Lecture Programme

The first historical references to the people we know as the Celts occurred in the 5th century BC but the archaeological evidence extends several hundred years earlier, to the end of the Late Bronze Age. The earliest material remains of the Celts were discovered in cemeteries associated with the ancient salt-mining centre of Hallstatt in the Austrian Alps. In this lecture, we will examine the Classical sources and compare the information they give us with the results of archaeological exploration.

It was trade with the Mediterranean world, with the Greeks and the Etruscans in particular, which was the major factor in the emergence of Celtic civilization north of the Alps. The Celtic preoccupation with personal prestige and extravagant feasting led to the import of fine drinking vessels and the wine that went to fill them. Chiefs who could control this traffic in exotica were able to reap enormous profits as evident in the number of princely burials which can be found in the Rhineland and the upper reaches of the Rhône. In this lecture, we will examine these tombs, including the intact burial recently unearthed at Hochdorf in Germany.

The imported goods which began to flow into the Celtic world during the 7th century BC had an enormous impact on the development of Celtic society and Celtic art. The changes were profound and archaeologists have named the new phenomenon the La Tène Culture after the religious site in Switzerland where it was first identified in the last century. In this lecture, we will examine the site of La Tène and characteristic art of the period.

In 391 BC a Gallic army destroyed a Roman army on the banks of the Allia River and went on to capture the city itself-- an event which shattered Roman confidence and profoundly affected later attitudes to the Celts. Other warrior bands swept through the Balkans and on to Greece where they sacked the Sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi before crossing the Hellespont to settle in Asia Minor. The effects of this population explosion on both the Celts and their victims will be the subject of this lecture.

The Celts of Iron Age Europe reached their zenith in the 3rd century BC, controlling territory from the Atlantic seaboard to the heart of what is now Turkey. In this lecture, we will examine the nature of Celtic society during this crucial period in the light of the available historical and archaeological evidence.

There are a number of sources of information dealing with Celtic religious beliefs and practices. These include various Classical authors, who were more or less contemporary with the people they were studying, and the so-called 'vernacular' tradition of Ireland and Wales who wrote hundreds of years later. Each of these presents its own set of problems-- the Greek and Roman writers were outsiders and generally hostile, while the vernacular tradition was set down well after the Celts had converted to Christianity. In this lecture, we will try to make some sense out of the sources and reconstruct the religion of the pagan Celts.

Due to their insubstantial construction, few Celtic temples have survived but in recent years excavations have revealed a number of sacred sites, including large enclosures along with smaller shrines and sanctuaries. In this lecture, we will examine the results of this archaeological activity and compare it to the information available from the texts.

During the last century or so before the Roman conquest, cities and many of the other trappings of urban civilization were starting to emerge among the Celts of Gaul and southern Germany. Caesar referred to these new centres as oppida and a number of them have been excavated in recent years. In this lecture we will examine the sites of Bibracte and Manching.

Little was known of the peoples of the British Isles until Julius Caesar launched his first invasion of Britain in 55 BC. It was a land characterized by tribal chiefdoms and an chariot-driving aristocracy which had long ago disappeared on the Continent. Although poor by continental standards, Britain has produced much more in the way of settlement evidence including hundreds of hillforts, villages and even individual farmsteads. In this lecture, we will concentrate on the hillfort at Danebury and the smaller settlements of Little Woodbury and Chysauster.

The only areas largely untouched by the advance of Rome and were northern Britain and Ireland. Here, the pagan Celtic tradition continued down to the advent of Christianity in the early Middle Ages. The brochs, duns and wheelhouses of Scotland have been preserved throughout the Highlands and Islands and we will examine them and their inhabitants in this lecture.

The myths and legends of the Irish, compiled by native monks in the seventh century, are the earliest surviving literature of any pagan Celtic people. In this lecture we will examine the mythic traditions of the Irish and the traces that are found in the archaeological record.

Well, all good things must come to an end, and in this lecture we will examine the events that led to the final conquest of the Celts by the Romans in the years between 125 BC and 43 AD.

Suggested Reading