Diodorus drew attention to the great length of the Celtic swords, especially compared to the much shorter Greek or Roman swords. At the same time, judging by their findings in 450 - 250 years. BC, the blades of the Celtic swords reached about 60 cm, that is, no longer than those that the Etruscans and Romans had at that time. Longer swords appeared with them only at the end of the 3rd century. BC, they used them until the 1st century. BC.
The Celts were great showers and braggart! Drawing by Angus McBride.
Archaeologists find Celtic swords in great numbers. They are considered in accordance with the accepted system of periodization of the La Tene period and typologized accordingly. Thus, the swords of the Laten I phase are attributed to the period 450-250 BC. BC. and they have a blade length from 55 to 65 cm. Although there are single samples of 80 cm. All of them are double-edged, have a pronounced point and belong to the piercing-chopping type. A characteristic feature of this type of swords is the specific shape of the head of the scabbard, which has the shape of a stylized letter U. The daggers have blades of different shapes: from wide, almost triangular, to narrow, like a stylet; their length is 25 - 30 cm.
Helmet, swords and spearheads belonging to Celtic warriors. Archaeological Museum of Saint-Germain, France.
During the Laten II phase (c. 250 - 120 BC), the blades of the swords extended. Now it was a weapon specifically for a chopping blow. The tip of the blade acquired a rounded shape, the length began to reach 75 - 80 cm, and the weight was 1 kg with the handle. The head of the scabbard has acquired a different shape. Nearly hundreds of such swords are obtained from a lake near the village of La Ten in Switzerland, and although some local differences can be noticed, it is obvious that they all belong to this period. The scabbard (usually made of iron) was made of two strips. The front was slightly wider than the back, and skirted around the edges. Their mouth was reinforced with a decorative overlay, and the tip reinforced their structure at the bottom.
Phase III (120-50 BC) differs in that the length of the blades increased even more and in some swords reached 90 cm. Long swords with a rounded tip and an iron sheath of this type are most often found in Britain.
Shank of a Celtic iron sword.
It seemed that the triumph of the Celts in Europe would not end, but the conquest of Gaul by Julius Caesar in 55 BC. put an end to it. In Britain, the Celtic subculture continued for another 150 years. The blades of swords of this time (phases of late IV) are shorter than those that were before - 55 - 75 cm. The scabbard received a forked tip in the form of a very flat inverted V.
Celtic warrior with a shield and spears with characteristic points. Illyrian situla from Vache (detail). Bronze. Around 500 BC NS. National Museum. Ljubljana.
The handles of the swords were made of wood, covered with leather, and therefore they practically have not survived to our time. The traditional shape of the handle was in the shape of the letter X, a kind of memory of the "antenna" swords of the Hallstatt era. Sometimes they were made in the form of a human figure with arms raised up. The later hilts of the Laten IV swords were often influenced by Roman influence, as evidenced by the discovery of the sword in the county of Dorset.
Diodorus writes that the Celts wore swords on the right side, hanging them on an iron or bronze chain. The length of such a chain ranged from 50 to 60 cm, and on one side it had a ring, and on the other - a hook. Peter Connolly believes that all this was arranged somewhat differently, as the description is confusing. In any case, there was a chain, there was a ring, there was a hook, and how we actually had to decide in the course of field experiments. Well, the belts themselves were made of leather and several such belts were again taken from the lake near La Ten.
Celts in battle. Drawing by Angus McBride.
It was customary to speak of the Celts as warriors who fought primarily with swords. But Diodorus also gives descriptions of Celtic spears, and their arrowheads are regularly found in burials. And here, in Connolly's opinion, the question arises: if there are so many arrowheads, then … it means that the Celts fought not so much with swords as with spears. We found three spears with a length of 2.5 m and these are clearly not darts! Darts are also found, but there are many very large tips that are not suitable for them. Moreover, Diodorus names the sizes of the spearheads: 45 cm and more, and such were indeed found, and one was 65 cm long!
Warrior with a shield and an ax. Illyrian situla from Vache (detail). Bronze. Around 500 BC NS. National Museum. Ljubljana.
Their shape was rather unusual: at first they expanded at the sleeve, then gradually narrowed towards the tip. Known and wavy tips, which Diodorus reports that they inflicted particularly dangerous wounds. It is also known that the Celts also adopted something from the Romans and, in particular, their famous pilum darts. They are found at the site of excavations of many Celtic settlements in southern Europe.
At the same time, Connolly believes that Diodorus is greatly exaggerating when he reports that the Celtic shield was as tall as a man. At La Ten, the remains of three shields, approximately 1.1 m high, have been found. Three shields discovered by archaeologists were made from oak wood. In the center, the thickness reached 1.2 cm, and at the edges it was less. On two of them, the traditional vertical rib, characteristic of Celtic shields, has been preserved. Umbon over the recess for placing the handle covered the hand from impact. At the same time, they were of different shapes, ranging from a simple metal rectangular strip nailed to the shield and its rib at the place of the handle, to booms resembling butterfly wings or a bow tie with a knot (bulge in the middle). A number of umbons resemble Roman ones: they are a flat base with holes for rivets and a hemisphere above it.
Horseman with a spear. Illyrian situla from Vache (detail). Bronze. Around 500 BC NS. National Museum. Ljubljana.
Were the shields covered in hide? A tree that was not covered with anything would crack from blows from a sword - this is the opinion of Peter Connolly. However, there are also shields without covering and, in his opinion, they were made especially for funerals. But the shields, which have a skin-tight fit and a leather or metal edge along the entire edge, are clearly combat ones. Such a shield could have a weight of 6-7 kg - a wooden base of 4 kg, plus 2 kg of leather, plus 250 g of an umbon.
The Battersea Shield, found at the Thames, is one of the most famous examples of ancient Celtic art found in Britain. It is a wooden shield covered with a thin sheet of bronze in the La Tène style. The shield is kept in the British Museum, and a copy is in the Museum of London. The dimensions of the shield: length - 77, 7 cm, width 34, 1-35, 7 cm. It is attributed to 350 - 50 years. BC NS. Well, they raised it from the bottom of the Thames River in London in 1857, during excavations at the Chelsea Bridge. The Battersea Shield is made of several pieces held together by rivets hidden under the decorative elements. The décor is in typical Celtic La Tene style and consists of circles and spirals. The shield is adorned with red enamel and looks very beautiful, but its bronze leaf, archaeologists say, is too thin to provide effective protection in battle, and there is no combat damage on it. Therefore, it is believed that this shield was thrown into the river as a sacrifice.
The apparent similarity between the Roman scutum and the Celtic shield suggests that they have a common origin. But Celtic is more ancient, and judging by the finds of the same umbons, you can see how it improved. Most of the Celtic shields are oval, and the early Roman scutums have the same shape, and with the same vertical rib. But there are also differences. For example, Roman shields found in Egypt in the Fayum oasis, the dimensions of which almost completely coincide with the dimensions of the Celtic shields (height 1.28 m and width 63.5 cm), were made using a completely different technology. If the Celtic ones are made of a single piece of wood, then the Roman ones are made of three layers of birch plates, 6-10 cm wide. They were glued together perpendicular to each other, and on top they were also pasted over with felt. The handle is horizontal. Polybius, however, reported that they were glued together from two rows of plates, and from above they were covered with a rough cloth, and then leather.
A Celt wearing a Waterloo helmet and a Battersea shield. Drawing by Angus McBride.
Peter Connolly reports that he made a replica of such a shield, and its weight turned out to be 10 kg. At first, this was considered incredible, since it was very difficult to use it. However, later practically the same shield was found in England, and it became obvious that these were by no means accidental finds, but that "it was so." And, by the way, it became clear why the same Diodorus believed that the Celtic shields were worse than the Roman ones. After all, although they were of the same design, it should be taken into account that a panel made of "plywood" will always be stronger than an all-wood one.
Another original find found in the Thames at Waterloo Bridge was the helmet known as the "Waterloo helmet", now adorned in the British Museum. It was made about 150-50 years. BC. Originally, this helmet had a shiny gold color and was adorned with red glass pins. It was unlikely to be used in combat and was probably a ceremonial headdress of some kind. This helmet is the only horned helmet in Europe. It was made of sheet bronze in parts, and then they were all joined together with bronze rivets. The decor on the front of the helmet is repeated on the back.
However, the shields of the Celts, judging by their images, could be rectangular, or hexagonal, or round. Diodorus reports that they were decorated with patterns made of bronze, but most likely they were simply painted with paints, and the bronze shields with a pattern on the surface were most likely ceremonial rather than military purpose.
The Battersea Shield is very popular in England. For example, a picture of him graces the cover of this 2015 £ 40 calendar.
