CELTS IN TRANSYLVANIA AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON THE

CULTURE OF LOCAL COMMUNITIES

Adrian Serbanescu

In part fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Arts in Archaeology,

University of Bradford

Word count: 11823

This dissertation is an unrevised examination copy for consultation only and it should not
be quoted or cited without the permission of the Head of Division

Division of AGES, School of Life Sciences

UNIVERSITY OF BRADFORD
 Abstract

The following dissertation focuses on the presence of the La Tène element in

Transylvania (Romania) and North-Western Romania. Its temporal focus is set between

the 4th and 1st centuries BC, two centuries for Celtic presence and another 150 years when

their influence is still present. Although the subject is very broad, the aim is to give a

picture of the Celtic presence in Transylvania by presenting general data about the Celtic

cemeteries and settlements with focus on key aspects that define Transylvanian La Tène.

All this in spite of the, so far, patchy archaeology that does not allow all important

questions to be answered. Aspects such as the presence of locals in Celtic settlements and

the reason the Celtic layer stops abruptly around 175 BC are not yet clarified. The

interaction between locals and invaders can be observed as well through material culture

and its symbolism and therefore a chapter about this was necessary. Here, the adoption of

a defensive war-gear item such as the chainmail which is a practical adaptation and the

admixture of artistic techniques and ideology on the other are presented to try and

construct an image of what must have been a complex society with mixed elements. The

interpretation of the aforementioned data leads to the conclusion that although there is

plenty of evidence for a La Tène Transylvania, plenty of questions are still unanswered

and further empirical research using modern methods as well as reinterpretations of

already known archaeology is the way forward.

2
 Table of Contents

Chapter 1. Introduction 6

1.1 Scientific importance 6

1.2 Geographical background 11

Chapter 2. Literature Review 13

2.1 Celts; Celtic ethnicity 13

2.2 Celtic migrations 19

2.2.1 Celtic arrival in Transylvania 23

Chapter 3. Celts in Transylvania 24

3.1 History of research 24

3.2 Chronology of the La Tène horizons in Transylvania 26

3.3 Funerary assemblages 29

3.3.1 The Piscolt necropolis 34

3.3.2 The ‘Prince’ from Ciumesti 39

3.3.3 Single Burials 45

3.4 Celtic settlement from Moresti 48

Chapter 4. Celtic Legacy 54

4.1 The chainmail 55

4.2 Celtic and Thracian art 57

4.2.1 Gundestrup Cauldron – a Thraco-Celtic mix 59

Chapter 5. Interpretations 63

Chapter 6. Conclusions 67

3
 List of figures

1.1 Map of Romanian Historical Provinces 9

1.2 Transylvania in Central and Eastern European context 10

1.3 Physical map of Romania 12

2.1 Venn Diagram with the correlation between the terms ‘Celt’ and ‘Gaul’ 17

2.2 Celtic migrations 22

3.1 Chronology of the Celtic horizons in Transylvania 28

3.2 Chronology of Celtic cemeteries in Transylvania 29

3.3 Celtic cemeteries in Central-Eastern Europe 31

3.4 Types of ceramics found in La Tène graves 33

3.5 La Tène and local artifacts in Celtic cemeteries from Transylvania 33

3.6 Piscolt cemetery – overview 35

3.7 Piscolt cemetery – phases 2 and 3 37

3.8 Grave no. 10 from Piscolt 38

3.9 Initial inventory of the ‘princely’ grave from Ciumesti 40

3.10 Part of the inventory from the ‘princely’ grave from Ciumesti 41

3.11 Helme mit verstärkter kalotte distribution 42

3.12 Helme mit verstärkter kalotte – examples 43

3.13 Silivas helmet with late Vegetal motifs 46

3.14 Late Vegetal Style helmets 47

3.15 Investigated Celtic settlements in Transylvania 49

3.16 Moresti pots types 51

3.17 Moresti shallow bowls 51

3.18 Moresti deep bowls 52

4
3.19 Moresti jars and cups 52

4.1 Chainmail types 56

4.2 Fibula with nodes 69

4.3 Gundestrup Cauldron – details 61

4.4 Dacian helmets 62

5
 Chapter 1. Introduction

1.1 Scientific importance

This dissertation proposes to approach a very delicate and complex subject, the

Celtic presence in Transylvania and the interaction these peoples had with the local

inhabitants in the light of new, modern interpretations made by a new generation of

archaeologists of older and recently discovered sites and artifacts. Of course, this paper

will only scratch the surface of such a vast domain of study but, hopefully, after finishing

reading this document the reader will have a good knowledge of the subject and a solid

scientific understanding of the processes that Transylvania went through during this

timeframe from an archaeological/historical point of view.

The way this will be achieved is by attempting to reach its aims by carefully

discussing the proposed objectives.

The aims are as follows:

- to determine the patterns and scale of the Celtic settlement of Transylvania;

- to understand the interaction between Celts and the local population, a non-

Mediterranean population;
- to determine how influential were the Celts during their presence here;
- to determine if they had any influence upon the later development of the province.

To reach these aims the following objectives have been proposed:

6
 - to discuss and understand the terms ‘Celtic’ and ‘La Tène’ in order to identify

Celtic presence in Transylvania;

- to understand the interaction between the two groups a presentation of several

funerary assemblages will be made as they are a vital source for the period;
- to present a typical Celtic settlement with indigenous elements;
- to study the chainmail adoption by local populations across south-east Europe in

order to observe how the Celts influenced local warfare even after they disappear

from the archaeological context;

- to give a general overview of art and ideology for both cases and present an

artifact that combines local and Celtic ideology and craftsmanship and possibly

represents the result of centuries of co-habitation;

Methods used: this is a desk based research and all the work is desk based. This

implies the study of:

- ancient historical sources;

- key authors for both Continental Celts and Transylvanian Celts in particular;
- archaeological reports and similar documents when available;
- maps, aerial photographs and other graphical tools.

The scientific importance of the subject relies on its impact upon the central and

south-eastern European La Tène, an area for which there are no direct written sources and

only archaeology can shed light upon this. Admixture of populations with their material

culture and spiritual beliefs resulted in a continuous transformation of the European map

and this particular area is no exception to the rule. Trying to determine how the Celts

interacted with a population like the Dacians is important because working out patterns

about the Celts’ interaction with other “barbarian” populations can reveal more about the

Celts themselves as well as the non-Mediterranean populations they encountered and the

7
types of relations that were established. It can also be a good research exercise about

actually defining Celts, the Dacians and the subject of ‘ethnicity’ in the Iron Age.

The area in question is part of a larger context of early eastern expansion that

includes territories from today’s Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and

countries from ex-Yugoslavia as well as Bulgaria. The multitude of countries and

languages across which the ancient Celts spread makes it difficult for the scholar to bring

together all the information required to create a meaningful picture of the late La Tène

period in that part of Europe. Nonetheless, in recent years new evidence has been brought

forth and slowly a different image of the eastern Celts and the population that interacted

with them is starting to form.

Our area of interest, Transylvania, is part of modern-day Romania and it is

thought at the time to have been occupied by Dacians when the Celtic populations arrived

(Condurachi and Daicoviciu 1971, 81-83). An overview of the province in geographical

terms is required to better understand the context in which the contact between Celts and

natives took place.

8
 Figure 1.1 Map of Romanian historical provinces. For this study along with
Transylvania, the provinces of Maramures an d Crisana (north-western Romania)
will be treated together (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transylvania : Andrei Nacu 2007).

9
Figure 1.2 Transylvania in Central and Eastern European context. Note the red
highlighted area towards which the arrow is pointing (From
http://goeasteurope.about.com/od/introtoeasteuropetravel/ig/Maps-of-Eastern-
Europe/Map-of-Eastern-Europe.htm: Kerry Kubilius 2014, with additions).

10
 1.2 Geographical background

Geographically, the region is a plateau with medium altitudes of 300-500 meters

drained by several important rivers (Mures, Somes, Cris and Olt) and it is surrounded by

the Carpathian Mountains on all sides, to the east and north, the Oriental Carpathians

spread with altitudes of maximum 2302 meters in Rodnei Mountains, to the south The

Meridional Carpathians or more commonly known as the Transylvanian Alps with

altitudes often of 2500 or more, the highest peak being Moldoveanu (2544m) in the

Fagaras Mountains; to the west lies a smaller, older, geologically more varied part of the

Carpathians – the Western Carpathians. The last group is very important due to the rich

natural resources, gold, iron and other metals can be found there still today in large

quantities.

For this paper, the surrounding smaller provinces of Crisana and N-W Romania

will be included in the general term Transylvania. So therefore it was a plateau naturally

protected by the Carpathians in which one can enter through one of the valleys of the

afore-mentioned rivers or through high mountain passes. This is one aspect that made

archaeologists assume that migrating populations who passed through or settled here

came along river valleys. Such is the case for the Celts. Archaeologists starting with I. H.

Crisan onwards formulated the theory that Celtic movement happened through the

valleys of Somes to the N-W and Mures to the S-W while newer theories propose that the

entrance in Transylvania was made only through the valley of the river Mures (Vaida

2007, 125).

11
Figure 1.3 Physical map of Romania. Note the valleys of rivers Somes and Mures as
natural gates to Transylvania from N-W and, respectively, S-W (From
http://hartaromania.wordpress.com/ 2009)

12
 Chapter 2. Literature Review

2.1 Celts; Celtic ethnicity

The debate on whether one should use the term Celt and in which circumstances

this term should be used is rather heated as there seem to be a large number of

interpretations that scholars use depending on many factors. There are, as well, different

conceptions of the term itself and if one goes into detail will end up discussing and

questioning notions like “ethnicity”, “race” and how do these apply practically (see

Megaw and Megaw 1996; Collis 2003; Cunliffe 1999) on groups of people as

representatives of different material cultures and cultural groups in terms of archaeology

and, moreover, upon individuals and how they see themselves in different contexts. It is a

very complex discussion with different facets and in many cases is influenced by the

participants’ background and own beliefs. As the matter of insular Celts is not relevant to

the subject of this dissertation it will not be treated here. Only the understanding of

continental Celts will be approached.

To start such a discussion, even a brief one as this dissertation proposes, a look

back into historical sources is the first step that should be undertaken. All the while one

should keep in mind that all the sources available are not original, but have been re-

written over and over and some were lost and only quoted by later authors (Cunliffe

1999); similarly one should try to stay away from the bias of those ancient authors. There

13
is the need to mention that all authors are part of the Graeco-Roman world and they

impose their ideologies upon how the Celts are and should be seen.

The Celts have been mentioned in history under different names starting with late

6th century BC when Hecateus of Miletus is the first one to mention them inland from the

coast of Massalia (Marseilles) and he notes that they were enemies of the Ligurians

(Dobesch 1991, 30). Herodotus, around 400 BC, writes that the source of the river

Danube lies in Celtic territory thus giving a first idea about the lands occupied by Celts at

the time (Dobesch 1991, 31). More detailed sources are Julius Caesar and his ‘De Bello

Gallico’, Poseidonius of Apameia, Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Livius (Livy) and

Pompeius Trogus who is known to be of Celtic origins. All of them can be placed in the

1st century BC, “the zenith of writing on the Celts” (Collis, 2003, 20). The last author to

speak of Celts as an “ethnic entity” is Sidonius Apollinaris in the 5 th century AD (Collis

1997, 197) while Isidore of Seville (560-630 AD) already speaks of the Celtiberians in

the past tense (Collis 2003, 21).

Subsequently, for more than a millennia the Celts disappear from the world only

to be rediscovered in the 16th century. Collis (1997, 2003) as well as many other authors

like Cunliffe (1999) and Kruta (2001) when talking about re-emerging of the Celts in

literature and ancient history note that writers such as George Buchanan (1506-1582),

William Stukeley (1687-1765), Paul-Yves Pezron (1539-1706) are among those that

started “Celtomania”. ‘Les Celtomanes’, the ones who viewed Celts in a romantic way

were followed by a 19th century movement in which nationalism was the key term. By

comparison, a similar tendency was present in Romania in regards to the Dacians.

Examples here start with Nicolae Densusianu, a 19 th century historian who brought forth

14
the idea of a Dacian state in his book ‘Dacia Preistorica’ and was followed by the likes

of Vasile Parvan, Constantin Giurescu - ‘Istoria Romanilor’(2011 is the most recent

edition) and others who followed in their footsteps. Today, a pseudo-scientific current

keeps these views alive and its adepts are labeled as “Dacomans”. Napoloeon Savescu is

one of the main figures surrounding this current and is the author of the book ‘Noi nu

suntem urmasii Romei’ (2002) which can be translated as ‘We are not descendants of

Rome’ and tries to prove that Romanians are not descendants of Rome but of the Dacian

people. In the views of the author of the current paper, both of these theories, the pure

Roman and pure Dacian ideas are simplistic and cannot be, with the present evidence,

proved or disproved.

Modern views of Celts have started to change once clear connections have been

made between archaeological finds and ancient writings, or, more precisely, once the 17 th

and 18th century doctrine has been disqualified by archaeology. Collis (2003) believes

that when trying to define the ancient Celts one should start with the “most accurate” data

from historical sources not with the oldest and therefore he proposes (Collis 2003, 101)

five Venn diagrams try and address the matter of equivalence between the terms

Keltoi/Celtae and Galatai/Galli from which the last one, entitled ‘Modern’ proposes that

“all Gauls are Celts but only some Celts are Gauls” (figure 2.1). Collis’ opinion about

Celtic ethnicity is that it has been used to suit different purposes and addressed from

culture-group perspective in archaeological terms in the belief that La Tène = Celtic and

vice-versa. This cannot be proven, although it can be proven that what is labeled as the

La Tène culture emerged, at least partially from Celtic territory. He does state however

that there is not just one point of emergence but rather that it is multi-centered and

15
different La Tène objects originate in different areas. Cunliffe (1999) also notes that

speakers of a Celtic language may have not been part of the La Tène culture. Therefore

Collis (2003) notes differences in this material culture but also similarities among items

such as brooches and decoration motifs and considers that a better understanding would

come from considering population in prehistory as more mobile with individuals and

groups moving about continuously. His solution is to study more carefully the mode of

production and exchange (Collis 2003, 194).

Collis (2003, 224) further says that “races were thought to have characteristic

features such as religion, social structure, language etc. and this leads to racial

stereotyping” and that leads to the concept of the “timeless Celt” which he regards as

being wrong: when it comes to ethnicity the key element should be self-definition,” we

are what we think we are” rather than “we are what others think we are” (Collis 2003,

228) and it all depends on the context.

16
 Figure 2.1 Venn diagram showing the correlation between the terms ‘Celt’ and
‘Gaul’ (From Collis 2003,).

17
 For example, and this idea is drawn from the article written by the Megaws

(1996), in the context of my neighborhood I am from a certain street, in my city I am

from a certain neighborhood, when I travel in my province I am seen as being

“bucurestean” (meaning from Bucharest, my home town) and when I travel about in my

country I am seen as a “Wallachian”, the province where Bucharest is situated. But when

I travel outside my country I am seen only as a Romanian since people cannot relate to

more detailed information. And then, what am I? I am all that and I answer according to

the context. But if there were no Wallachia and no Romania I would be ultimately

“bucurestean” and therefore would label myself not provincially or as belonging to a

nation but to something similar to a tribe and this is how things might have been in

antiquity. So someone else from a different part, region of Romania today would seem

similar to me in the eyes of foreigners and, since there is no name for the whole that

incorporates all Romanians, let’s say for the sake of argument, the other Romanian was

from Transylvania and was known to the literate world first, I then would be labeled as

Transylvanian as well. Probably, in time, others will be labeled as well (Transylvanian)

and it will become a term used for all Romanians. This might be an analogy to how the

term Celt became the name of a full range of populations without actually all of them

calling themselves that. Now… what happens if some groups are labeled wrongly due to

lack of knowledge, similarities between certain groups or just sheer ignorance?

The conclusion is that even though Celt/Keltoi might be an arbitrary term that was

later adopted even by Celts themselves not having but tribal, or, better said, local names

to label themselves the fact that, at least some of these groups are related remains and it

can be observed in language or/and material culture. Some Celtic groups may have

18
started to speak a different language at some point during their history for some reason

while others spoke a Celtic tongue continuously but did not adhere to the La Tène culture

for other reasons.

2.2 Celtic Migrations

In discussing migration of population there is need of a more modern

understanding of the whole process. It is not just a movement of a group from point A to

point B. As Julius Caesar mentions in his account of “The Gallic Wars” (2009)

throughout the first book, en-mass migrations needed careful planning, it was not

something decided overnight. The account of the Helvetii attempt to settle further south is

important in understanding such movements. According to him, the decision was made

years prior to the actual migration, political and social activities were undertaken by the

ones who initiated the process and a sound strategy regarding the route and resources

available as well as negotiating with the populations encountered on the way was needed.

It is known that population groups in the Iron Age, and the European La Tène

area is no exception here, were very mobile and on different levels at the same time.

The reasons behind Celtic migrations that started at about 400 BC have been a

heated subject for debate in the past and still is, but here there will be no focusing on

“why?” but on “how?” and, in our case of study, to try and assess some of the

consequences of these migrations.

19
 The Celts were not known very well to the Mediterranean populations, literate by

all means, until what is called “the historical expansion of the Celts” started (Sankot

1991, 294). A very early, dating to the late 6 th century BC, is that of the so-called

Golasecca culture in Northern Italy where Celto-Etruscan inscriptions appear showing at

least some Celtic linguistic influence, and what can be deduced from that, if not more

(Kruta 2001, 94). Cunliffe (1999, 70) considers that the language was called “Lepontic”

and it was closely related to “Celtic”. This supports some folk movements across the Alps

and during the three centuries before the Celtic migration of 400 BC the area went

through a process of “Celticisation”.

Migrations to the south are recorded from the 5 th century BC and authors such as

Polybius and Livy suggest that between the Golasecca territory and that of the Etruscans

there might have been Celts settled. Although this has not been proven it cannot be

dismissed as a possibility (Cunliffe 1999, 71).

After this period the migrations start and the first one starts with Celts pouring

down through the high passes of the Alps looking to settle in the Italian Peninsula. A

large number of tribes, Insubres, Cenomani, Boii, Lingones, Senones settled in Northern

Italy from from north to south (Cunliffe 1999, 72).

Perhaps the most important battle of the ancient world (in the author’s opinion)

took place in 390 BC at the river Allia where the army of the Celtic confederacy

destroyed, so mentions Livy, that of the Romans and sacked the city and destroyed

everything but the defended Capitol (Cunliffe 1999, 76). This battle was to be decisive in

the changing of the way the Romans waged war. The remnant unit of classical hoplite in

20
phalanxes that has proven to be the cause of the defeat, not being efficient on the varied

geography of the Italian Peninsula, was to be replaced by more mobile troops, the

legionnaires in what was the Camillan reform of the Roman army.

The spreading of the Celtic population towards East in Bohemia (named after the

Celtic tribe Boii) is recorded archaeologically by the replacement of the Hallstatt local

populations’ burial rites with ‘flat tombs’ associated with the newly arrived Celts as well

as the destruction of the oppidum at Zavist (as a clear example of the change of the ruling

elite) between the second and fourth quarter of the 5 th century BC (Sankot 1991, 294).

From the same source comes the information that, associated with these “flat tomb”

burials was found a new repertoire of grave goods specific to the new aristocracy in the

area.

Going further into South-East, still in today’s Czech Republic, there is evidence

for further movement of these populations into Moravia in the second half of the 4 th

century BC. The same archaeological evidence of “flat tomb” cemeteries that appear

along with specific grave goods among which, as in the previous case of Bohemia with

items such as bronze and iron fibulae, necklaces, armlets, bracelets and ankle rings as

well as pottery. Swords, lances and shields make up the inventory for the warrior burials

which are present in large numbers in early cemeteries (Cizmar 1991, 299).

The last stop before arriving in Transylvania is the Western Carpathian Basin.

The population here was, during late Hallstatt, of Thracian culture associated

archaeologically with the Vekerzug group (Bujna and Szabo 1991, 305). Some opinions

21
even go as far as to say that elements of Dacian culture were assimilated by the early

Celts that arrived in today’s Slovakia (Szabo 1991, 508).

The Celtic presence in the Carpathian Basin is similar to that of the previous

provinces mentioned above. There were two waves, a smaller one in scale at the

beginning of the 4th century BC and a larger one later in the same century which the

author considers colonialist in motivation. In cemeteries the bodies were laid with the

head pointing south and the grave goods were closely linked with the peoples of North-

East Austria (Bujna and Szabo 1991, 303).

2.2 Celtic migrations. Note the approximate date of 320 BC for their arrival in
Transylvania (From Cunliffe 1999, 71).

22
 2.2.1 Celtic arrival in Transylvania

Thus we arrive in Transylvania following on the footsteps of the ancient Celts.

Miklos Szabo’s opinion is that they were pushed here by the Macedonians (Szabo 1991,

307). The general opinion (Cunliffe 1999, 80) is that they were settled in Transylvania at

the time when the historian Strabo mentions the envoys of Alexander the Great meeting

the Celts from the Adriatic region in 335 BC (figure 2.2). A second Celtic embassy that

meets Alexander the Great in Babylon is recorded by Arrian in 323 BC (Cunliffe 1999,

80).

Another historical account of Celts present near Transylvania is that of Pompeius

Trogus according to whom the Celts were so many that large parts of their population had

to leave: “Namque Galli abundante multitudine, cum eos non caperent terrae, quae

genuerant, CCC milia hominum ad sedes nouas quaerendas uelut uer sacrum miserunt”

(Marcus Justinus XXIV, 4). Some settled in Italy and conquered Rome while others went

east following the birds, passed through the Illyrian gulfs and finally settled in Pannonia

after defeating the local populations. Although it is not a definite account of Celts settling

in Transylvania, the correlation between the branch that went south and reached Rome by

390 BC and the branch that made it to Pannonia would allow one to make the deduction,

based on archaeological evidence, that they reached Transylvania sometime in the second

half of the 4th century BC (Rustoiu 2008a, 67).

23
 Chapter 3. Celtic presence in Transylvania

3.1 History of research

The history of archaeological research of Celtic presence in Transylvania is by no

means different to research of Celts elsewhere in Central Europe and has been influenced

by both social and political factors as well as scientific ones such as technological or

ideological breakthroughs. Iosif Vasile Ferencz (2007) gives a very good account of the

current and past situations on the subject and it will be used as the main source for this

sub-chapter. As in many other countries across Europe the first step into archeological

research was done by antiquarians who were interested in acquiring artifacts for personal

or museum collections.

In 1898, the scholar Paul Reineke acknowledges that there was a Celtic presence

in Transylvania during the Iron Age (Ferencz 2007, 37). He is the first one to do so. At

the beginning of the next century L. Marton becomes known for making two discoveries

at Hateg – a helmet and a collar of La Tène origins (Ferencz 2007, 37). Regarding the

historical part of the subject, Vasile Parvan is the one that gathers together all the writings

from antiquity that relate to this (Ferencs 2007, 37).

In 1942 “Mormantul de la Silivas” or “The grave from Silivas” is published by

Roska Marton. It contains a very famous helmet with Waldalgesheim motifs. Recent

research done by Aurel Rustoiu (2013a) tries to shed a new light upon the artifacts and

24
will be later discussed in this dissertation. In 1944 a repertoire containing all the Celtic

finds in Transylvania is published.

Following the development of archaeological research, as it was at the time,

theories about the arrival of Celts in Transylvania are brought forward and Ion Nestor as

well as Vasile Parvan proposed a model where the penetration in Transylvania happened

along two major river valleys: Mures and Somes (Ferencz 2007, 39). Their theories are

based on the fact that the first La Tène cemeteries were an extension of the Celtic

presence in Central Hungary. They were outside the Carpathian Basin and, since many

important settlements inside Transylvania were on the valleys of the two rivers

(especially on the river Mures) or close to them, opinions were formed about the route the

first Celtic settlers took. This line of thinking is also followed by Constantin Daicoviciu

(Ferencz 2007, 39).

An important step in the continental integration of the studies done in Romania

is the inclusion of Celtic finds of La Tène origins in Paul Jacobsthal’s work published by

the Oxford University in 1944. Starting with the 1950s field work began to be more

intense. In the 6th and 7th decade systematic digging took place and was followed by the

publication of the reports in most of the cases (Ferencz 2007, 41).

The above development of research was a result of the interest that the

Communist Party had in the Dacian kingdoms of 1st century BC to the 2nd century AD and

research on the Celtic presence was a secondary line of research. Once the interest started

to fade in the 1980s, the archaeological work regarding our subject has faded as well but

archaeologists like Ioan Horatiu Crisan, Ioan Glodariu and Vlad Vintila Zirra continued

25
their work and inspired new generations of future archaeologists. Therefore starting with

the late 80s and 90s there is a new generation of archaeologists who are preoccupied by

the second phase of the Iron Age and especially with the Celtic presence in Transylvania.

Among these are Aurel Rustoiu (2002, 2008), Dan Lucian Vaida (2003), Iosif Vasile

Ferencz (2007) and Sandor Berecki (2008, 2009) whose works are important sources for

this dissertation.

3.2 Chronology of La Tène horizons in Transylvania

The chronology of the Celtic settlements in Transylvania has been debated for,

roughly a century, starting with P. Reineke in 1902 (Berecki 2008a, 49). Starting as early

as the 19th Century, archeologists have tried to establish a chronology for the La Tène

period. The one that is presented here is the result of historical and archaeological finds

being correlated across Europe. Of course, the present chronology regards only

Transylvania and other parts of the Carpathian basin but it is drawn from a larger context.

Berecki (2008a) has surmised Celtic presence in four periods: Lt. B1b, Lt. B2a, Lt. B2b

and Lt. C1 spanning over close to two centuries from roughly 335 BC to 175 BC. The

cemetery at Piscolt includes all four phases therefore was an important factor in

establishing this table.

- Lt. B1b is the first horizon that reflects a Celtic presence in Transylvania. Drawn

from historical sources being correlated with archeological finds the result is a La

26
 Tène presence in Transylvania during the second half of the 4 th Century BC. The

date of 335 was chosen due to historical account by Ptolemy of Celtic envoys

meeting with Alexander. Berecki, in the same article from 2008 notes that the

artifacts that enabled the construction of the chronological table are brooches,

mainly of Dux (or Duchov) and Münsingen types, and bracelets, items that reflect

fashion and change their appearance relatively often (Berecki 2008a, 51-52).
- Lt. B2a belongs to the third generation of Celts present here and is heavily related

to the Celtic mercenary period that followed the death of Alexander the Great.

Nine brooches and seven bracelets from this period are known so far (Berecki

2008a, 54). Also, the famous helmet from Silivas (Alba County), crafted in the

Waldalgesheim (or Vegetal) style belongs to this period (Berecki 2008a, 56).
- Lt. B2b represents the third horizon which is characterized by a demographic

explosion most likely cause by an invasion (a second wave of colonization) from

the Balkans following the Celtic expedition in the Balkans that resulted, among

other setbacks, in the defeat at Delphi in 279 BC. Artifacts that define this period

are: 26 brooches and 31 bracelets. Also, ten swords have been allocated after

dating to this timeframe (Berecki 2008a, 58).

- Lt. C1 is characterized by middle La Tène bronze and iron brooches, big ball-

bracelets and belts with “eights”. Specific to this period are also three types of

vessels: the big pot, the deep bowl and the jar (Berecki 2008a, 59).

The Celtic horizon ends in an abrupt manner and is replaced by a different

horizon belonging to the Padea - Panagjurski Kolonii cultural group. The demise of the

Transylvanian Celts is still a mystery but many different hypotheses have been

formulated so far, none of them being confirmed or completely dismissed.

27
Figure 3.1 The absolute and relative chronology of the Celtic horizons in Transylvania

(From Berecki 2008a, 60).

In the same article Sandor Berecki presents a table with the lifespan of the most

important Celtic cemeteries and the burial rites utilized during the four phases. Specific

for the first two horizons is the cremation in pit and rarely in urn that is most common.

Inhumation graves appear in the third horizon, when cremation in urns disappears but

they too (inhumation graves) disappear during the last phase. The cemetery at Piscolt

who is in use during the whole time period is a specific case where in every one of the

four phases all types of burial are present in larger or smaller proportions (Berecki 2008a,

51). The following table is from the aforementioned article and shows for how long were

different cemeteries in use:

28
 Figure 3.2 The chronology of Celtic cemeteries in Central Transylvania (From Berecki

2008a, 58).

3.3 Funerary Assemblages

In Trasnylvania (including Banat and Crisana) some 70 cemeteries and isolated

graves have been discovered so far with a total of 500 graves (Mandescu 2012, 344).

Since it would be impossible to treat them all, or even part of them, an encounter of the

Piscolt cemetery will be made, as well as a discussion of the impressive grave with the

totemic helmet from the Ciumesti necropolis and a presentation of single burials that

contained impressive artifacts.

However, before proceeding to discuss the Piscolt cemetery a short presentation

of the known La Tène cemeteries in Transylvania should be made. The diversity of the

graveyards associated with Celtic presence is undisputable and ‘the internal organization

of the sacred space’ – a set of rules or norms that a community abides by in burying their

dead – is present in the case of only a few cemeteries and they differ from case to case

29
(Berecki 2009, 15) and this might be used to ague a case for different Celtic groups

settling here which, both Rustoiu (2008a) and Berecki (2008a) have done.

In terms of geography the placement of such holy places is varied as well. The

Ciumesti cemetery is placed on the top of a sand dune while in other cases, for example –

Fantanele is situated on a terrace while others are on promontories Even though the

geomorphological features might have varied there was a resemblance in the fact that the

graveyards were situated on prominent heights, albeit not the highest peaks in the region

but definitely on predominant micro-relief froms (Berecki 2009, 16).

The newcomers seemed to prefer sandy soils. Most of their cemeteries

have been discovered in sand quarries. This is not a particularly positive aspect in terms

of archaeology because in some cases observations such as the delimitation of the pit or

other features are impossible (Berecki 2009, 17).

30
Figure 3.3 Celtic Cemeteries in Central-Eastern Europe. The highlighted area represents

Transylvania and north-western Romania while the arrows are the directions which the

Celts took during their expansion. Legend: white dots – cemeteries starting with Lt.

B1/B2; black dots – cemeteries starting with Lt. B2 or later (From Rustoiu and Ursutiu

2013b, 78 with additions).

The inventories of the graves contained specific La Tène items but they also

contained local hand-made pottery in contradiction with the La Tène pottery which was

mostly wheel-thrown and Ioan Horatiu Crisan was among those who proposed an

31
integration of the locals within Celtic communities based on this observation (Crisan

1975, 185-186). In more recent researches where the quantity of ceramics finds can be

assessed better Crisan et al observes that the hand-made local ceramic at the site of La

Seusa in Alba County predominates although the La Tène products are of better quality.

This is the case for many other sites, both necropolis and settlements, such as Ciumesti,

Piscolt, Sebes, Medias, Prunis etc. (Crisan et al 1995, 39).

Another theory proposed by Sandor Berecki (2004, 85-86) states that exchange

between locals and Celts can be an explanation for the local hand-made pottery found in

La Tène sites but does not exclude the possibility of admixture between locals and Celts

especially in sites with a long period of inhabitance. He also mentions that there is clear

evidence for Celtic hand-made pottery (Berecki 2004, 86). Other archaeologists including

Aurel Rustoiu (2008a, 89) observe that the hand-made pottery found in Celtic contexts

represents a clear continuation for the local Hallstatt period and indicates clearly the

admixture between the two groups or at least that the hand-made pottery is of local

origins.

Out of the 500 graves labeled as La Tène in Transylvania 11% (55) contained

weapons (Mandescu 2012, 344). Usually, Celtic arsenal contained the “triple panoply”:

sword, shield and spear (Sankot 1991, 300) and similar situations have been found in

Transylvania with swords and spears more often present than shields.

Throughout the La Tène horizon in Europe ritually bent weapons have been found

often. In Transylvania almost half of the graves with weapons had ritually bent or

destroyed weapons (Mandescu 2012, 344).

32
 Figure 3.4 Types of ceramics found in La Tène graves. 1 – typical local hand-

made pottery, 2-3 – wheel thrown pottery (From Crisan et al. 1995, 30).

Figure 3.5 La Tène and local artifacts found in Celtic cemeteries in the Carpathian Basin

(From Zirra1975, 56).

33
 3.3.1 The Piscolt necropolis

Piscolt cemetery has been a point of interest for more than a half century due to

the high number of archaeological finds that span from Neolithic to early centuries AD

and further into the medieval period. It is situated in the Satu Mare County in north-

western part of Romania.

Excavations at the La Tène site started in 1970 and spanned more than 30 years

with large periods of inactivity. The importance of the site resides in that it is one of the

two cemeteries, along with Fantanele, that spans throughout the whole period of Celtic

presence in Transylvania and that it has a large number of graves – 186. The cemetery

was placed on top of a previous Bronze Age necropolis (Berecki 2009, 17).

The cemetery has two different phases and spans from Lt. B1 until the

disappearance of the Transylvanian Celts from Archaeological context during the Lt. C1

period estimated around 175 BC.

The first phase belongs to the period 335-276 BC (Lt. B1 – until the end of Lt.

B2a) and has three types of burial: inhumation, cremation in urn and cremation in pit

(Rustoiu 2008a, 89). Starting with Lt. B2b (276 BC) a new group of people (and Rustoiu

(2008a) argues that they might be remnants from the Celtic expedition in the Balkans that

failed with the defeat at Delphi) arrives, as well of La Tène culture and uses the southern

part of the cemetery. The newly arrived preferred inhumation while the previously settled

group used a mixture of all three rites.

34
 Figure 3.6 Piscolt cemetery – overview. Legend: black dots – graves from Lt. B1

and Lt.B2; white dots – graves from Lt. C1 (after Rustoiu 2008a, 88).

35
 Although initially it was thought that there was a difference between locals and

Celts when it comes to burial rites, that locals preferred cremation in urn while Celts

preferred either inhumation or cremation in pit (Crisan 1966, 76), current archaeologists

refrain from making such assumptions due to lack of clear evidence to sustain any theory.

It is assumed, however, that the diversity of funerary rites in Celtic graveyards might

reflect that groups from different La Tène areas as well as locals being present in the

same community (Ferencz 2007, 72). Another aspect that burials in north-western

Romania and Transylvania have in common is that they are bi-ritual and flat (Ferencz

2007, 72). This is the case as well for Piscolt cemetery.

Along with the pottery and other artifacts some burials contained weapons. At

Piscolt (unlike Fantanele, the other cemetery used throughout the Celtic presence in

Transylvania) graves with full sets of weapons including swords, lances or spears and

shields are present from the early phases of the necropolis, while at Fantanele they are

only present in later phases, that occur after the Balkan expedition (Rustoiu 2008a, 91). It

is relatively common to discover that the swords have been bent and thus destroyed

during the funerary ritual. As well, there is a differentiation between graves regarding

weaponry: while some have full sets, others have only swords or spears and this might

lead to the conclusion that there was a hierarchy among the warriors buried here and

elsewhere in Transylvania (Rustoiu 2008a, 91).

A curious case is that of grave no. 158 where the suspension chain of a scabbard

has been found next to the burial but not in the pit. The other weapon found, a spear head

was found present in the burial pit (Rustoiu 2008a, 91).

36
Figure 3.7 Piscolt cemetery – phases 2 and 3. Legend: 1 – cremation in pit; 2 – cremation

in urn; 3 – inhumation; 4 – undetermined (after Rustoiu 2008a, 89).

37
 Yet another interesting grave is grave no. 108 from Piscolt. The reason is that the

remains of a chariot have been found

along with many other artifacts. The

grave had a rectangular shape with

rounded corners and the artifacts were

found at 1.35 meters below ground

level (Ferencz 1996, 92). The remains

are metal parts like nails, plaques,

studs or clips. The fact that most

artifacts found were adornments such

as: beads, bracelets and brooches as

well as the absence of any kind of

weaponry might point to the fact that

the grave belongs to a female. This is

not a unique case in the La Tène

world; in fact there have been a

number of cases where women have

been buried with chariots or chariot

parts (Ferencz 1996, 93).

Figure 3.8 Grave 108 from Piscolt - inventory (from Ferencz 1996, 99).

The Wetwang burial with a cart that belongs also to a woman is an example and it

comes from the other extremity of the Celtic world, the Atlantic one (Hill 2002, 411).

38
 3.3.2 The ‘Prince’ from Ciumesti.

Ciumesti is a small settlement in the north-western part of Romania that was

unknown to the world before 10th of August 1961. It was then that, by accident, workers

from a sand quarry discovered the grave. The finds, including the unique iron helmet with

the bronze raven, the remains of a chainmail, a spearhead or lance head and a pair of

greaves have been taken to the local museum but some other possible artifacts were lost

because of the circumstances of the discovery (Rustoiu 2008a, 13).

A systematic research of the area has been conducted by M. Rusu between 1961

and 1965 that unearthed a La Tène necropolis containing 32 graves as follows: seven

inhumation graves, 21 cremations in pit and four cremations in urn (Rustoiu 2008a, 13).

Therefore, the “princely” tomb that contained the helmet among others was not a singular

burial but was part of a cemetery. Arguments have been made about the date of the

cemetery and in recent years it was established that it belonged to Lt. B2b and Lt. C1, so

it starts after 275 BC and it is correspondent to phases III and IV from the neighboring La

Tène cemetery at Piscolt (Rustoiu 2008a, 13). It could be the result of a newly arrived

group, maybe returning or just arriving from the Balkan Expedition.

The grave with the rich finds presented no bone traces and the theory of a

symbolic burial was proposed but, in 1973, T. Bader from the local museum traced and

managed to obtain the rest of the inventory (an iron belt, parts from an iron fibula, two

ceramic vessels, fragments from the chainmail as well as the cheek protector from the

helmet and other metallic remains). Inquiring about the finds it was revealed that burnt

bone fragments were found and that some of the artifacts presented traces of burning

39
while others apparently had not so it was assumed that only part of the inventory was

burnt with the deceased. All the clues seem to point out that it was a cremation in pit

(Rustoiu 2008a, 17).

Figure 3.9 Initial inventory

from the “princely” grave

from Ciumesti. Legend:

1 – Helmet with bird of prey,

2 – spear or lance head,

3 – greaves,

4 – remains of the chainmail

(From Rustoiu 2012, 161).

40
41
Figure 3.10 Part of the inventory of the grave that includes among others the helmet with

‘bird of prey’ and the greaves (National Military Museum Bucharest, Romania: Adrian

Serbanescu 2008).

The fact that in the pit was discovered a chain composed of elements shaped as an

‘eight’ lead Rustoiu (2008a, 19) to propose the idea that it might have been a double

burial and it would not be a singular case. This is due to the fact that the chain is typically

found in inventories associated with female burials although there are some exceptions,

but this particular chain belonged clearly to a female, the above mentioned author

believes.

The helmet with the raven is unique in design but not unique as a type. It has been

labeled as ‘helme mit verstärkter kalotte’ which means ‘helmet with reinforced skullcap’

and it can be found only in eastern Celtic contexts. So far only five such helmets have

been found: one at Batina (Croatia), one at Mihovo (Slovenia) and three in Transylvania,

including the one from Ciumesti. There is a depiction of such a helmet on Athena’s

temple in Pergamum (Rustoiu 2008a, 23). The similarity between the helmets from

Ciumesti and Batina was observed by J.V.S. Megaw soon after it was published but his

opinion remained unnoticed by local archaeologists for a while (Rustoiu 2012a, 160).

42
Figure 3.11 Helme mit verstärkter kalotte distribution. Legend: 1 – Mihovo, 2 – Batina, 3

– Ciumesti, 4 – Apahida, 5 – Orosfaia (From Rustoiu 2008a, 23).

The impressive aspect of the helmet is what sets it apart from other such artifacts

and it is assumed that the owner was an important member of the community but

moreover, an important war-chief in the entire area. The fact that his gear is connected to

the eastern Mediterranean area, particularly the Greek world implies that he was probably

a mercenary employed by some Greek ruler and even that he might have taken part in the

Balkan Expedition, the dating of the artifacts and grave do not exclude this possibility

(Rustoiu 2012a, 161).

Figure 3.12 Helme mit verstärkter kalotte. Legend: 1 – Helmet from Batina (Croatia), 2 – Helmet

from Ciumesti (Romania) (After Rustoiu 2012a, 161 and 170).

43
 Parallels have been drawn as well between the Ciumesti iron helmet with bronze

raven and the bronze helmet found near the Waterloo Bridge on the Thames in England

(Rustoiu 2008a, 25).

To sustain the aforementioned theory comes another important artifact: the

greaves. They are unique finds so far in the whole Celtic area and temperate Europe and

the craftsman that made them is definitely Greek (Rustoiu 2008a, 97). Each of them is

made of a single piece of bronze following the anatomical shape of the future owner’s

legs. This means that they are especially crafted for each individual. The left one has 46

centimeters and this would mean that the wearer would have been 1.80m – 1.90m in

height which is considerable for the period (Rustoiu 2008a, 35).

It is possible that the greaves had an ‘exotic’ look in the eyes of the inhabitants of

Ciumesti and probably in the eyes of many others who did not understood their meaning.

It could be that they were a symbol of the importance that the warrior had and his role as

a mercenary general. Needing to be seen as an equal of the Greek mercenary generals that

44
fought alongside him, he saw the necessity to wear the greaves as a sign of his status and

to be recognized as such by his Mediterranean counterparts (Rustoiu 2008a, 97).

3.3.3 Single Burials

Single burials are not unusual in the La Tène archaeological record. They are

known throughout the Celtic areal and in some case contain very important artifacts. One

such case is that of the Silivas grave which will be presented here in a few words.

The grave was accidentally found and its inventory was published by M. Roska in

1925. The artifacts supposedly found in the grave were: a decorated helmet, two spear

heads, a fragmentary sword, a dagger, a brooch and a sickle, all of the above made of iron

(Rustoiu 2013a, 1).

The inventory was very interesting to many archaeologists and it was studied

intensely. Questions have been raised about the presence of the sickle (sica), a typically

Thracian/Dacian weapon which is often found in archaeological contexts related to the

Padea - Panagjurski Kolonii which belongs to a later horizon in the region, respectively

the immediate horizon after the La Tène one. It was concluded after several studies that

the sickle and the iron brooch do not belong to the grave. Also, field research failed to

45
identify the location of the grave or any other Celtic archaeology around the village of

Silivas in Cluj County and it is assumed that the actual grave location was some 20-30

miles south, closer to Turda in the same county. The rest of the inventory is consistent

with that of a Celtic warrior from the region (Rustoiu 2013a, 2).

The most important artifacts found are the helmet and the sword. The helmet is

preserved well and it belongs to the late Vegetal (or Waldalgesheim) style. This particular

type of helmets has a neck-guard and thus is called Eisenhelme mit angesetztem

Nackenschutz which practically means Helmet with Neck-Guard. The type is dated to the

end of the 4th century BC and the first period of the 3rd century BC being present from

Spain and France in Western Europe all over the continent up to Transylvania in eastern

part. These helmets are sometimes richly decorated, even with gold (figure 3.14). The

most famous helmets similar to that found at Silivas are the ones found in France at Agris

and Amfreville (Rustoiu 2013a, 3).

46
Figure 3.13 Silivas helmet presenting clear Late Vegetal Style motifs (After Rustoiu

2013a, 221 and 222).

Figure 3.14 Late Vegetal Style helmets: 1 – Silivas, Romania; 2 – Amfreville, France

(After Rustoiu 2013a, 221 and Harding 2007, 7a with additions).

The second important artifact is a sword that that is only fragmentary preserved

and belongs to a type known as Kosd. This type of swords have a characteristic shape:

they have a large, open-worked chape-end decorated with two rosettes and rounded off.

Similarly with the helmet type, the sword type described above is dated late 4 th and early

3rd centuries BC (Rustoiu 2013a, 213).

These singular burial finds although pose difficulties in analyzing because of

afore-mentioned problems do offer invaluable insight into the Celtic horizon of

47
Transylvania helping in the understanding of both coordinates: time – by dating them,

and space – by knowing the approximate location of the sites where they were found.

3.4 Celtic settlement from Moresti

Settlements belonging to La Tène population situated in Transylvania are not

different than those of similar populations elsewhere. The Greek historian Polybius writes

in the 2nd century BC about the Celts from northern Italy:

“They lived in unwalled villages, without any superfluous furniture; for as they

slept on beds of leaves and fed on meat and were exclusively occupied with war and

agriculture, their lives were very simple, and they had no knowledge whatever of any art

or science. Their possessions consisted of cattle and gold, because these were the only

things they could carry about with them everywhere according to circumstances and shift

where they chose” (Polybius II, 17).

The Celts are known during this period to live in rural settlements, often

unfortified. This is the case as well in Transylvania where all the settlements discovered

so far were as presented above (Berecki 2008b, 12). The building typology is similar in

Transylvania with that of Celts elsewhere for this period, shallow dugout huts build

without iron elements to hold wooden or wattle and daub structures (Ferencz 2007, 56-

57).

In geographical terms, it has been determined that in Transylvania and some parts

of Hungary, the Celts preferred less hilly regions, in general plateaus close to the river but

48
not so close as to be flooded. There are several reasons for choosing such locations. First

of all, during prehistory and antiquity rivers were major access points and vital for

transport; choosing plateaus close to rivers was the best choice due to the fact that the

terrain was best suited for animal husbandry and agriculture (Berecki 2008b, 13).

In terms of excavation, not many Celtic settlements have been systematically

researched and where that was the case, the reports were only partially published, if they

were published in the first place. For this subchapter a recent interpretation of a

systematic research carried out in the 1950s will be used as main source. The settlement

of Moresti is situated near the river Mures, a major river in Transylvania and close to salt

exploitation areas. Apparently, the main occupations here were animal husbandry,

agriculture, hunting and fishing (Berecki 2008b, 13).

Fig

ure 3.15 Investigated Celtic settlements in Transylvania and their chronology (From

Berecki 2008b, 13).

The horizontal stratigraphy at Moresti revealed an alignment of four complexes

aligned east to west at every ten meters. There were a total of six major features found

49
with one additional feature further away. Usually, Celtic settlements do not have multiple

vertical layers, the buildings were dispersed and there was no need to construct a house

on top of another one (Berecki 2008b, 19).

Out of the six features found and identified as houses, features one, two and six

were somewhat rectangular in shape with rounded corners. Feature three was asymmetric

while feature four was trapezoidal and feature five is ellipsoidal. The fact that the most

encountered shape was rectangular is no surprise. Studied Celtic settlements often have

rectangular plans with rounded corners, especially in Central Europe. It is possible that

the walls were made out of wattle and daub, several such fragments being found and

there were not postholes in any of the houses. Similar cases of houses without postholes

are reported throughout the La Tène area. Only in feature two were found the remains of

a hearth, but, for this period the evidence for hearths and fireplaces in houses is scarce

(Berecki 2008b, 20).

There is a considerable quantity of pottery found here and the classification made

for it might be representative for Celtic settlements in Transylvania. The author of the

first study, D. Horedt divided the pottery into three categories: a) coarse, hand-made

ware; b) fine, hand-made ware and c) wheel-thrown ware. The coarse, hand-made pottery

is considered local. It is often utilitarian in purpose and has simple forms. This type of

pottery shows a continuous evolution from the first Iron Age until the end of La Tène

(Berecki 2008b, 39).

The fine, hand-made pottery has glazed surface and is colored with shades from

brownish-yellow to brownish-black. Among the shards found there were some who

50
indicated Hellenistic influences. This type too is considered local Dacian (Berecki 2008b,

39).

The wheel-thrown pottery is considered to be Celtic in general. At Moresti, 32%

of the total pottery finds are wheel-thrown while the rest, 68% is hand-made. However, it

is worth mentioning that it is not certain that all the wheel-thrown pottery is Celtic. It is

also assumed that the same craftsmen made both hand-made and wheel-thrown types of

pottery which does not help in determining who exactly made what and the dichotomy

wheel thrown = Celtic and hand-made = local may not be entirely true. Usually every

settlement had a pottery workshop and it is probable that it looked like an ordinary house

(Berecki 2008b, 41-43).

Morphologic analysis of the pottery led to the following classification: pots,

shallow bowls, deep bowls and jars (Berecki 2008b, 46).

Fi

gure 3.16 Different types of pots (From Berecki 2008b, 46).

51
 Fi

gure 3.17 Shallow bowls typologies (From Berecki 2008b, 51)

Figure 3.18 Deep bowls typologies as presented above (from Berecki 2008b, 54).

Figure 3.19 Jars (D) and Cups (E) from Moresti (From Berecki 2008b, 56).

Ornaments present on the pottery vary from impressed cordons and other forms of

impressed decorations to incisions, channels and graphite polishing, especially for the

wheel-thrown wares (Berecki 2008b, 65-67).

Other clay objects such as spindle-whorls and clay figurines were found as well.

Clay figurines are rare discoveries in Celtic settlements. Metal finds are very rare in

52
settlements and form the site at Moresti there were only a few metal and glass objects

recovered. A bronze brooch, a horse bit and a glass bracelet are the only notable finds in

this category Berecki 2008b, 72-73).

Celtic settlements were usually small, rural and dispersed; they usually had 3-15

irregularly places houses (as in the case of Bohemian La Tène) and probably 10-15

inhabitants per generation (Berecki 2008b, 77). In some cases features representing

elongated steps that could have been used as beds or horizontal supports of some sort are

present (Ferencz 2007, 57).

Most houses excavated so far in Transylvania present similar characteristics. They

are more or less rectangular in shape and rarely roundish and they the floor is dug in the

shallow soil, in the case of Moresti between 10 and 55 cm (Berecki 2008b, 77). The

settlement appears to follow the patterns of typical Celtic settlements for this timeframe

and nothing specific could be noted for entire area (Ferencz 2007, 58).

53
 Chapter 4. Celtic Legacy

Although the Celtic layer ends abruptly in Transylvania and neighboring western

and north-western regions and the reason cannot be explained yet, newer archaeological

evidence seems to suggest a cultural group with mixed origins, both Thracian and Celtic

named Padea - Panagjurski Kolonii has succeeded almost instantly the La Tène

populations. The inventories found in graves belonging to this group contained long

swords, lances and chainmail specific to La Tène populations but alongside these there

were Thracian artifacts such as sica knifes, pottery, brooches and specific horse

equipment. Since the earliest graves found were in today’s territory of Bulgaria and

expanded north, first into south-western Romania and then into Transylvania it is

assumed that this group formed initially south of the Danube river (Rustoiu 2008a, 146-

149). Thus, the La Tène layer in Transylvania is replaced by a mixed layer but containing

mainly Thracian elements. In this chapter some defining Celtic elements that were

adopted by the local populations will be presented: the chainmail as a material aspect and
54
a discussion of Thracian and Celtic spiritual beliefs represented in their art will be

focused as well with a key note, the Gundestrup Cauldron.

4.1 The chainmail.

According to the Romans, the chainmail is a Celtic invention which the Romans

adopted under the name Lorica Hamata, “Lorica, quod e loris de corio crudo pectoralia

faciebant; postea subcidit galli” (Marcus Terentius Varro, V, 116) and was only one of the

multitude of items borrowed by the Romans from the Celtic arsenal. Celtic chainmail

finds are rare and it is interesting that most La Tène finds were in the eastern Celtic area,

respectively today’s territories of Romania and Bulgaria (Borangic and Paliga 2013, 7).

The first finds of this kind are dated to the second half of the 4 nd century BC at a site in

Denmark where it is assumed that a Celtic mercenary group was defeated and their

weapons and armors ritually deposited as offerings (Borangic and Paliga 2013, 7; Rustoiu

2008a, 26). It is assumed that they are an invention of Central European Celts but

chainmail have been found across Europe from Britain to Asia Minor and even further

(Rustoiu 2008a, 27). An interesting aspect is that although it is considered that the

chainmail was invented in the homeland of the Celts, archaeological record shows an

East-West temporal distribution starting with the one found at Horný Jatov in Slovakia

dated Lt. B2. The one at Ciumesti is later dated to Lt. B2b. The central and western

55
European finds usually are late La Tène, starting with the 2 nd century BC (Rustoiu 2008a,

27-28).

The earliest find in a post-La Tène horizon in Romania is the one found at

Cetateni (Arges County) dated to the 2 nd century BC and it belongs to a Dacian grave

(Borangic 2011, 174). A multitude of chainmail have been found for the period between

the Celtic disappearance in the early 2nd century BC and the Roman conquest of Dacia in

106 AD and they are related initially to the archaeological context attributed to the Padea

- Panagiurski Kolonii group, a group which had a strong military elite that combined

Daco-Thracian and Celtic elements (Rustoiu 2008a, 28-30).

The importance of the chainmail in this area relies on the ‘adopt and adapt’

process that the Dacian elite groups that replaced the La Tène element in Transylvania

and neighboring regions undertook (Borangic and Paliga 2013, 8). While Celtic

chainmail usually had the shoulders reinforced with an extra layer that also was part of

the locking system held in place by an iron plate that connected the parts overlapping the

shoulders (Rustoiu 2008a, 27), the model adapted by the Dacians was simpler and lighter,

in part due to the different approach to waging war. Dacians used bows often and an

easier chainmail that had the morphology of a tunic was better suited (Borangic and

Paliga 2013, 8).

56
 Figure 4.1 Chainmail types. 1. Earlier chainmail with locking system; 2. Later,

typically Dacian chainmail without a locking system (After Borangic 2011, pages 202

and 226)

4.2 Celtic and Thracian art.

La Tène art is a key aspect, a defining one for the Celtic populations throughout

the world. Celtic Art is usually split into Early or Strict Style (450-400 BC) and

Developed Styles which includes Waldalgesheim (400-300 BC), Sword Style and Plastic

Style (both between 300-100 BC). Early Style is characterized by a pronounced

Mediterranean influence which resulted in the adoption of two main motifs: the palmette

and the lotus (Harding 2007, 42). Waldalgesheim or Vegetal Style has as a recurring

theme a serpentine scroll that flows, it does not end but transforms (Harding 2007, 74).

One important artifact of this type found in our area of interest is the helmet from Silivas

(fig. 15 and 16) but it is not a singular case, this particular style was very popular among

the Celtic colonists in Eastern Europe (Harding 2007, 81).

57
 Sword Style or more strictly Scabbard Style is derived from ornamented

scabbards of the middle La Tène in Hungary (Harding 2007, 113). The term was coined

by Paul Jacobsthal. Its key feature is a pair of opposing dragons (Harding 2007, 93).

While the Sword Style has two-dimension decorations, the Plastic Style is constructed

with three-dimension techniques, respectively repoussé. Such art is usually characteristic

for everyday personal ornaments such as brooches, bracelets or belt-hooks (Harding

2007, 119).

Celtic art is non-narrative, aniconic but should be regarded as religious (Megaw

and Megaw 2001, 21). Thracian art is, au contraire, narrative and does not combine the

vegetal and animal regnum, each appears separately (Florea and Sarbu 1997, 109). Florea

and Sarbu (1997) when talking about Daco-Thracian art consider that it has to be split

into two periods: the Golden Age (5 th to 3rd centuries BC) and a Later Stage (2 nd century

BC to 1st century AD) with a Dark Period in between for which the cause is yet

unidentified but might be related to invasions of Bastarnae and Celtic populations. The

Golden Age art is highly ornamented and many items are either made fully of gold or

decorated with gold. Examples of such sites are Agighiol (S-E Romania) and Peretu

(Southern Romania) (Florea and Sarbu 1997, 13). The Later Stage is more moderate in

appearance and the representations of animals and the leitmotif of the previous period, the

Danubian Rider is more conventional and restricted (Florea and Sarbu, 115).

The Celtic zoo includes horses, boars, bulls, sheep and dogs mainly (Megaw and

Megaw 2001, 160) while Florea and Sarbu (1997, 51-52) add to that the presence of deer

and stag, snakes and fantastic animals such as dragons and griffins. By comparison,

Daco-Thracian bestiary is very rich, one could find a number of mammals such as wolf,

58
stag, bull, lion, bear, horse, ram and goat as well as birds: hawk, eagle, vulture. Griffins,

the Pegasus and the Draco, the Dacian standard (composed from a wolf’s head with a

snake’s body) are fantastic animals often represented (Florea and Sarbu 1997, 112).

While artistic concepts appear to be different, parts of the bestiary and fantastic

animals repertory is common and this may be either due to their Indo-European origins or

to Scythian and Mediterranean influences or both (Florea and Sarbu 1997, 48).

Celtic art influenced the locals especially in the use of everyday ornaments such

as bracelets or brooches. A particular influence was noted in the working of precious

metals, especially that of silver (Rustoiu 2002, 91). Fibulae with nodes are a type of

brooches that trace their origins back to the middle La Tène period although they were in

use in the 2nd and 1st centuries BC (Rustoiu 2002, 92).

59
Figure 4.2 Fibula with nodes from the Cluj-Napoca Museum

(http://clasate.cimec.ro/detaliu.asp?tit=Fibula-cu-

noduri&k=FEEFBB9EF3A343D495801851D3222DBC: Razvan Mateescu 2010)

Another example of Celtic influenced items are Dacian chains made of iron or

silver. These items were usually worn as belts (Rustoiu 2002, 94). Towards the end of the

1st century BC these influences begin to fade (Rustoiu 2002, 96).

4.2.1 Gundestrup Cauldron – a Thraco-Celtic mix.

One particular artifact that has intrigued archaeologists around the world is the

Gundestrup Cauldron. It was found in a peat bog in Jutland, Denmark in 1891 and

consists of five long rectangular plates, seven short ones, one round plate and two tubular

fragments (Bergquist and Taylor 1987, 11). It is considered that there were eight small

plates but one was not recovered (Megaw and Megaw 2001, 174).

The artifact presents late La Tène elements combined with Daco-Thracian ones

and many authors consider that it has correlations within the Thracian milieu and

stylistically belongs to the latter (Bergquist and Taylor 1987, 13; Megaw and Megaw

2001, 176; Sarbu and Florea 1997, 50; Harding 2007, 226). The torc-wearing, cross-

legged, antlered god as well as the warriors with crested helmets, among which, one has a

helmet similar to that found at Ciumesti, the carnyx (Celtic war trumpet) indicate a Celtic

iconography (Megaw and Megaw 2001, 176) but in the same time they are constructed in

a Daco-Thracian style with typical ivy-leaf fill-ins and specific bestiary (Harding 2007,

227). To complete the picture there are present as well mythical images from the classical

60
world: Herakles and the Nemean Lion and Arion with the dolphin (Florea and Sarbu

1997, 50).

Recent research focused on the materials and techniques used have revealed that

there were different batches of silver used and more than one artisan worked it, perhaps a

group which shared the same artistic vision (Nielsen et al 2005, 7). Although it cannot be

determined neither the date or the place where it was made, theories about Thracian

artisans building it for Celts or Celts influenced by Thracian art being the authors exist

(Harding 2007, 227). The cauldron is a unique artifact that combines classical, Daco-

Thracian and Celtic mythology in a Daco-Thracian style. Barry Cunliffe (1999, 124-126)

places the cauldron within a Celto-Dacian environment as well and mentions a potential

affinity to the Padea – Panagjurski Kolonii Thraco-Celtic cultural group.

For comparison with Daco-Thracian art, Bergquist and Taylor (1987, 14) have

used the helmet from Agighiol (S-E Romania) but the helmet from Peretu can be used as

an example as well (figures 4.3 and 4.4). They are both dated with the aforementioned

Golden Age of Daco-Thracian art, therefore prior to the Celtic colonization in

Transylvania and neighboring regions.

Aurel Rustoiu (2008, 95) when talking about the ‘bird of prey’ helmet from

Ciumesti mentions the probability that the bird was a symbol of the warrior’s status but

as well it could mean that the wearer borrowed characteristics from the bird, that he could

see all as the bird could. Similarly, Florea and Sarbu (1997, 114) propose that the large

pair of eyes present on the frontal part of the helmet from Agighiol could signify that the

wearer, possibly a king, sees all, it emphasizes this trait.

61
Figure 4.3 Gunderstrup Cauldron – details. 1 – inner plate (note the carnyx players and the helmet

with bird of prey similar to that found at Ciumesti); 2 – the so-called Cernunos god inner plate

(After Bergquist and Taylor 1987, 18).

62
Figure 4.4 Dacian helmets. 1- Detail from the helmet from Peretu (Southern Romania); 2

– Helmet from Agighiol (S-E Romania) (After Borangic 2012, 205 with additions).

Chapter 5. Interpretations

As it was mentioned previously in this paper, interest in the Celtic La Tène

element of Transylvania was major since the later 19th and early 20th centuries but

plausible theories have only started to appear after the 1960s when archaeological sites,

both settlements and cemeteries, were systematically excavated. It was in the 1960s and

1970s that more modern, processualist models have been proposed by archaeologists who

took part in the archaeological excavations such as Janos Nemeti, Vlad Zirra or Horatiu

Ion Crisan (Ferencz 2007, 59-51).

63
 The presence of numerous pottery finds in both Celtic cemeteries and settlements

lead Horatiu Ion Crisan to consider a admixture between the locals and the invaders

where the locals were integrated in the Celtic groups. This opinion is owed to the fact that

local ceramics was lower quality and therefore it was not really needed by the Celts. It

should be mentioned that here, Crisan is one of the first to propose the term Celto-Dacian

population for then newly formed communities (Crisan 1966, 43).

Crisan (1966) further proposed that observations regarding ethnicity can be drawn

from the funerary rites and rituals. Since all cemeteries were bi-ritual and along with

inhumations there were cremations in urn or pit, he proposed that, considering the earlier

local traditions, the natives would have practiced cremation in urn while the other two

types, inhumation and cremation in pit were practiced by the Celts. Another observation

was that only cremations in pit contained meat offerings and these he attributed to the La

Tène populations based on the comparison with other sites in the Eastern Celtic area and

local traditions (Crisan 1966, 76).

Vlad Zirra (1975), almost a decade later presents similar opinions and mentions as

well a co-habitation between locals and Celts and notes the influence that the Celts had

upon the development of the Dacian population in areas such as pottery techniques,

where he assumes that it was the Celts who introduced the potter’s wheel as well as new

techniques in metal craftsmanship (Zirra 1975, 48-50) but he also observes certain artistic

influences that the local Dacians had upon the newly-arrived. He uses an example from

the necropolis at Curtuiuseni (Bihor County) where a wheel-thrown typical La Tène vase

was discovered but the decorations were clearly Dacian and from here he concludes that

artistic and maybe ideological concepts were borrowed by the Celts (Zirra 1975, 56).

64
 Therefore it is observable that the archaeologists who were formulating new

theories were doing so in light of new evidence and under the influence of the time’s

archaeological currents, mainly the processualist line of thought. It was important where

from and how the groups arrived, what happened to the locals, as well as determining

influences based on material culture evidence such as pottery or metal ornaments and

weapons. Delimitations between locals and invaders based on funerary rites and rituals

were also made. The conclusion was that the La Tène groups moving in took over and

dominated Transylvania but did not exterminate, as Vlad Zirra mentioned (1975, 47), but

they integrated locals in their communities and both influenced and were influenced by

the locals in the nearly two centuries of co-habitation. The Celts were seen as a catalyst

for the development of a newly mixed cultural area (Nemeti 1975, 190).

Some ideas have changed during the last four decades but archaeologists such as

Aurel Rustoiu or Sandor Berecki have drawn from previous concepts to base their work

and they consider as well that Celtic communities integrated locals judging especially

from the large quantity of local pottery found that continues the previous local Hallstatt

tradition (Rustoiu 2008a, 89) while Dan Lucian Vaida (2003, 127) believes that there is

not enough evidence of locals integrated in Celtic communities.

Population mobility has been a subject of interest as well because it’s one of the

reasons for the appearance of certain artifacts. Again, Aurel Rustoiu focuses on certain

types of artifacts and their wearers in his work focusing more on individual mobility as a

cause for it. For example, he concludes that the appearance of Greek artifacts in Celtic

65
contexts is not caused necessarily by regular commerce but some artifacts appear as a

result of individual mobility, either through marriage or the mobility of craftsmen.

Another option would be that they are the result of raiding conducted by Transylvanian

Celts (Rustoiu 2011, 101-102).

Another newer tendency is to focus on modern methods to analyze the placement

of Celtic sites and possible reasons for their geographical position, be they practical, such

as military strategic positions or for economic reasons, or ideological – the presence of

cemeteries on dominating hills (Berecki 2009, 12-17). The aerial prospections made on

the valley of the river Mures, where the settlement of Moresti, amongst others, is situated,

can be mentioned as well, the work of Sandor Berecki and his collaborators done in 2013.

In the same category falls the project presented by Maya Hauschild in her article from

2010 where 16 cemeteries throughout the Celtic world have been chosen and Strontium

isotope tests will be made upon first generation burials to determine where they come

from by comparing the signature from the teeth’s enamel with the environmental

signature from the native Celtic areas but not only. For Romania two cemeteries have

been picked, Piscolt and Fantanele but no work has been carried out yet. This can be an

important step in understanding migrations and further more in understanding individual

and small group mobility (Hauschild 2010, 175).

Although the study of the phenomena has gained depth in recent years a wider

approach can be observed as well. Along with the usage of modern techniques needed to

expand the knowledge base for this subject there can be observed a focus from the study

of the community towards that of the individual, be it an elite individual such as the one

buried at Ciumesti (see chapter II in Rustoiu 2008a or Rustoiu 2012a) or the burial of a

66
high status woman at Remetea Mare (Timis County), where, in the context of a Celtic

necropolis, a completely different burial of a woman was found. Both rite and ritual, as

well as the inventory place her origins in a Thracian community south of the Danube and

her presence there can only be explained by a matrimonial alliance, a fact which allowed

her to be buried as she desired (Rustoiu 2012b, 366) or just the life of everyday people

their garments.

Chapter 6. Conclusions

In recent years there have been leaps forward in understanding the La Tène

horizon in Transylvania and N-W Romania and while a broad picture can be observed,

many important questions are still not answered. Why did the Celts came in the first

place? There are historical writings about Celtic migrations to Italy (Caesar 2009;

Justinus XXIV.4) but they do not offer a satisfactory answer and so far neither does

archaeology. What happened to the indigenous population in Transylvania? Did they

agree to Celtic rule peacefully or some fought back, how many agreed and how many

fought? It is hard to determine that judging only by the presence of weapons in burials,

67
the ones buried with weapons might have been mercenaries who fought anywhere else

but in Transylvania.

There were present in Transylvania indigenous communities which have not been

affected by the Celtic arrival, especially in the eastern part where fortified settlements are

found but as well to the north and recently, in 2013, a Dacian settlement comprising so

far of two huts and auxiliary features has been uncovered according to mass-media, near

the town of Biharia (Bihor County) less than 50 miles from the Piscolt and Ciumesti La

Tène cemeteries. The settlement was contemporaneous with the Celtic settlements and

cemeteries neighboring it, an aspect certainly worth mentioning.

In the author’s opinion a processual approach as or post-processual approach are

not necessarily important. They are not mutually exclusive and, even though they are the

product of social thinking at a point in time and will be set aside once a new paradigm

appears, they do have strong points and sometimes can complement each other. Probably

the best way to improve our understanding of the subject is empirical research, a

scientific approach where modern methods are employed. More sites excavated results in

more information available to draw conclusions from.

Today’s concepts of borders, state, ethnicity and so on are modern abstract

constructions and most likely are not correct when juxtaposed on the Iron Age

populations because they were understood differently at the time. Just as the site from

Biharia proved that indigenous settlements existed in an area colonized by La Tène

peoples it might be that this mosaic of different cultural communities (even among the La

Tène colonizers who themselves appear to originate different parts of the La Tène

68
‘homeland’ judging by the diversity of rites and rituals present) was present throughout

Transylvania and neighboring regions for the whole Celtic period.

The question of the sudden disappearance of the Celtic horizon is still unanswered

too. The fact that a mixed Daco-Thracian and Celtic cultural group takes over

immediately after the Celtic one disappears might be a clue but there is not enough

evidence yet to definitely confirm this theory. It has been proposed that the

aforementioned mixed group called Padea – Panagjurski Kolonii was expanding to take

over the salt and metal resources present here (Rustoiu 2002, 30-34).

Regarding the burial of a warrior at Ciumesti, traditional interpretations are that it

was that of a Celtic individual. In spite of material evidence pointing towards a ‘Celt’

being buried there, there is a possibility that he is a local integrated into the Celtic

community either being born there or just arrived sometime during his life. Although in

many cases material culture can point towards the ethnicity of someone it may not always

be the case and even if it is stated that rites and rituals are more clearer ways to determine

ethnicity, it is possible that many Celts could ‘hide’ under indigenous burials while locals

can be found in La Tène burials and until science can determine who was who, they will

remain labeled as such.

69
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