Celtic Luxembourg

Last updated
Titelberg, a Celtic oppidum: the ramparts Titelberg ramparts.JPG
Titelberg, a Celtic oppidum: the ramparts

Celtic Luxembourg existed during the period from roughly 600 BC until 100 AD, when the Celts inhabited what is now the territory of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. Their culture was well developed, especially from the 1st century BC, as can be seen from the remains of the extensive Titelberg site in the far southwest of the country and from the impressive finds in several tombs and necropolises in the Moselle valley and its surroundings.

Contents

The Celts inhabited large areas of Europe from the Danube to the Rhine and Rhône during the 6th to 1st centuries BC, a period sometimes referred to as La Tène after a site in Switzerland where Celtic remains were discovered in 1857. It was around 100 BC that the Treveri, one of the Celtic tribes, entered a period of prosperity. They constructed a number of fortified settlements or oppida near the Moselle valley in what is now southern Luxembourg, western Germany and eastern France. [1]

Early inhabitants

In the territory now covered by the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, there is evidence of primitive inhabitants right back to the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age over 35,000 years ago. The oldest artifacts from this period are decorated bones found at Oetrange. [2]

However, the first real evidence of civilization is from the Neolithic or 5th millennium BC when houses began to appear. Traces have been found in the south of Luxembourg at Aspelt, Weiler-la-Tour, as well as at Grevenmacher and Diekirch. The dwellings were made of a combination of tree trunks for the basic structure, mud-clad wickerwork walls, and roofs of thatched reeds or straw. [3] Pottery from this period has been found near Remerschen. [4]

While there is not much evidence of communities in Luxembourg at the beginning of the Bronze Age, a number of sites dating back to the period between the 13th and the 8th centuries BC provide evidence of dwellings and reveal artifacts such as pottery, knives and jewelry. These include Nospelt, Dalheim, Mompach and Remerschen.

The Hallstatt culture

The discovery in 1846 of a prehistoric cemetery at Hallstatt in Austria revealed distinctive artifacts from the Neolithic through to the early Iron Age from 600 to 450 BC. These are considered to be the first evidence of Celtic civilization and served as a model for similar finds which were to occur in other parts of Europe in areas inhabited by the Celts. In Luxembourg too, evidence of this early period comes mainly from fairly modest tombs such as those found in Niederanven. However, the tombs found in south-east Luxembourg at Grosbous, Flaxweiler and Altrier which date back to between 450 and 250 BC contained much richer finds. [5]

Judging from the objects discovered at Altrier, the tomb from about 450 BC must have been that of a high-ranking chieftain. It contained a bronze Etruscan stamnos, an iron sword, an ornate bronze and coral fibula (brooch) and a gold bracelet. The Grosbous tomb, part of a small cemetery, is particularly interesting as the corpse had been placed on a two-wheeled chariot providing indications of how the Celts constructed such vehicles. [6]

Principal Celtic sites

The Celtic civilization was at its peak at around 300 BC, [7] prior to the Roman conquest in 54 BC. Most of the evidence from that period has been discovered in tombs, many closely associated with Titelberg, a 50-ha site which reveals much about the dwellings and handicrafts of the period.

Titelberg

Titelberg is the site of a large Celtic settlement or oppidum in the extreme southwest of Luxembourg near Rodange and Differdange. Though it had been inhabited from about 300 BC, by the 1st century BC, the community had reached a high level of urbanization and was almost certainly the capital of the Treveri people. [1] It was by far the largest of the Treveri settlements at the time, no doubt as a result of its proximity to two of the most important Celtic roads, one from the south connecting the Rhône to the Moselle valley and the north, the other leading to Reims and the west. Another attraction was the iron ore which could be mined in the immediate vicinity and was indeed increasingly smelted to produce knives, lances, swords and cooking utensils and equipment.

Covering an area of some 50 ha, the oval-shaped Titelberg plateau rising 100 m above the river Chiers is approximately 1 km long (NW to SE) and 500 m wide. Evidence of the foundations of numerous dwellings, a public space for religious or political purposes, and the 9-m high ramparts which still stand at the SW entrance today, clearly demonstrate the importance of the oppidum which, until the Roman conquest, appears to have been the seat of the Treveri chieftains. [8]

One of the most important finds on Titelberg has been a huge number of Celtic coins which come from not only the Treveri themselves but also several other Celtic tribes, indicating that this had become a centre of trade and commerce showing signs of urbanization. Facilities for minting coins have been excavated close to the residential area and appear to have been used over an extended period, both during the purely Celtic period and under the Romans as the Celts began to adopt Roman culture. [9]

A very large number of both Celtic and Gallo-Roman fibulae have also been found on the site. In a multitude of different shapes and sizes, these bronze clasps, sometimes hinged, were used either as ornamental brooches or for pinning garments together. [10]

Initially, the Romans converted the Celtic dwellings to houses with stone foundations. But towards the end of the 1st century BC, the Romans established their centre of interest in Trier which also became the new capital for the Treveri. Indeed, the Romans dismantled the ramparts and reduced the oppidum to a vicus which nevertheless continued to be inhabited for another 400 years. [11]

Clemency

A Celtic funeral chamber measuring 4.30 m by 4.20 m, the largest Gallic tomb ever found, was discovered in 1987 at Clemency. From the offerings in the tomb, it was obviously the burial place of a Celtic nobleman. These included at least ten wine amphorae, an Italic bronze basin, an oil lamp from Campania, an iron grill and some 30 Gallic pots. There was also a chimney from an iron smelter in the chamber testifying to the deceased's association with iron production. [12]

Nospelt

Tombs excavated at Kreckelbierg, just north-west of the village of Nospelt, contain an impressive range of articles including wine flagons, articles of pottery, spurs, knives, lances and a lantern testifying to the nobility of those buried. [13] It is thought the tombs might belong to chieftains from the Titelberg settlement. Some of the artefacts including a tall amphora came from as far away as the Mediterranean, showing the extent of trade with other regions at the time.

Kehlen

A necropolis from the 1st century was discovered in the early 1970s on the Juckelsboesch plateau between Mamer and Kehlen. A beautiful dark blue glass bowl was among the offerings found there. [14]

Goeblange

In 1993, the National Museum of History and Art excavated Celtic tombs dating back to 50 BC to 30 BC which had been discovered in 1966 about 1 km NE of the Roman ruins in an area known as Scheierheck. The tombs were no doubt the resting place of aristocrats - four men and one woman - judging from the artifacts which were found there. These included: 1 amphoric wine flagon, 4 bottles, 7 plates, 5 pots, 7 bowls, 5 cups, 1 flat plate, 1 goblet, 1 drinking horn, 1 iron knife, 2 lance blades, 2 spurs, 3 bronze brooches, 1 pair of scissors and the remains of cremation, including those of a wild boar. [15]

Feulen

The 133 tombs uncovered at Feulen in 1996 date from the 2nd century BC until Gallo-Roman times. They have revealed numerous fibulae, arms and tools made of iron, and a large collection of pottery including two amphorae. [16]

Crisis of the 3rd century BC

During the century from 250 to 150 BC, the area between the Rhine and the Meuse underwent a drastic restructuring as some crisis forced most signs of inhabitation into the heights of the Hunsrück. Following this crisis, population returned to the lowlands in the form of the Gaulish tribes known to us from classical texts. [11]

The Treveri

The Celtic tribe in what is now Luxembourg during and after the La Tène period was known as the Treveri. Though Celtic in language, they claimed to be descended from the Germans to bolster their warlike reputation. [17] By and large, the Treveri were more successful than most Gallic tribes in cooperating with the Romans who completed their occupation in 53 BC under Julius Caesar. Two 1st-century AD revolts did not permanently damage their cordial relations with Rome, and the Treveri adapted readily to Roman civilisation.

Related Research Articles

Celts Ethnolinguistic group

The Celts are a collection of Indo-European peoples in parts of Europe and Anatolia identified by their use of the Celtic languages and other cultural similarities. Historic Celtic groups included the Gauls, Celtiberians, Gallaecians, Galatians, Britons, Gaels, and their offshoots. The relationship between ethnicity, language and culture in the Celtic world is unclear and controversial. In particular, there is dispute over the ways in which the Iron Age inhabitants of Britain and Ireland should be regarded as Celts.

La Tène culture

The La Tène culture was a European Iron Age culture. It developed and flourished during the late Iron Age, succeeding the early Iron Age Hallstatt culture without any definite cultural break, under considerable Mediterranean influence from the Greeks in pre-Roman Gaul, the Etruscans, and Golasecca culture, but whose artistic style nevertheless did not depend on those Mediterranean influences.

Ancamna

In Gallo-Roman religion, Ancamna was a goddess worshipped particularly in the valley of the Moselle River. She was commemorated at Trier and Ripsdorf as the consort of Lenus Mars, and at Möhn as the consort of Mars Smertulitanus. At Trier, altars were set up in honour of Lenus Mars, Ancamna and the genii of various pagi of the Treveri, giving the impression of Lenus Mars and Ancamna as tribal protectors honoured in an officially organized cult. Among the few statuettes left as votive offerings left at the sanctuary of Mars Smertulitanus and Ancamna at Möhn is one of a genius cucullatus like those offered to the Xulsigiae at the Lenus Mars temple complex in Trier.

In Gallo-Roman religion, Arduinna was the eponymous tutelary goddess of the Ardennes Forest and region, thought to be represented as a huntress riding a boar. Her cult originated in the Ardennes region of present-day Belgium, Luxembourg, and France. She was identified with the Roman goddess Diana.

Torc Rigid, usually twisted ring worn around the neck or arm, often of precious metal

A torc, also spelled torq or torque, is a large rigid or stiff neck ring in metal, made either as a single piece or from strands twisted together. The great majority are open at the front, although some had hook and ring closures and a few had mortice and tenon locking catches to close them. Many seem designed for near-permanent wear and would have been difficult to remove. Torcs are found in the Scythian, Illyrian, Thracian, Celtic, and other cultures of the European Iron Age from around the 8th century BC to the 3rd century AD. For the Iron Age Celts, the gold torc seems to have been a key object. It identifies the wearer as a person of high rank, and many of the finest works of ancient Celtic art are torcs. The Celtic torc disappears in the Migration Period, but during the Viking Age torc-style metal necklaces, now mainly in silver, came back into fashion. Torc styles of neck-ring are found as part of the jewellery styles of various other cultures and periods.

Bituriges Cubi Gallic tribe

The Bituriges Cubi were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the later province of Berry during the Iron Age and the Roman period. They had a homonym tribe, the Bituriges Vivisci, in the Bordelais region, which could indicate a common origin, although there is no direct evidence of this.

Treveri Belgic tribe

The Treveri or Treviri were a Celtic tribe of the Belgae group who inhabited the lower valley of the Moselle from around 150 BCE, if not earlier, until their displacement by the Franks. Their domain lay within the southern fringes of the Silva Arduenna, a part of the vast Silva Carbonaria, in what are now Luxembourg, southeastern Belgium and western Germany; its centre was the city of Trier, to which the Treveri give their name. Celtic in language, according to Tacitus they claimed Germanic descent. They possibly contained both Gallic and Germanic influences.

Clemency, Luxembourg Former commune in Capellen, Luxembourg

Clemency is a town and a former commune in south-western Luxembourg. Since 2012, it is part of the commune of Käerjeng. It is part of the canton of Capellen, which is part of the district of Luxembourg.

Bertrange Commune in Luxembourg, Luxembourg

Bertrange is a commune and town in south-western Luxembourg. It is located 6.5 km west of Luxembourg City.

Nospelt

Nospelt is a village in the commune of Kehlen, in south-western Luxembourg. As of 2005, the village had a population of 754. It is known above all for its potters who were particularly successful during the 19th century.

Goeblange

Goeblange is a village in the commune of Koerich, in southern Luxembourg about 13 km west of Luxembourg City. As of 2005, the village had a population of 425.

Prehistoric Wales History of Wales 230,000 years ago to AD 48

Prehistoric Wales in terms of human settlements covers the period from about 230,000 years ago, the date attributed to the earliest human remains found in what is now Wales, to the year AD 48 when the Roman army began a military campaign against one of the Welsh tribes. Traditionally, historians have believed that successive waves of immigrants brought different cultures into the area, largely replacing the previous inhabitants, with the last wave of immigrants being the Celts. However, studies of population genetics now suggest that this may not be true, and that immigration was on a smaller scale.

Prehistoric Ireland Early period in irish history

The prehistory of Ireland has been pieced together from archaeological evidence, which has grown at an increasing rate over the last decades. It begins with the first evidence of permanent human residence in Ireland around 10,500 BC, though an earlier date of 31,000 BC, for perhaps temporary hunting incursions, has been suggested following a 21st-century reexamination of a butchered reindeer bone discovered in 1905 at Castlepook Cave, County Cork, and finishes with the start of the historical record around 400 AD. Both the beginning and end dates of the period are later than for much of Europe and all of the Near East. The prehistoric period covers the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic, Bronze Age and Iron Age societies of Ireland. For much of Europe, the historical record begins when the Romans invaded; as Ireland was not invaded by the Romans its historical record starts later, with the coming of Christianity.

Lenus

Lenus was a Celtic healing god worshipped mainly in eastern Gaul, where he was almost always identified with the Roman god Mars. He was an important god of the Treveri tribe, who had large sanctuaries at medicinal springs at Trier and the Martberg by Pommern in what is now Germany. Two dedications to him are also known from southwestern Britain. Edith Wightman characterizes him as “one of the best examples of a Teutates, or god of the people, equated with Mars—protector of the tribe in battle, but also [...] bestower of health and general good fortune” (p. 211). His sanctuary ‘Am Irminenwingert’ at Trier had a large temple, baths, smaller shrines and a theatre; that on the Martberg also included a large variety of buildings, probably including rooms for health-seeking pilgrims to stay. Despite his associations with healing, Lenus Mars is depicted classically as a warrior with Corinthian helmet in a bronze statuette from the Martberg.

Veraudunus

Veraudunus is the name of a Celtic god known only from two votive inscriptions found in Luxembourg. One of these inscriptions suggests that ‘Veraudunus’ may have been an epithet of the important Treveran god Lenus Mars. In both inscriptions, Veraudunus is invoked along with Inciona.

Titelberg

Titelberg is the site of a large Celtic settlement or oppidum in the extreme south west of Luxembourg. In the 1st century BC, this thriving community was probably the capital of the Treveri people. The site thus provides telling evidence of urban civilization in the century before the Roman conquest.

National Archaeological Museum, France

The Musée d'Archéologie nationale is a major French archeology museum, covering pre-historic times to the Merovingian period. It is located in the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye in the département of Yvelines, about 19 kilometres (12 mi) west of Paris.

Architecture of Luxembourg

The architecture of Luxembourg probably extends back to the Treveri, a Celtic tribe who prospered in the 1st century BC. A few ruins remain from the Roman occupation but the most significant contributions over the centuries have been the country's castles and churches. Today there is a veritable architectural boom as Luxembourg's economic prosperity provides a basis for developments in the financial, EU and cultural sectors with a number of world-class buildings.

Keltenmuseum Part of the Salzburg Museum in Pflegerplatz, Hallein

The Keltenmuseum in Hallein near Salzburg contains major discoveries from the La Tene period of the Iron Age which come from burials in the area surrounding the nearby Hallein Salt Mine, at Dürrnberg. The Museum was founded in 1882 and was housed in the Bürgerspital. In 1930 it was moved into the Rathaus and from 1952 occupied a gateway of the town or stadt's fortifications. In 1970 the name was changed to Keltenmuseum and the museum was moved into the former Salt Offices on the Pflegerplatz, which fronts the river Salzach. In 1980 the Museum staged a major exhibition "Die Kelten in Mitteleuropa", which demonstrated the wealth of discoveries that were being made at the Hallein. In 1993-4 the Austrian architect Heinz Tesar drew up plans for the conversion and extension of the Museum and on 1 January 2012 the Museum became a constituent part of Salzburg Museum.

The Hunsrück-Eifel Culture is an Iron Age cultural group of the Middle Rhine region of western Germany (Rhineland-Palatinate) and eastern Belgium and Luxembourg. The names "Hunsrück" and "Eifel" refer to a pair of low mountain ranges covering most of the region.

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 Elizabeth Hamilton: The Celts and Urbanization - the Enduring Puzzle of the Oppida Archived 2008-04-10 at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved 21 November 2007.
  2. Paleolithic period from National Museum of History and Art, Luxembourg Archived August 27, 2005, at the Wayback Machine
  3. Neolithic houses from National Museum of History and Art, Luxembourg Archived March 20, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  4. Neolithic pottery from National Museum of History and Art, Luxembourg Archived March 20, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  5. Old Iron Age from National Museum of History and Art, Luxembourg Archived May 22, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  6. Jeannot Metzler, Catherine Gaeng: Protohistoire from Préhistoire et Protohistoire au Luxembourg, Musée national d'histoire et d'art, Luxembourg, 2005
  7. "The Mysterious Origins of Cherchen Man". Heritage Key. Retrieved 14 March 2011.
  8. http://www.unizd.hr/Portals/20/Gheorghiu,%20Nash,%20Cavulli.pdf Archived 2008-04-10 at the Wayback Machine Ralph M. Rowlett: Stratified Iron Age Chieftainsʹ Houses on the Titelberg, 13th Annual Meeting of European Association of the Archaeologists, Croatia, Zadar, September 2007.
  9. Matthew L. Shaw: The North Smelter at Titelberg - Post-imperial Bronze Recycling in Belgic Gaul Archived 2008-04-10 at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved 21 November 2007.
  10. Nicolas Gaspar: Les fibules gauloises et gallo-romaines du Titelberg, Luxembourg, Musée national d’histoire et d’art, 2007
  11. 1 2 Jeannot Metzler. "Le Luxembourg avant le Luxembourg." In Histoire du Luxembourg : Le destin européen d'un « petit pays » (ed. Gilbert Trausch, 2003). Toulouse: Éditions Privat. ISBN   2-7089-4773-7. (in French)
  12. Clemency L'âge du Fer récent from Luxembourg's National Museum of History and Art. Retrieved 26 November 2007.
  13. Beigaben von Grab D. Spätkeltische Zeit 50 - 30 v. Chr. Goeblingen-Nospelt Scheierheck.
  14. Bol de verre côtelé from Luxembourg's National Museum of History and Art Archived 2004-11-30 at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved 28 November 2007.
  15. Beigaben von Grab D. Spätkeltische Zeit 50 - 30 v. Chr. Goeblingen-Nospelt Scheierheck Archived 2008-08-20 at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved 21 November 2007.
  16. Sebastian Schendzielorz: Feulen : ein spätlatènezeitlich-frührömisches Gräberfeld in Luxemburg, Dossiers d’archéologie du Musée national d’histoire et d’art (lX), Luxembourg, Musée national d’histoire et d’art, 2006
  17. Tacitus: Germania, Chapter 28. Retrieved 12 December 2007.

Further reading