This article should specify the language of its non-English content, using {{ lang }}, {{ transliteration }} for transliterated languages, and {{ IPA }} for phonetic transcriptions, with an appropriate ISO 639 code. Wikipedia's multilingual support templates may also be used.(May 2019) |
The Botorrita plaques are four bronze plaques discovered in Botorrita (Roman Contrebia Belaisca), near Zaragoza, Spain, dating to the late 2nd century BC, known as Botorrita I, II, III and IV.
Although Botorrita II is in the Latin language, Botorrita I, III and IV, inscribed in the Celtiberian script, constitute the main part of the Celtiberian corpus.
Botorrita I was found in 1970. It is the longest inscription in Celtiberian consisting of a text in 11 lines, on the front face, continued by a list of names on the back side.
J. Eska (1988) [1]
1. "Regarding a well-wrought boundary structure, the senators of Tocoitom and of Sarnicios [have agreed/decided that] [it is] not permitted"
2. "[that it] be demolished or destroyed or broken apart by violence." (from soz to tamai remains untranslated, probably a tag on the preceding prohibition)
3-4. "and whoever carries out these things, he should give cut [pieces] of silver [namely] 100 sanclistera of otanas at Tocoitom."
F. Villar (1990) [2]
1. "In relation to the trescantos [named] Berkuneteca of Tokoit and Sarnicia, this is the settlement/accord:"
W. Meid (1983) [3]
1. "Concerning the hilly region of Togoit and of the Sanricii, the following has been decreed as not allowed"
2. "It is not allowed to do [anything], neither is it allowed to perform/carry out [works], nor is it allowed to perpetrate breakage/harm" [except by permission of the directors]."
Rodriguez Adrados (1993) [4]
1. "With regard to the place Tricanta ("the meeting of three roads" or "of three boundaries") of Togotus and of Sarnicius, the council [has determined] thus--[it is] forbidden:"
Although the general contents of the inscription are known with some confidence--apparently a set of prohibitions (nekue...litom "must neither...nor..." A.2 with litom < *l(e)ik-to, cf. Latin licitum < *lik-e-to) with specifications of punishments (including payment in silver = silabur A.3) for violations (side A), and a list of guarantors on side B (though the list seems to start at the end of A.11 with abulu ubokum)--there is as yet no unified, agreed-upon translation. [5] It is still not clear, for example, whether the text presents sacred laws concerning a temple or municipal regulations. [6]
On the first side, David Stifter (2001), for example, indicates that <tirikantam> is an 'assembly of 300', similar to Gaulish tricantia, while <kombalkez> according to Bayer (1994) means something like 'was (deemed) suitable (by the assembly)' (cf. Latin complacere 'to please'). The sequences with nelitom and nekue ... litom with infinitive in -aunei are clearly something like '(it is) not permitted to ...', and mentions some kind of monetary and property fines for ignoring the prohibitions. [7] F. Villar has suggested that kombalkez in the first line is 3rd sing. of the perfect of a root*bh el- ' to speak'--"he has spoken." [8]
In line 2, the form tizaunei is considered to come from *di-dyāmnei (compare Greek δίζημαι "seek out, look for") by Jordán Cólera, [9] though the Greek form is generally thought now to go back to a Proto-Indo-European root *ieh2- ‘to pursue.' [10] But Prósper takes the form tizaunei from *dhi-dhh1-mn-e "to place." [11]
For soz augu arestalo damai in lines A.2-3, Prosper (2006) translates: "[all] this (is) valid by order of the competent authority" based on the following analyses: soz: [all] this (< *sod); augo: final, valid (< *h₂eug-os 'strong, valid', cf. Latin augustus 'solemn'); arestalo: of the competent authority (gen. sing. arestalos < *pr̥Hi-steh₂-lo- 'competent authority' < *pr̥Hi-sto 'what is first, authority'); damai: by order (instrumental fem. sing. < *dʰoh₁m-eh₂ 'establish, dispose'). In lines 3 and 6, stena may be related to the word for "thunder" and the name of the Celtic storm god, Taranos (< *Taran-), forms also seen on Botorrita III below. [12]
In line A 4, the second element in Togoitei eni 'in Togotis' is from *h₁en-i (cf. Lat. in, OIr. in 'into, in'). For Togoitei itself, Matasovic points to Proto-Celtic *tonketo- ‘destiny’ with the cognate in OIr. tocad saying this form is in the dative/locative singular, and connected to the apparent theonymn TOGOTI in the dative singular, but adding that: "The attribution of the Celtiberian forms to this root is as uncertain as anything else in this language." [13]
Later in the same line, bou-sto-mue probably contains in its first element a reflex of the PIE term for "cow": PIE *gwōw- > Lat. bōs, OHG chuo, Sanksrit gáu-, Tokarian A ko, Armenian kov... through Proto-Celtic *bow- whence OIr. bó, Middle Welsh bu, Middle Bretton bou-tig ‘stable’ and the Gaulish personal name Bo-marus. The meaning, therefore, may be "stable," like the Bretton form, but the form seems to be identical historically to Old Irish búas "riches, wealth (in cattle)" from Proto-Celtic *bow-sto-. [14] The form at the end of line 4, kabizeti, can be derived from *gabiyeti, a third person singular present indicative (or subjunctive?), from the Proto-Indo-European root *ghHb "take, hold" but here, possibly "give" (whence Latin habeo "hold" and possibly Gothic geben "give"), assuming that *-(i)y- becomes -z- in Celtiberian, as seen also in *nowyo- > CeltIb. nouiza. [15]
In line 6, aeekati is probably a subjunctive form of indeterminate meaning.
And in line 7, zizonti is probably a present third person plural indicative form meaning "they sow." [16] [17] [18]
For saum dekametinas datuz somei eni touzei iste ankios iste es-ankios (A.8-9), Jordán (2004) translates: "of these, he will give the tithe/tax inside of this territory, so [may it] be fenced as [it should] be unfenced" based on the following analyses:
The first word of A.10, nebintor, may be the negative (ne-) of a verb meaning "strike, harm" in the 3rd person imperative middle, from Proto-Celtic *bi-na- ‘strike, hit’—compare Old Irish benaid (same meaning), from PIE *bheyH- "strike"; whence Old Latin perfines "you should strike" and Old Church Slavonic biti. [22] And for togoitei ios vramtiom-ve auzeti aratim-ve dekametam datuz in A.10, De Bernardo (2009) translates: "In Togotis, he who draws water either for the green or for the farmland, the tithe (of their yield) he shall give." [23] The form io-s in line 10 is the nominative singular masculine of the relative pronoun from Proto-Indo-European *yo- (Sanskrit ya-, Greek hos), which shows up in Irish only as the aspiration for leniting relative verb forms. Line 7 has the accusative singular io-m and the dative singular io-mui of the same root. [24]
The second side clearly consists of names, presumably prominent members of the assembly. The names are in the Celtiberian formula, e.g. lubos kounesikum melnunos, is 'Lubo of the Kounesiko (people), [son] of Melnon'; for this reason, it has been suggested that <bintis> is actually <kentis>, i.e. /gentis/ 'son', as this clearly fits the context (seen notes on plaque III below), but it may merely be a title of a kind of magistrate. [25] Whether this means the sign <Bi> can elsewhere be interpreted as indicating a velar—which would lead, for example, to new possible etymologies for usabitus as from *ups- plus *ag- "drive" and timbitus from *dhingh- "shape, build"—in this text is still unclear. It is generally agreed that kamanom in A.5 means "path," a form also seen in Gaulish, borrowed into Late Latin as cammīnus, and from there into the modern Romance languages. [26]
In B.7, the form useizu (considered equivalent to usizu [K.1.3, II-9, IV-23]) is considered by Jordán Cólera to have come from an earlier nominative *upsē̆-dyō(n), while in line B.5 we find the genitive of the same form: useizunos from *upsē̆-dyōn-os. [27]
This bronze plaque, also known as Tabula Contrebiensis, is inscribed in Latin and was discovered in an illegal excavation of the Contrebia Belaisca site, and was obtained in December 1979 by editor Guillermo Fatás Cabeza. The inscription is fully decipherable and relates how the senate of Contrebia Belaisca was called upon by neighboring towns for a decision concerning the right of the town of Salluia to build a canal through the territory of the Sosinestani, an initiative to which the neighboring Allauonenses objected. Based upon the names of Roman officials, the text has been dated to May 87 BC. [28] English translation available at: https://droitromain.univ-grenoble-alpes.fr/Anglica/Contrebiensis_Richardson.htm
Based on Richardson (1983). [29]
The present members of the Contrebian senate are to judge whether the Sosilestani have the right to sell their land to the Salluenses who plan to build a canal on it, against the wishes of the neighboring Allavonenses.
Specifically, the appointed judges are to determine whether by Sosilestani's own laws it is permissible for them to sell the land for building a canal through private land, already staked out for this purpose by the Salluenses, if the latter pay for it appropriately.
If they judge in favor of the sale, then the Contrebian magistracy will pick five men to arbitrate the sale, and Roman commander C. V. Flaccus will support the judgment.
The decision falls in favor of the Salluenses. (There follows a list of the names of the Contrebian magistrates in power at the time.)
Botorrita III, discovered in 1979, is inscribed in four columns on one side of a plaque, introduced by a heading of two lines. A part of the plaque is missing, but the inscribed portion is complete. It is heavily corroded, and the text was only legible by x-ray.
1.1: skirtunos : tirtanikum : l | 2.1: sekanos < : > kolukokum : lukinos | 3.1: testios : turumokum | 4.1: kainu : tirtobolokum |
1.2: kontuzos : turos | 2.2: tirtanos | 3.2: elku : suolakue | 4.2: stenion. : turikainos |
1.3: retukenos : statulu | 2.3: kentiskue : loukaniko < : > uiriaskum | 3.3: tirtanikum : uiriaskum : mel | 4.3: bolora : kentiskue : melmanzos |
1.4: mezukenos : koitina | 2.4: mezukenos : turanikum | 3.4: kinbiria : kentiskue : turikum | 4.4: tiokenesos : uiriaskum |
1.5: tueizu : uiroku | 2.5: elu : uiriaskum : launiku<e> | 3.5: toloku : koitinakue : austunikum | 4.5: kalaitos : mturiskum |
1.6: munika : koitu : koitina | 2.6: likinos : uiskikum | 3.6: stenu : bentilikum | 4.6: burzu : karunikum |
1.7: sekilos : toutinikum : me. | 2.7: letontu : auaskum | 3.7: burzu : bentilikum : ultatunos | 4.7: burzu : abilikum : elazuno |
1.8: ultia : uiriaskum : mel | 2.8: kasilos : atokum | 3.8: koloutios : biniskum | 4.8: litu : makeskokum |
1.9: sura : matulokum | 2.9: usizu : abokum : titos | 3.9: antiokos : uiriaskum : melm | 4.9: mezukenos : kalisokum |
1.10: elkua : raiokum | 2.10: burzu : kulukamikum | 3.10: elazunos : kaburikum | 4.10: koitina : tirikantanko |
1.11: buria : batokum | 2.11: akuia : sekiloskue : tirilokum | 3.11: arkanta : mezukenoskue : abokum | 4.11: esueiku : atesikum |
1.12: belsa : alasku[m] : mem | 2.12: mezukenos : akikum : memun | 3.12: arkanta : loukanikum | 4.12: kalaitos : kustikum |
1.13: elkua : ensikum : seko | 2.13: akuia : alaskum : memunos | 3.13: stena : ensikum : skirtunos | 4.13: antiokos : kustikum |
1.14: sekontios : loukanikum : aiu | 2.14: terkinos : austikum : eskutino | 3.14: burzu : betaskum | 4.14: kabutu : abokum |
1.15: sura : uiriaskum : mel | 2.15: koitina : abokum : useizunos | 3.15: koitu : samikum : melmanzo | 4.15: anu : uiriaskum |
1.16: stena : muturiskum : tirtu. | 2.16: tirtouios : turumokum | 3.16: sekontios : ubokum | 4.16: kalaitos : muturiskum |
1.17: sleitiu : karunikum : le | 2.17: elaukos : bentikum : rotenanko | 3.17: barnai : ensikum : skirtunos | 4.17: akuia : albinokum |
1.18: retukenos : ensikum | 2.18: elkuanos : muturiskum | 3.18: tetu : loukanikum | 4.18: balakos : sekonzos |
1.19: letontu : atokum | 2.19: terkinos : telazokum | 3.19: stena : uiriaskum | 4.19: kara : kalatokum |
1.20: bilinos : austikum | 2.20: akuia : statu : turaku : tueizunostetoku<m> | 3.20: toloku : uiriaskum | 4.20: arkanta : mailikum |
1.21: belsu : uiriaskum | 2.21: mezukenos : elazunos | 3.21: arkanta : teiuantikum : tirtunos | 4.21: elazunos : albinokum |
1.22: sekonzos : uiriaskum : me | 2.22: tirtukue : ailokiskum | 3.22: mizuku : tirtobolokum | 4.22: bubilibor : uiriaskum |
1.23: burzu : teiuantikum | 2.23: sekilos : mailikum | 3.23: retukeno : elkueikikum | 4.23: usizu : uiriaskum |
1.24: bulibos : turumokum : ultu | 2.24: letontu : ustitokum | 3.24: kentisum : tuateroskue | 4.24: retukenos : telkaskum |
1.25: letontu : mailikum | 2.25: turenta : kentiskue : ataiokum | 3.25: abaliu : berikakue : suaikinokum | 4.25: .ria : belsu |
1.26: burzu : auikum | 2.26: koitina : uerzaizokum : kalmikum | 3.26: uiroku : konikum : statulos | 4.26: toloku : kurmiliokum |
1.27: melmanios : uiriaskum | 2.27: elkuanos : kunikum | 3.27: aunia : beskokum | 4.27: anieskor : talukokum |
1.28: karbelos : turumokum : ulta | 2.28: launikue : uiriaskum | 3.28: bilonikos : elokum : elkinos | 4.28: s.[ ... ] < : > alikum |
1.29: likinos : uerzaizokum : mem | 2.29: koitu : uerzaizokum : aias | 3.29: mezukenos : tirtobolokum | 4.29: elkueiz : akikum |
1.30: koitu : mailikum | 2.30: snaziuentos : ataiokum | 3.30: akuios : alikum | 4.30: raieni : uizuskikum |
1.31: akuios : tetokum | 2.31: tais : uiriaskum | 3.31: tiriu : uiriaskum | 4.31: urkala : austunikum |
1.32: saluta : uizuskikum | 2.32: basaku : uiriaskum | 3.32: turtunazkue : kazarokuu | 4.32: tama : ataiokum |
1.33: burzu : uiskikum : les | 2.33: kalaitos | 3.33: sleitiu : totinikum | 4.33: retukenos : kustikum |
1.34: ana : uerzaizokum : atu | 2.34: koitinakue : uiriraskum | 3.34: munika : ensikum : skirtunos | 4.34: bilosban : betikum |
1.35: sanion : baatokum | 2.35: likinos : ataiokum | 3.35: sekontios : uiriaskum | 4.35: koitina : kankaikiskum |
1.36: niskekue : babokum | 2.36: sa[ ... ]i < : > kaburikum : memun | 3.36: sura : suaikinokum | 4.36: likinos : kuezontikum |
1.37: biurtilaur : alaskum | 2.37: kares : .ruaku : korkos | 3.37: koitina : suoli.kum | 4.37: munika : uerzaizokum |
1.38: bini | 2.38: to[..]r.tetokum : kekas : ko | 3.38: bilir. < : > turtuntakue : telkaskum | 4.38: terkinos : turanikum |
1.39: rusku : uiriaskum : kentisku<e> | 2.39: aureiaku | 3.39: elu < : > karbilikum | 4.39: teuzesi : kustikum |
1.40: or..bilos : likinoskue | 2.40: tuate.eskue : uiriaskum | 3.40: terkinos : atokum : launikue | 4.40: kaukirino |
1.41: abo..kum | 2.41: burzu : babouikum | 3.41: mizuku : telkaskum | |
1.42: abu..akuiakue : araiokum | 2.42: koitu : kuinikum : tirtunos | 3.42: melmantama : bentilikum | |
1.43: alu : aiukue : araiokum | 2.43: [ ... .] : loukanikum : tirtunos | 3.43: markos : kalisokum | |
1.44: kalos : telkaskum | 2.44: toloku : kalisokum : atinos | 3.44: arkanta : toutinikum | |
1.45: elazuna : loukanikum | 2.45: tarkunbiur | 3.45: tolokunos : ke : kalisokum | |
1.46: mezukenos : loukanikum | 2.46: bibalos : atokum : tirtano | 3.46: sura : ensikum : melman < : > ba (?) | |
1.47: burzu : tirtobolokum | 2.47: sikeia : beteriskum | 3.47: usama : abaloskue : karunikum | |
1.48: sleitiu : makeskokum | 2.48: sekontios : turumokum : ultatun | 3.48: elazuna : balaisokum | |
1.49: iunsti.[.] : uiriaskum | 2.49: tekos : konikum | 3.49: likinos : turumokum : ti | |
1.50: tioken.s : uiriaskum | 2.50: bartiltun : ekarbilos | 3.50: tueizunos : binis.kum | |
1.51: uiroku : turumokum | 2.51: munika < : > elkuakue : koitinas | 3.51: bilonikos : ensikum | |
1.52: mizuku : retukenos : tirtanos | 2.52: terkinos : toutinikum : leton | 3.52: ebursunos : mailikinokum | |
1.53: munikakue : uiriaskum | 2.53: katunos : burikounikum | 3.53: arkanta : ailokiskum | |
1.54: burzu : atokum | 2.54: elazuna : ukulikum | 3.54: suros : alikum | |
1.55: aualos : kortikos | 2.55: keka : kabelaikiskum | 3.55: ultinos : amakue : uiriaskum | |
1.56: amu : kankaikiskum | 2.56: munika : tolisokum : tirtun | 3.56: babos : kentiskue : uiriaskum | |
1.57: kaiaitos : litukue : abokum | 2.57: elazuna : ensikum : turo | 3.57: turaios : litanokum : kurmilokum | |
1.58: aba : muturiskum | 2.58: sekonzos : bentikum | 3.58: launikue : uiriaskum | |
1.59: barnai : turumokum : tirs | 2.59: tokiosar : ensikum | 3.59: kari : uiriaskum | |
1.60: mezukenos : abokum : turo | 2.60: akuia : abokum : letontunos | 3.60: kuintitaku : mailikinokum | |
Basically this is a list of names, mostly following the formula seen on the first plaque: name plus tribal name in -um (probably genitive pl). In the mostly obscure first two lines (=title?), the form soisum seems to be a close parallel to the Sanskrit genitive plural pronominal form teśam < *toisom "of them". If Lambert is correct in his determination that eskeninum is a genitive plural agreeing with the pronoun, and from *eks- plus the cognate of Latin genuinus, and that alba is a borrowing from Latin in the meaning "public list of names" (originally written on a white board), a partial translation of the second line might be: "...[this is] the public list of the names of those very authentic [authorities/individuals]..." In the first line, nouiz may be from *nowija- "new." Whether the list involved legal claims (like Botorrita II above) or had a religious or some other purpose remains, however, unclear. [30] It is notable and rare for this region in this time period for such a public list to include so many female names and references—apparently nearly 30. [31]
In lines 1.14, 1.45, 1.46, and 3.18 (always in second position), the form loukanikum may contain the Proto-Indo-European *leukós "bright, shining" seen also in the Celtic tribal name Leuci. The same root can be seen elsewhere in Celtiberian inscriptions in loukaiteitubos [K.0.]7, and loukio [K.18.2, -1]. [32]
In lines 1.16, 3.13, 3.19, stena (also seen above in A.3) along with stenion in 4.2, may be related to the word for "thunder" and the name of the Celtic storm god, Taranis (< *Taran- < Proto-Indo-European *(s)tenh2-), with the "s mobile" preserved here uniquely in Celtic. [33]
On the name mezu-kenos in lines 1.46, 1.60, 2.4, 2.12, 2.21, 3.11, 3.29, and 4.9 (always in first position, syntactically so in 3.11), Ranko Matasovic notes: "The root [PCelt. *genan < *genh1-en > Old Irish gein a neuter -n stem meaning ‘birth, conception’] is attested in Celtiberian as the second element of the compound PN Mezu-kenos (= OIr. Midgen)." [34] The first element seems to be from Proto-Celtic *medu- < PIE *medhu- "mead", making the compound equivalent to the Gaulish personal name Medu-genos, Ogam MEDDOGENI, Old Irish Midgen, and Old Welsh Medgen which allows the reconstruction of the Proto-Celtic personal name *Medu-genos. [35] But Jordan Carlos suggests instead that the first element simply means 'middle' pointing to a straightforward compound *medhyo-genos meaning 'middle born.' [36]
Matasovic says of kalmikom (2.26) that it may be related to Middle Irish calma "strong, brave; strength fortitude" and Old Welsh celmed "skilled" all going back to Proto-Celtic *kalmiyo-, a root with no clear Indo-European connections, so perhaps borrowed from a non-Indo-European source. [37] In line 1.30 (and many other similar forms throughout), koitu may be a form of Latin Quintus and koitina may be its feminine equivalent. Note that the Greek transcription of the Latin name was Κοιντος. Possibly also connected is coeti-c from the Larzac tablet (1.b). [38] The form *tekos in 2.49 matches the Proto-Celtic root *teg-os "house." [39]
In lines 3.12 and 3.21, the form arkanta may derive from the PIE word for 'silver' cf Latin argentum. [40]
In 3.25 and 3.58, launi may mean "spouse", both times followed by -kue, so "and [his] wife"; it also occurs in local fragmentary epigraphy. Similarly, kentis (2.3, 2.25, 3.4, 3.56, 4.3) "son" is also followed by -kue "and [his] son," and tuate.es-kue (2.40) likely means "and [his] daughter(s?)". The two-line multiple genitives in 3.23-3.24 are unique in the text: retukeno : elkueikikum / kentisum : tuateros-kue "of the sons and of the daughter of the Re(x)-tu-genoi ('right born, lawful' < *h₃reg-tō-genos, Gaulish Rextugenos), the Elkueikikoi ("those with horses that have wheels/chariots" if from *ekue-kykloi; speaking against this interpretation are the many other forms that begin elk- in the list)." The conjunction -kue also seems to appear in line 1.34-35: sanion : baatokum/ niskekue : babokum "Sanion of the Baatoks [unless this is a misreading or misspelling for "babokum" as in the next line], and Niske [oddly, the only form in the list starting with "n-"] of the Baboks." [41]
These suggest that akuia (1.42), munika (1.53, also 2.51), litu (1.57), elkua (2.51), ama (3.55; also amu 1.56?), koitana (3.5, also 1.4, 1.6, 2.15), turtunta (3.38), and abalos ("uncle"?)(3.47) may also express some relationship, since they fall in the same positions followed by -kue (though some or all may simply be names as well). [42]
The names kalaitos in 2.33, 4.5, 4.12 and tur(r)o (1.60, 2.67 and as elements in many other names, probably "bull"--note also perhpas the name of the Celtic tribe Taurisci) are also found frequently carved in cave walls in the area. The former also resembles the form kaltaikikos from Luzaga's Bronze. On the same bronze, the form elazunom appears, probably a variant form (different case and/or gender?) elazuna on line 2.57 above.
The form burzu (1.23, 1.33...) may be connected to the ancient name for a town about 30 miles north of Botorrita: Bursau. [43]
The element mel- in 1.18, 3.3, 4.3...may be from the proto-Celtic root *mello "hill", perhaps as part of a place name; or the short forms may be clippings of the longer forms at 3.42 mel-man-tama and at 4.3 mel-man-zos which seem to be personal names meaning 'gifted with mind' < *men-mn̥-tyo- (with dissimilation of the first -n- to -l-). Compare the Gaulish (dative plural) theonym Menman-dutis. [44] [45] [46]
The element ebur- in ebur-sunos (3.52) probably means "yew tree"; compare Old Irish ibar "yew-tree," Welsh efwr "alder buckthorn", Breton evor "alder buckthorn." [47]
Xavier Delamarre and John T. Koch argue that the term uiroku (< *wiro-kū) in 1.5, 1.51 and 3.26 means 'man-dog' (i.e. werewolf). It would be cognate to Viroconium (< *wiroconion, 'place of man-dogs'), the ancient name of the English village of Wroxeter, the Old Irish ferchu ('male dog, fierce dog'), and the Brittonic personal names Guurci (Old Welsh) and Gurki (Old Breton). But nearly every line in this text has a form ending in -kum, and this is generally taken to be a genitive plural ending -um on a (generalized?) -k- stem, a common feature of Celtic place names (such as Brittonic Ebor-ak-on > York). [48] [49]
Blanca María Prósper interprets the word letontu as pertaining to the semantic field of Proto-Indo-European *pléth₂us ('flat, vast, broad'). [50] It is also suggested that Toutinokum refers to a family name and derives from the widespread Celtic (and Indo-European) stem *teut/tout- ('people, tribe'). [51] [52]
Jürgen Untermann notes that some of the names may be of Latin origin: markos (3.43), titos (2.9), lukinos , balakos sekonzos (4.18) = Flaccus Secundus, sekontios (3.16), bolora = Flora, bubilibor = Publipor; while others may be of Greek origin: antiokos (4.13) = Antiochus, bilonikos (3.28, 3.51) Philonicus, tais (2.31) Thais. Note that in 3.16, the name Secundus seems to be spelled sekontios, suggesting that the palatalization of medial /d/ to <z> was still in progress. [53]
In 1.15, anu may be compared to Gaulish Anauus "prosperous, wealthy" < Proto-Celtic *anawo- ‘wealth, profit’ (compare OIr. anae and Middle Welsh anaw both ‘wealth’ < Proto-Indo-European *h3enh2- ‘enjoy, use’; cognates Gr. onínēmi ‘use’, Go. ansts ‘mercy, benevolence’). In 1.59 and 3.17, branai may be compared to Gaulish barnaunom "judge(-ment)" (?) from Proto-Celtic *bar-na- , whence also Middle Welsh barnu ‘judge, proclaim.’ The forms not derived from Greek or Latin that have the element bil in 1.20, 1.40, 3.38, and 4.34 may be derived from Proto-Celtic *bel-yo- "tree" (whence Old Irish bile "tree"), seen in the Gaulish place name Billio-magus (>French Billom), perhaps also seen in reduplicated form in the name of the local town Bilbilis "having many trees." [54]
Names with claimed Iberian elements include biurtilaur (1.37), anieskor (4.27), bilosban (4.34), and bartiltun : ekarbilos (2.50), karbilikum (3.39). In 1.55, kortikos may mean "public," and kontusos (1.2) may either refer to a group of clients under patronage of someone, or a group of slaves. [55]
Botorrita IV, discovered in 1994, consists of 18 lines on both faces of the plaque. The text is fragmentary.
The form tirikantam ("territory"? or "(group of) 300"?) at the beginning of Botorrita I reappears in line A.1 here, and as tirikantos in A.3; and note sua kombal[.]z in A.2 versus sua kombalkez in B.I, A.1. The form bouitos in line 2 is likely from *gwou-i-tos-s "cow path." [56]
In A3, turuntas is probably an -a- stem genitive singular, possibly a place name, or perhaps a form meaning "spring." [57]
The form karalom occurs in both A.4 and A.7, and it may refer to the demonym Gralliensis mentioned by Pliny the Elder. Also in line A.4, the form aranti may refer to a town that issues coinage bearing the legends aratiz and aratikos, a town name also seen in Arandis in Lusitania [58]
In B.4, tizatuz may be from PIE *di-dhh1-tōd, which would make Gr. τῐ́θέτω "he must put" its exact cognate. In B.7, the form stoteroi may be from *stā-tér-oi, from the root *stā- "to be standing, to remain, to be," but here a nominal form in the nominative plural "those standing..." [59]
Alaunus or Alaunius is a Gaulish god of healing and prophecy. His name is known from inscriptions found in Lurs, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence in Southern France and in Mannheim in western Germany. In the latter inscription, Alaunus is used as an epithet of Mercury. The feminine form Alauna is at the origin of many place-names and hydronyms across Europe, including the Roman-era names of Valognes in Normandy, Maryport and Watercrook in Cumbria, River Alyn in North Wales, Alcester in Warwickshire, Ardoch in Perthshire, and Learchild and the River Aln in Northumberland.
In ancient Celtic religion, Ialonus Contrebis or Ialonus or Gontrebis was a god worshipped in what are now Lancashire and Provence. Ialonus is thought to be the god of clearings and/or meadows.
Lugos (Gaulish) or Lugus (Latin), also known by other names, is a god of the Celtic pantheon. His name is rarely directly attested in inscriptions, but his importance can be inferred from place names and ethnonyms and status as king of the gods. His nature and attributes are deduced from the distinctive iconography of Gallo-Roman inscriptions to Mercury, who is widely believed to have been identified with him, and from the quasi-mythological narratives involving his later cognates, Welsh Lleu Llaw Gyffes and Irish Lugh Lámhfhada.
In Celtic mythology, Taranis is the god of thunder, who was worshipped primarily in Gaul, Hispania, Britain, and Ireland, but also in the Rhineland and Danube regions, amongst others. Taranis, along with Esus and Toutatis, was mentioned by the Roman poet Lucan in his epic poem Pharsalia as a Celtic deity to whom human sacrificial offerings were made. Taranis was associated, as was the Cyclops Brontes ("thunder") in Greek mythology, with the wheel.
Lepontic is an ancient Alpine Celtic language that was spoken in parts of Rhaetia and Cisalpine Gaul between 550 and 100 BC. Lepontic is attested in inscriptions found in an area centered on Lugano, Switzerland, and including the Lake Como and Lake Maggiore areas of Italy. Being a Celtic language, its name could derive from Proto-Celtic *leikwontio-.
Celtiberian or Northeastern Hispano-Celtic is an extinct Indo-European language of the Celtic branch spoken by the Celtiberians in an area of the Iberian Peninsula between the headwaters of the Douro, Tagus, Júcar and Turia rivers and the Ebro river. This language is directly attested in nearly 200 inscriptions dated from the 2nd century BC to the 1st century AD, mainly in Celtiberian script, a direct adaptation of the northeastern Iberian script, but also in the Latin alphabet. The longest extant Celtiberian inscriptions are those on three Botorrita plaques, bronze plaques from Botorrita near Zaragoza, dating to the early 1st century BC, labeled Botorrita I, III and IV. Shorter and more fragmentary is the Novallas bronze tablet.
The Celtiberian script is a Paleohispanic script that was the main writing system of the Celtiberian language, an extinct Continental Celtic language, which was also occasionally written using the Latin alphabet. This script is a direct adaptation of the northeastern Iberian script, the most frequently used of the Iberian scripts.
Lusitanian was an Indo-European Paleohispanic language. There has been support for either a connection with the ancient Italic languages or Celtic languages. It is known from only six sizeable inscriptions, dated from c. 1 CE, and numerous names of places (toponyms) and of gods (theonyms). The language was spoken in the territory inhabited by Lusitanian tribes, from the Douro to the Tagus rivers, territory that today falls in central Portugal and western Spain.
Proto-Celtic, or Common Celtic, is the hypothetical ancestral proto-language of all known Celtic languages, and a descendant of Proto-Indo-European. It is not attested in writing but has been partly reconstructed through the comparative method. Proto-Celtic is generally thought to have been spoken between 1300 and 800 BC, after which it began to split into different languages. Proto-Celtic is often associated with the Urnfield culture and particularly with the Hallstatt culture. Celtic languages share common features with Italic languages that are not found in other branches of Indo-European, suggesting the possibility of an earlier Italo-Celtic linguistic unity.
Hispano-Celtic is a term for all forms of Celtic spoken in the Iberian Peninsula before the arrival of the Romans. In particular, it includes:
The Bronze of Luzaga is a plate of 16 x 15 centimeters which has, in 8 lines, 123 Celtiberian characters engraved in the metal with a bradawl or similar, and which has 7 holes, perhaps in order to be held. Since its discovery in the late nineteenth century, it has been lost.
Botorrita is a municipality of 574 residents located in the province of Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain.
The paleo-Hispanic languages are the languages of the Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula, excluding languages of foreign colonies, such as Greek in Emporion and Phoenician in Qart Hadast. After the Roman conquest of Hispania the Paleohispanic languages, with the exception of Proto-Basque, were replaced by Latin, the ancestor of the modern Iberian Romance languages.
Neto or Mars Neto is the name of one of the deities of ancient Iberian Peninsula. It was revered in many places of the Peninsula, but mainly by the Iberians and Celtiberians. He was probably a god of war.
Gallaecian or Northwestern Hispano-Celtic is an extinct Celtic language of the Hispano-Celtic group. It was spoken by the Gallaeci in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula around the start of the 1st millennium. The region became the Roman province of Gallaecia, which is now divided between the Spanish regions of Galicia, western Asturias, the west of the Province of León, and the North Region in Portugal.
The Chamalières tablet is a lead tablet, six by four centimeters, that was discovered in 1971 in Chamalières, France, at the Source des Roches excavation. The tablet is dated somewhere between 50 BC and 50 AD. The text is written in the Gaulish language, with cursive Latin letters. With 396 letters grouped in 47 words, it is the third-longest extant text in Gaulish, giving it great importance in the study of this language.
The Larzac tablet is a lead curse tablet found in 1983 in the commune of L'Hospitalet-du-Larzac, Aveyron, southern France. It is now kept in the museum of Millau. It bears one of the most important inscriptions in the Gaulish language.
Francisco Villar Liébana is a Spanish linguist, full professor of Indoeuropean linguistics at the University of Salamanca, beginning in 1979.
One of the most important Celtiberian inscriptions discovered in recent years, the Novallas bronze tablet dates to the late first century BCE and is the longest Celtiberian text in Latin orthography we have. Though fragmentary, the text seems to discuss agreements between different cities in the region for how wide spaces between buildings and fields should be, presumably for purposes of right of way.