating back to the early empire, is always said to have fought on horseback. So it should be concluded that the real cavalry among the Celts existed, but was armed with a variety of weapons and was, most likely, Cossack lava, and not the same riding dragoons of the era of Peter the Great.
Celtic war chariot. Reconstruction.
Many Celtic bits have been found, most of which have bit rings. There is a sculptural image of a horseman with a round shield, clearly not Roman or Greek, and, therefore, this is a Celtic equestrian shield. The Celts used the same saddle as the Romans during the empire. This type, with a bifurcated front and rear bow, is depicted on the Gundestrup cauldron and on the Julius Monument at Saint-Remy, which dates from the end of the 1st century. BC. It depicts a battle between Celts and Romans. One of the horses fell and threw the rider; it must be a Celtic, because on triumphal Roman monuments, Roman soldiers were never depicted as perishing. Therefore, the bifurcated saddle belongs to the Celts, not the Romans. On the Gundestrup cauldron, the discs with which the Celts adorned the harness of their horses are clearly visible. Several such discs, made of silver, have been found in northern Italy; and the Romans then adopted this custom from them!
Celtic warriors conspire to attack an Etruscan city. Northern Italy, 375 BC Drawing by Angus McBride.
